Scottish Parliament Election 2021

The next Scottish Parliament elections are scheduled to take place on 6 May 2021.

The Scottish Parliament passes laws on devolved matters in Scotland. Almost all decisions relating to healthcare are devolved so the election is extremely important for people with bleeding disorders. Haemophilia Scotland frequently raise issues with MSPs and the Scottish Government on behalf of the bleeding disorders community and these elections decide who we are talking to and, therefore, how much they engage with us.

Rare conditions, such as bleeding disorders, are often not well understood by politicians. Elections are a great opportunity to increase their awareness of the conditions and the issues which are important to our community. Because of the COVID-19 situation, you will not get so many people knocking on your door as in a normal election, or so many leaflets delivered by volunteers. However, you should still be receiving election communications from your local candidates with their contact details on and are more likely than normal to get a phone call. Please use any opportunities you get to make sure that your voice is heard and that bleeding disorders issues are raised. We have contacted 22 political parties who are standing candidates. However, nothing has more influence than people with day to day experience of bleeding disorders contacting candidates directly.

The three main questions we are asking the political parties are listed below. It would be very helpful for you to ask your local candidates the same questions and to let us know what responses you get. You can email any replies to hello@haemophilia.scot.

Haemophilia Scotland Asks

  1. Genetic therapies for haemophilia are currently being trialled in patients.  Will you commit to developing and properly resourcing a model for the funding of gene therapies within the first year of the parliament so that patients who give want it, and give informed consent to receive it, have access to these treatments as soon as they have been licenced?
  2. The Infected Blood Inquiry is a UK-wide statutory Public Inquiry into contaminated blood and blood products.  Will the work of the Inquiry have your full support and will you commit to working with those infected and affected in Scotland to make sure the lessons it reveals are implemented and the community is properly compensated and supported?
  3. Over the course of the last Scottish Parliament, the Scottish Government cut its funding for Haemophilia Scotland by three quarters. Will you commit to reversing those cuts to allow the charity to fully support the Scottish bleeding disorders community?

Some charities and groups produce their own manifestos to try and influence the thinking of the political parties during the election. These often contain useful idea about how to address some of the challenges faced by people with bleeding disorders. We will share some of the more relevant charity manifestos below so you can raise any ideas you support with your local candidates.

Responses from the Parties

These are the parties we have contacted. You can follow the links to read any replied we have received.

Abolish the Scottish Parliament Party – No reply
Alba Party – No reply
All for Unity – No reply
Animal Welfare Party – No reply
Communist Party of Britain – No reply
Freedom Alliance – No reply
Independent Green Voice – Email bounced
Reform UK Scotland – No reply
Scotia Future – No reply
Scottish Conservatives – No reply
Scottish Family Party – No reply
Scottish Green Party – Acknowledged, response expected
Scottish Labour – No reply
Scottish Liberal Democrats – Acknowledged, response expected
Scottish Libertarian Party – Click here to read the reply
Scottish National Party – No reply
Scottish Renew – No reply
Scottish Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition – No reply
Scottish Women’s Equality Party – No reply
Social Democratic Party – No reply
The Reclaim Party – No reply
UKIP – No reply
Last updated 20/04/21

Charity Manifestos

Hustings and Meetings

8 April – 17:00 – SCVO Husting – Register online

29 April – 14:00 – Social Care Hustings – ALLIANCE and CCPS – Register online

Register to Vote

If you aren’t already registered to vote then you can register to vote online at gov.uk/register-to-vote.

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