A survivor recently told me that when doctors found a lump in her right breast, she felt a strange absence of shock. Cancer is now so prevalent that when you get to a certain age it can feel like an inevitability, a matter of when, not if. Our national cancer strategy must reflect this reality—cancer is not a marginal health issue, but a defining healthcare challenge of modern government.
Last year, I became primary care and cancer spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, shrinking the distance between the personal and the political. For too long, cancer policy in England has been characterised by missed targets and treatment delays that have led to devastating consequences and an erosion of public trust.
That is why Liberal Democrats were alarmed by the decision to delay the National Cancer Plan. My colleague and cancer survivor Clive Jones MP has been pressing for the plan for over a year. It could finally provide an opportunity to take prevention, diagnosis, treatment and outcomes seriously—including a sharper focus on children’s cancers and less survivable cancers, where funding, research and survival rates have barely improved in the recent past.
But this plan will only be as meaningful as the guarantees behind it. The central test is whether it delivers treatment quickly, consistently and equitably. Today, the NHS standard that patients should begin cancer treatment within 62 days of urgent referral is merely a pledge, and one that has not been met since 2015. Last year, nearly 100,000 people waited longer. The results are harrowing—every four-week delay in treatment is associated with a 10 per cent fall in survival. These statistics are not abstract. We all know someone affected.
That’s why the Liberal Democrats are calling for a legally enforceable commitment that every cancer patient begins treatment within 62 days. Not as a target that fluctuates, but as a right written into law, backed by the infrastructure to deliver it. Meeting this requires confronting the structural weaknesses that exist within the current response system. For example, England has fewer radiotherapy machines per head than many comparable countries, creating “radiotherapy deserts” in which patients must travel long distances for lifesaving care, a factor that worsens outcomes.
Cancer policy is inseparable from research. The UK should be a world leader in cancer research and outcomes, yet we lag behind peer nations in getting new treatments to patients. In a moment where hostile political interference is driving scientists away from the United States, we have an opportunity to attract international talent and reassert ourselves as a global research hub. This requires a dedicated fellowship scheme to welcome researchers fleeing Trump and help them set up here. We need to cut the cost of extortionate global talent visas, supported by the research funding to make the breakthroughs we need.
This is not a niche policy issue. Every patient matters
This matters in particular for rare and less survivable cancers. I strongly support the Rare Cancers Bill currently progressing through parliament, a piece of legislation that mirrors similar proposals in our 2024 manifesto. Where survival rates are so low there is a need for concentrated research and funding schemes. Yet these are the areas most vulnerable to neglect.
Finally, none of this is deliverable without people. Cancer care must be central to the forthcoming 10 Year Workforce Plan. Chronic shortages of nurses, radiographers and specialists undermine even the best-designed policies. Rectifying this requires long-term investment, smarter and steadier training pathways and an immigration system that supports, rather than penalises, the NHS workforce.
Cancer is not a niche policy issue. Everyday counts, every patient matters. The UK can, and must, lead the world in beating this disease.
