NARPO Hosts Successful Drop-In Event at the House of Commons
NARPO recently held a successful Drop-In event at the House of Commons, kindly sponsored by Kirsty Blackman MP. Several police widows and a widower attended, sharing their personal and powerful experiences with MPs, highlighting the real-life impact of this issue. A heartfelt thank you to the incredible widows and widowers who generously gave their time to attend.
We were also joined by Graham Cole OBE, a committed supporter of our campaign, who played a key role in helping NARPO achieve significant media coverage across national outlets—including the Daily Express, ITV, national and local radio—as well as on NARPO’s Facebook page.
Our sincere thanks go to everyone who attended and to Connect for their excellent organisation and support in making the event such a success.
Next Steps
We will now be following up with MPs, many of whom expressed strong support and indicated they intend to raise both written and oral questions in Parliament—across the House of Commons and the House of Lords—to continue driving momentum for our campaign.
How can members get involved? There are many ways you can play a vital role in supporting the campaign—and one of the most effective is by contacting your local MP. Whether you choose to write a letter, send an email, or arrange a face-to-face meeting, your voice can help raise awareness and encourage political support. Every message counts, and MPs are far more likely to take notice when they hear directly from their constituents.
To help you take that first step, we’ve provided a free letter here: Parliament Letter
Here is the list of those who attended –
- Sponsor: Kirsty Blackman MP (SNP, Aberdeen North) – Chief Whip of the Scottish National Party in the House of Commons
- Stuart Anderson MP (Con, South Shropshire)*
- Cllr Steff Aquarone MP (LD, North Norfolk)*
- Lewis Atkinson MP (Lab, Southampton Central)
- Matt Bishop MP (Lab, Forest of Dean)
- Sarah Bool MP (Con, South Northamptonshire)
- Wallace Browne, Baron Browne of Belmont (DUP)
- Bryn Davies, Baron Davies of Brixton (Lab)
- Byron Davies, Baron Davies of Gower (Con)
- Tim Farron MP (LD, Westmorland and Lonsdale) – Liberal Democrat Spokesperson on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
- Sir Roger Gale MP (Con, Herne Bay and Sandwich)
- Gill German MP (Lab, Clwyd North)*
- Sarah Green MP (LD, Chesham and Amersham)*
- Ben Lake MP (PC, Ceredigion Preseli)
- Helen Maguire BEM MP (LD, Epsom and Ewell)* – Liberal Democrat Spokesperson on Defence
- John McDonnell MP (Ind, Hayes and Harlington)
- Robbie Moore MP (Con, Keighley and Ilkley) – Shadow Minister for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
- Maurice Morrow, Baron Morrow (DUP) – Chairman of the Democratic Unionist Party
- Caroline Nokes MP (Con, Romsey and Southampton North) – Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons
- Cpt Ben Obese-Jecty MP (Con, Huntingdon)*
- Jo Platt MP (Lab/Co-op, Leigh)*
- Gary Porter, Baron Porter of Spalding CBE (Con)
- John Slinger MP (Lab, Rugby)
- Lisa Smart MP (LD, Hazel Grove)* – Liberal Democrat Spokesperson on Home Affairs
- Rachel Taylor MP (Lab, North Warwickshire and Bedworth)
- Peter Weir, Baron Weir of Ballyholme (DUP)
- Sean Woodcock MP (Lab, Banbury)
(Breakdown by party: Labour Party (including Labour and Co-operative) – 8; Conservative Party – 8; Liberal Democrats – 5; Democratic Unionist Party – 3; Scottish National Party – 1 (sponsor); Plaid Cymru – 1; independent – 1)
Other stakeholder engagement
Stephanie Cunningham, Business and Employment Researcher at the House of Commons Library
Notes
* Denotes those members of Parliament unable to attend in person but represented by their staff.
There will be an article in the May NARPO News and we encourage as many Members as possible to contact their local MP to keep up the campaign momentum and get justice for Widows and Widowers