Graeme Downie

I beg to move, That this House has considered Parkinson’s awareness month. I extend my gratitude to the Backbench Business Committee for granting me this debate, and I thank hon. Members for attending, especially given that local elections are taking place across some parts of the country—I know the pull of the doorsteps is strong for politicians, as can be the power of persuasion from party bosses and headquarters. I thank hon. Members for supporting my application for the debate, including my hon. Friends the Members for Aldershot (Alex Baker), for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Adam Jogee), for Redditch (Chris Bloore) and for Weston-super-Mare (Dan Aldridge), who are sadly unable to be here but who I wanted to mention. I also thank the current and former chairs of the all-party parliamentary group on Parkinson’s, my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend (Mary Glindon) and Baroness Gale. I found it surprising and, to be honest, a little shocking that there has never been a full debate in this Chamber on Parkinson’s, so I hope to lend my voice to the approximately 225 people in my constituency, and to the community of some 153,000 people across the UK, who are navigating life with Parkinson’s, along with their loved ones and the dedicated professionals who support them. Yesterday concluded Parkinson’s Awareness Month, but we must commit to doing much more than simply raising awareness; we must act. Awareness is not progress, and people with Parkinson’s can no longer afford to wait. Parkinson’s is the fastest-growing neurological condition in the world, ironically due mainly to people living longer lives and being diagnosed in their later years. It is sometimes said that people do not die from Parkinson’s, but the condition is life-limiting, complex and relentless. It does not discriminate by postcode, profession, political affiliation or any other characteristic. It strips away not only physical ability, but voice, independence and identity. It affects not only those diagnosed, but their loved ones in profound and lasting ways. There is no cure, no treatment to slow or halt progress and no respite, yet there is hope. There is a path to change, and today I call on the Government and this House to walk that path with the urgency and compassion that the Parkinson’s community deserves. When I was preparing for this debate, I was given a copy of a poem called “A Jump Too Far”, by Bobbie Coelho, a Parkinson’s UK campaigner who was diagnosed in 2002. I will read it out to put it on the record, because I feel that these words are important: “I wish you could jump into my shoes for just an hour or so To know just how I feel, for then you would know The truth about PD, as far as it goes I wish you could jump into my shoes when my face freezes You can’t understand when I talk (I know it’s not easy) To hear me called a miserable cow How I wish I could talk happily as they’re doing now I wish you could jump into my shoes when I can’t move across the floor. How I admire your movements, so easy and so free I just wish it could also be me I wish you could jump into my shoes when I can’t walk down the street And get stares from the people that I meet I wish you could jump into my shoes when I can’t do anything at all And, reluctantly, have to watch my husband do it all I wish you could jump into my shoes to see a future I don’t want to see With no cure in sight and I know there never will be You hear about cancer there’s adverts all around But awareness of PD there’s not a sound If you could jump into my shoes You would see how frightening PD can be”.