Sports stars have fought this disease with heroic bravery COMMENT
below
OVER the years standing on the terraces at Headingley, watching Leeds Rhinos would usually involve seeing a winning team with some battling performances on the field. The heroes we’d grown up with, such as the legendary Ellery Hanley, had been replaced with new ones, such as Sinfield, Senior, Peacock, Jones-buchanan and Burrow.
But I never imagined I would be mentioning Rob Burrow and Kevin Sinfield in Parliament at PMQS regarding something unrelated to rugby league.
All MPS want to achieve something in Parliament and we regularly receive requests to support various causes. One such approach was from a constituent asking me to do more about Motor Neurone Disease. I’ve had close friends who have lost their lives to this cruel disease so I decided to join the All-party Parliamentary Group on MND, chaired by friend and colleague Andrew Lewer MP.
I have been able to speak with so many people who have been campaigning for better treatment, reform of the welfare system, support for those suffering with the condition and their families, as well as what we hope will eventually be a cure.
One success was the Scrap 6 Months campaign against rules for terminally ill people, which meant dying claimants would have to show they had six months left to live before claiming welfare.
In response, the DWP has pledged to expand the criteria from six months to 12, meaning more people living with MND will be able to access the support they need quickly and easily.
This campaign made a real difference and there is a genuine feeling we are gaining serious momentum with the fight against MND. It was brought to the fore when Rob Burrow, Doddie Weir and Stephen Darby spoke to the BBC about their diagnoses.
Many sports stars achieve hero status on the pitch, but what they have done to raise awareness of MND has been truly heroic in the strongest sense of the word. They have faced the situation with true bravery. We hope this can bring about
real progress in finding a cure.