Influencing at the Political Party Conferences 2026

With the political party conference season nearly over, we bring you a round-up of our influencing work at the conferences in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. We will bring a round-up from Wales next month, once all of their conferences have taken place.

Wide-reaching College engagement during the Westminster-based 2026 ‘Party Conference Season’

This year the College had a far-reaching presence during the Westminster-based ‘Party Conference season’ and used this as an opportunity to emphasise the importance and value of psychiatry in tackling the mental health challenges facing the country.

The Conferences also provided an important opportunity for the College’s newly elected President – Professor Subodh Dave – to outline his priorities and meet with key stakeholders.

With a growing trend to multi-party politics, the College extended its presence to attend more party conferences than it has previously, with a combination of staff and College Officers attending the Reform UK, Green Party, Liberal Democrats, Labour and Conservative conferences respectively.

During a range of different interactions such as one on meetings, panels appearances, raising key issues at fringe events, attending receptions and invite only roundtable discussions, the College emphasised how psychiatry can improve lives and secure better outcomes for people with mental illness.

Across a broad range of interactions the College’s engagement included valuable conversations with Westminster based Ministers, Shadow Ministers, leading MPs and Peers, representatives from across Local and Regional Government in England, as well as senior figures from partner organisations such as Think Tanks, charities and other Medical Royal Colleges.

This year’s Labour Party conference in Liverpool was particularly momentous with new Prime Minister Andy Burnham MP making his first speech at the gathering since becoming the Leader of his Party. It was welcoming to hear a Prime Minister speak about the need to improve mental health services for young people.

A key highlight was the College’s involvement in the Head On campaign’s Labour Party Conference reception. Hosted by Lewis Atkinson MP, over 80 people came together to show their support for the campaign’s calls for the introduction of waiting time standards and the inclusion of mental healthcare in the wider neighbourhood approach to health.

We were particularly delighted that both the new Minister for Social Care and Mental Health, Alison McGovern MP and DWP Minister for Social Security and Disability, Sir Stephen Timms MP spoke at the event.

We also welcomed the announcement at the Labour Party Conference by the Health and Social Care Secretary, Yvette Cooper MP, that the UK Government will be taking a public health approach to violence against women and girls and plans to expand support for children and families through the reintroduction of Sure Start.

As a consequence of our engagement at the conferences, we are now in the process of following up with various key MPs and Peers to arrange meetings with key Labour Ministers and others in the UK Government, Conservative Shadow Ministers in their Health and Social Care team; as well as with various frontbench spokespersons for the Liberal Democrats, Green Party and Reform UK.

Focus on reform at party conferences in Scotland

In Scotland, conference messaging focused on proposed NHS reforms. With the Scottish Government proposing major restructuring of Scotland's health and social care services, the College used conference season to strengthen relationships with key political decision-makers and ensure that mental health and psychiatry remain central to discussions about the future of public services. This is one of the College’s key principles for mental health reform, as outlined in its updated Mental Health at the Fault Line report.

The College exhibited at the Scottish Liberal Democrats conference in Edinburgh, the SNP conference in Aberdeen and the Scottish Greens conference in Inverness. These events provided valuable opportunities to engage directly with political leaders and policymakers. At the Scottish Liberal Democrats conference, College representatives met with almost every Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP, and a number of MPs - including the party leader, deputy leader and spokespeople for health, social care and other key portfolios. At the SNP conference, meetings were held with the First Minister, the Cabinet Secretaries for Public Service Reform, Health and Justice, as well as a wide range of Ministers, MSPs and parliamentary stakeholders.

The College also hosted a fringe event at the SNP conference centred on its updated report, Mental Health at the Fault Line, which examines the impact of health and social care integration on mental health service delivery and sets out recommendations for NHS reform. Co-hosted with Marie Curie Scotland and the Cabinet Secretary for Public Service Reform, Ivan McKee MSP, the session provided an opportunity to discuss the challenges facing services, the need for mental health care to be fully considered in NHS reform, and the principles required to deliver sustainable improvements.

RCPsychiS plans to maintain a strong presence at party conferences throughout the coming year, and will soon take its recommendations to a cross-party parliamentary roundtable with MSPs and the Minister for Mental Wellbeing. At the roundtable, the College will discuss the findings of its report on Scotland's integrated health and social care system, and the principles that should guide NHS reform.

RCPsych in Northern Ireland’s new manifesto gains traction during first-ever party conference season

This year, RCPsych in NI marked a significant milestone as it made its party conference debut. The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) conference, held last month in Belfast, was the first time the College had a significant presence at a party conference.

Two weeks later, the College attended the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) conference in Belfast.

The College exhibited at both conferences and used the opportunities to launch and showcase its new election manifesto for the 2027 Northern Ireland Assembly election. The manifesto’s three policy priorities are focused on: Building a sustainable mental health workforce; Delivering equitable mental health services for all and Tackling health inequalities: introduce Minimum Unit Pricing.

Ahead of the election in May 2027, the College is calling on all political parties to embed mental health within their policy programmes. The conferences provided a valuable platform to reinforce this message and promote the manifesto’s key priorities directly to politicians and decision-makers.

Engagement was positive at the conferences, and key conversations took place with SDLP leader, Claire Hanna MLA, Leader of the Opposition, Matthew O’Toole MLA and the party’s Health Spokesperson, Colin McGrath MLA. They discussed the importance of investing in the psychiatry workforce and the need for additional training places. With alcohol-related deaths having risen by 66% since 2017, they also discussed a commitment to the introduction of Minimum Unit Pricing legislation.

At the UUP party conference, College representatives met with Robbie Butler MLA, the new Minister for Health. The College has since held a positive meeting with Robbie Butler MLA, where they discussed the acute workforce pressures in mental health services and potential funding models to increase psychiatric training posts across Northern Ireland.

The Minister expressed a strong interest in the College’s recent membership survey, which found that 72% of psychiatrists in Northern Ireland are considering leaving their role due to burnout and a lack of government support. Following the discussion, the College shared a detailed breakdown of the anonymised survey results with Robbie Butler MLA, who has committed to a follow-up meeting in the new year.

At the UUP conference, the College also held discussions with the Deputy Leader, Diana Armstrong MLA; John Stewart MLA; Alan Chambers MLA; Dr Steve Aiken OBE MLA; and Lady Daphne Trimble, UUP Honorary President.

Ahead of the 2027 Assembly election, the College will sustain its engagement with all five of the main political parties in Northern Ireland. It will continue to champion its manifesto priorities among politicians and policymakers, with the aim of influencing party manifestos well in advance of the election.

This article was included in our October 2026 eNewsletter.