All-Party Parliamentary Group on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (APPG) is a British group of backbench members of parliament, from all political parties and from Houses of Commons and Lords, who meet to discuss ME.

Carol Monaghan MP revived the APPG on ME in February 2020; it had previously closed in 2017.

APPG Focus
The APPG for ME agreed to focus on the following key topics: In addition:
 * Access to healthcare
 * Access to financial support and welfare benefits
 * Protection for children with ME
 * Biomedical research spending by the Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health Research
 * Economic and societal impact of ME as a justification for additional spending
 * Medical diagnosis
 * Producing a key report on issues impacting ME sufferers

APPG members
The first meeting since the 2019 general election was held in February 2020, and arranged by Carol Monaghan MP.

Officer's Roles

 * Carol Monaghan, MP (SNP) - Chair
 * Sharon Hodgson, MP (Labour, Washington and Sunderland West) - Co-Chair
 * Stephen Metcalfe, MP (Conservative, South Basildon and East Thurrock) - Co-Chair
 * Ben Lake, MP (Plaid Cymru, Ceredigion) - Vice Chair
 * Hywel Williams, MP/AS (Plaid Cymru, Arfon) - Secretary
 * Olivia Blake, MP (Labour, Sheffield Hallam) - Treasurer

The following people were also reported as attending the first meeting:


 * Deidre Brock, MP (SNP, Edinburgh North and Leith)
 * Fiona Bruce, MP (Conservative, Congleton)
 * Wayne David, MP (Labour, Caerphilly)
 * James Davies, MP (Conservative, Vale of Clwyd)
 * Mary Glindon, MP (Labour, North Tyneside)
 * Robert Goodwill, MP (Conservative, Scarborough and Whitby)
 * Margaret Greenwood, MP (Labour, Wirral West)
 * Dame Diana Johnson, MP (Labour, Kingston upon Hull North)
 * Sally-Ann Hart, MP (Conservative, Hastings and Rye)
 * Kerry McCarthy, MP (Labour, Bristol East)
 * Navendu Mishra, MP (Labour, Stockport)
 * Gavin Newlands, MP (SNP, Paisley &amp; Renfrewshire North)
 * Jonathan Reynolds, MP (Labour, Stalybridge and Hyde)
 * Alex Sobel, MP (Labour, Leeds North West)
 * James Sunderland, MP (Conservative, Bracknell)
 * Stephen Timms, MP (Labour, East Ham)
 * Michael Tomlinson, MP (Conservative, Mid Dorset and North Poole)
 * Liz Twist, MP (Conservative, Blaydon), MP
 * Charles Shepherd, ME Association

Other members
APPG members who did not attend the first meeting include:
 * Louise Haigh, MP (Labour)

A list of APPG members has not been published yet.

Previous APPG members
All APPGs need to be restarted parliament is dissolved for a general election, and must be restarted after; meaning that the groups change after every election.

The previous group, which ended in 2017, was co-chaired by Sir Peter Bottomley MP and Lady Countess of Mar. The group was supported by Action for ME, the ME Association, ME Research UK, Association of Young People with ME, Tymes Trust, the ME Trust, reMEmber, the 25% ME Group, Invest in ME, and Blue Ribbon Awareness for ME (BRAME). Secretariat was provided by Action for ME and the ME Association.

Publications & Announcements

 * 2016, APPG on ME: Supporting your Constituent with ME
 * 2016, APPG on ME: List of Officers and Members

Learn more

 * Register Of All-Party Groups - Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME)
 * They work for you - Find your MP
 * Action for ME webpage for APPG on ME (includes minutes of meetings)