Scottish and Welsh elections: What happens next?
The results of last week’s elections have reshaped politics across Scotland and Wales. In this blog, we look at what these changes mean for each nation and how they could impact people affected by pancreatic cancer.
Scottish Parliament results
The elections in Scotland saw the Scottish National Party (SNP) become the largest party in Parliament. This provides a big opportunity for us to make progress on pancreatic cancer and other less survivable cancers in Scotland.
While the SNP gained the highest number of seats by a large margin, elsewhere Reform managed to disrupt the usual order of things by returning the joint second highest number of MSPs – a big change for Scotland.
What do these results mean for people affected by pancreatic cancer in Scotland?
So with the SNP back in charge, what does this mean for people facing pancreatic cancer in Scotland?
This result allows us to keep up the pressure on Scotland’s existing cancer priorities while still demanding improvements for people with pancreatic cancer and their families. The SNP set out a ten-year cancer strategy in 2023, and so this will remain relevant under the new government. This is a big positive, as that strategy highlighted less survivable cancers as a key priority.
One of the key actions from the strategy that has the most potential to improve outcomes for people affected by pancreatic cancer is the commitment to invest in improving clinical pathways for people with the disease.
This includes improving how patients are diagnosed and making sure they can be offered the best treatment options for them. We’re already supporting this work and we expect it to be completed by the end of 2026. Our job will then turn to making sure these pathways get the necessary resources to become permanent
There is also the planned expansion of Scotland’s Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services which aim to catch cancer quicker for people with vague symptoms (for example, people with pancreatic cancer symptoms like indigestion and weight loss).
This service is currently only running in some parts of Scotland and so we’ll be pushing the government to roll it out nationally as soon as possible so that everyone can get diagnosed quicker no matter where they live.
We’ll also be keeping a close eye on new commitments made in the SNP manifesto, like investment in new equipment such as CT and MRI scanners, and expanding the opportunity for people to get tests in their local community.
Among other parties, the Scottish Greens committed to investing in early detection of less survivable cancers, including rolling out the breath test for pancreatic cancer once it’s ready.
The Greens have previously worked alongside the SNP on certain policy issues and so it’s great that a party with this level of support for pancreatic cancer patients may have some influence on the government. We’re looking forward to making sure these commitments translate into real change.
Welsh Parliament results
Last week we witnessed an historic election in Wales, with Plaid Cymru forming their first ever Welsh Government after more than 25 years of Labour leadership. Plaid Cymru have made some key commitments to improve pancreatic cancer care – so this Parliament will give us fantastic opportunities to make progress in improving care for pancreatic and other less survivable .
In similar fashion to Scotland, Reform managed to become the second largest in Wales for the first time in their history after winning 34 seats.
We are looking forward to working with the new Welsh Government alongside the many new and returning faces within the Senedd to deliver more breakthroughs for people affected by pancreatic cancer.
What do these results means for people affected by pancreatic cancer in Wales?
Plaid Cymru have committed to publishing a long-term cancer strategy within their first 100 days in office. With Wales currently being the only UK nation without a cancer strategy, this is great news – and we will work closely with the new Welsh Government to ensure that pancreatic and the less survivable cancers are a key focus in the strategy.
The incoming Government have also committed to establishing a fund to financially support patients who need to travel for specialist treatment for rare cancers, as well as hiring up to 100 additional GPs. We hope these commitments will help to ensure people with pancreatic cancer can get the best care possible, as soon as they need it.
Looking across party manifestos, Reform UK, now the second largest party in Wales, had also committed to a long-term cancer action plan which included further investment into modern diagnostic tools and treatment to ensure patients are being diagnosed and treated sooner.
Among the smaller parties, the Welsh Conservatives had committed to investing an extra £40 million into hospices to improve palliative and end-of-life care. Meanwhile, the Welsh Greens and Labour had also set out their ambitions to drive improvements to palliative and end-of-life care in Wales.
Our goal in Scotland and Wales
As we look ahead in Scotland and Wales, we are looking forward to working with the new and returning MSPs and MSs to ensure those with pancreatic cancer are given the best chance of treatment and survival, and will be doing all we can to build relationships with as many parliamentarians as possible.
With the help of your brilliant support, we will keep hard to drive improvements in pancreatic cancer care and outcomes across Scotland and Wales.
