Thank you to everyone who emailed their election candidates during the general election campaign. We were overwhelmed by the support of our campaigners: 7,500 emails were sent to candidates. Many candidates received several emails, which shows them how much support there is for our campaigns to improve the lives of people with autism.
The responses we got from candidates were fantastic too. Around 900 candidates pledged to stand up for people with autism and 184 of them have been elected to the House of Commons. This is a great start to our relationships with MPs, many of whom are new.
This will be very important as we launch our new campaign for better child mental health services for children with autism, in one month’s time. We will be launching at a reception at the House of Commons on 8 June and we hope many of our new MP supporters will attend.
But it’s not all about the number of candidates we got to support people with autism. When they pledged, we asked them to tell us why they were doing it. We also heard from candidates who had autism spectrum disorders themselves. Here are some of the responses we got:
“My son is autistic, so this is a personal cause. He is the happiest person in his school and this is down to how everyone treats him. I feel that everyone on the autistic spectrum should have the same treatment, and I will stand up and campaign to make this so.”
“I can't even begin to start explaining how much I would support you and your campaigns if elected… I fully pledge to support people with autism in the next Parliament, elected or not.”
“You will be assured of my strong support as an advocate of your cause. Indeed, I was even out canvassing with someone with autism on Friday, who is playing a full role in the campaign.”
If you would like to know all the candidates in your area that pledged or to help us campaign in the future, please email campaign@nas.org.uk.
Here is a list of the candidates that pledged to stand up for autism, who are now MPs:
| Abbott, Diane | Hackney North and Stoke Newington |
| Anderson, David | Blaydon |
| Austin, Ian | Dudley North |
| Bain, William | Glasgow North East |
| Balls, Ed | Morley and Outwood |
| Barker, Gregory | Bexhill and Battle |
| Barron, Kevin | Rother Valley |
| Bebb, Guto | Aberconwy |
| Beith, Alan | Berwick-upon-Tweed |
| Bellingham, Henry | North West Norfolk |
| Benyon, Richard | Newbury |
| Betts, Clive | Sheffield South East |
| Blears, Hazel | Salford and Eccles |
| Bradshaw, Benjamin | Exeter |
| Brady, Graham | Altrincham and Sale West |
| Brennan, Kevin | Cardiff West |
| Brooke, Annette | Mid Dorset and North Poole |
| Brown, Lyn | West Ham |
| Bryant, Chris | Rhondda |
| Buck, Karen | Westminster North |
| Buckland, Robert | South Swindon |
| Burns, Simon | Chelmsford |
| Burrowes, David | Enfield, Southgate |
| Burt, Alistair | North East Bedfordshire |
| Burt, Lorely | Solihull |
| Cable, Vincent | Twickenham |
| Caton, Martin | Gower |
| Clark, Katy | North Ayrshire and Arran |
| Clarke, Tom | Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill |
| Clegg, Nick | Sheffield, Hallam |
| Colvile, Oliver | Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport |
| Cooper, Rosie | West Lancashire |
| Cox, Geoffrey | Torridge and West Devon |
| Crausby, David | Bolton North East |
| Crockart, Mike | Edinburgh West |
| Cruddas, Jon | Dagenham and Rainham |
| Cunningham, Alex | Stockton North |
| Cunningham, Tony | Workington |
| Danczuk, Simon | Rochdale |
| Davey, Edward | Kingston and Surbiton |
| Davidson, Ian | Glasgow South West |
| Davies, Philip | Shipley |
| Dobbin, Jim | Heywood and Middleton |
| Dodds, Nigel | Belfast North |
| Donaldson, Jeffrey | Lagan Valley |
| Donohoe, Brian | Central Ayrshire |
| Dowd, Jim | Lewisham West and Penge |
| Duddridge, James | Rochford and Southend East |
| Durkan, Mark | Foyle |
| Elliott, Julie | Sunderland Central |
| Ellis, Michael | Northampton North |
| Elphicke, Charlie | Dover |
| Farron, Tim | Westmorland and Lonsdale |
| Flello, Robert | Stoke-on-Trent South |
| Flynn, Paul | Newport West |
| Foster, Don | Bath |
| Fovargue, Yvonne | Makerfield |
| Fox, Liam | North Somerset |
| Francis, Hywel | Aberavon |
| Francois, Mark | Rayleigh and Wickford |
| Freeman, George | Mid Norfolk |
| Freer, Mike | Finchley and Golders Green |
| Gapes, Mike | Ilford South |
| Garnier, Edward | Harborough |
| Gauke, David | South West Hertfordshire |
| George, Andrew | St Ives |
| Gilbert, Stephen | St Austell and Newquay |
| Gillan, Cheryl | Chesham and Amersham |
| Glen, John | Salisbury |
| Goldsmith, Zac | Richmond Park |
| Goodman, Helen | Bishop Auckland |
| Gove, Michael | Surrey Heath |
| Graham, Richard | Gloucester |
| Green, Kate | Stretford and Urmston |
| Greening, Justine | Putney |
| Greenwood, Lilian | Nottingham South |
| Halfon, Robert | Harlow |
| Hames, Duncan | Chippenham |
| Hancock, Matthew | West Suffolk |
| Hands, Greg | Chelsea and Fulham |
| Harrington, Richard | Watford |
| Harris, Tom | Glasgow South |
| Hemming, John | Birmingham, Yardley |
| Hepburn, Stephen | Jarrow |
| Heyes, David | Ashton-under-Lyne |
| Hilling, Julie | Bolton West |
| Hoey, Kate | Vauxhall |
| Hollingbery, George | Meon Valley |
| Horwood, Martin | Cheltenham |
| Howarth, George | Knowsley |
| Hughes, Simon | Bermondsey and Old Southwark |
| Huppert, Julian | Cambridge |
| Hurd, Nick | Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner |
| Illsley, Eric | Barnsley Central |
| James, Margot | Stourbridge |
| Jamieson, Cathy | Kilmarnock and Loudoun |
| Javid, Sajid | Bromsgrove |
| Jones, Andrew | Harrogate and Knaresborough |
| Jones, Susan Elan | Clwyd South |
| Keeley, Barbara | Worsley and Eccles South |
| Kelly, Chris D | Dudley South |
| Kendall, Liz | Leicester West |
| Kennedy, Charles | Ross, Skye and Lochaber |
| Khan, Sadiq | Tooting |
| Kirby, Simon | Brighton, Kemptown |
| Laing, Eleanor | Epping Forest |
| Lazarowicz, Mark | Edinburgh North and Leith |
| Leech, John | Manchester, Withington |
| Lefroy, Jeremy | Stafford |
| Lidington, David | Aylesbury |
| Lloyd, Stephen | Eastbourne |
| Llwyd, Elfyn | Dwyfor Meirionnydd |
| Long, Naomi | Belfast East |
| Lopresti, Jack | Filton and Bradley Stoke |
| Love, Andrew | Edmonton |
| Lucas, Caroline | Brighton, Pavilion |
| Luff, Peter | Mid Worcestershire |
| Main, Anne | St Albans |
| Mann, John | Bassetlaw |
| McCabe, Stephen | Birmingham, Selly Oak |
| McCarthy, Kerry | Bristol East |
| McCartney, Karl | Lincoln |
| McDonagh, Siobhain | Mitcham and Morden |
| McDonnell, Alasdair | Belfast South |
| McDonnell, John | Hayes and Harlington |
| McGovern, Alison | Wirral South |
| Meale, Alan | Mansfield |
| Miller, Andrew | Ellesmere Port and Neston |
| Miller, Maria | Basingstoke |
| Milton, Anne | Guildford |
| Mitchell, Austin | Great Grimsby |
| Moon, Madeleine | Bridgend |
| Morrice, Graeme | Livingston |
| Morris, Anne-Marie | Newton Abbot |
| Mosley, Stephen | City of Chester |
| Mowat, David | Warrington South |
| Mulholland, Greg | Leeds North West |
| Murphy, Paul | Torfaen |
| Murray, Ian | Edinburgh South |
| Nandy, Lisa | Wigan |
| Nuttall, David | Bury North |
| Ollerenshaw, Eric | Lancaster and Fleetwood |
| Osborne, Sandra | Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock |
| Paice, James | South East Cambridgeshire |
| Patel, Priti | Witham |
| Pearce, Teresa | Erith and Thamesmead |
| Penning, Mike | Hemel Hempstead |
| Pound, Stephen | Ealing North |
| Reeves, Rachel | Leeds West |
| Reid, Alan | Argyll and Bute |
| Rogerson, Dan | North Cornwall |
| Ruddock, Joan | Lewisham, Deptford |
| Sanders, Adrian | Torbay |
| Seabeck, Alison | Plymouth, Moor View |
| Shannon, Jim | Strangford |
| Shapps, Grant | Welwyn Hatfield |
| Sharma, Alok | Reading West |
| Smith, Andrew | Oxford East |
| Smith, Angela C | Penistone and Stocksbridge |
| Smith, Henry | Crawley |
| Smith, Julian | Skipton and Ripon |
| Stuart, Gisela | Birmingham, Edgbaston |
| Swinson, Jo | East Dunbartonshire |
| Thurso, John | Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross |
| Tredinnick, David | Bosworth |
| Trickett, Jon | Hemsworth |
| Twigg, Stephen | Liverpool, West Derby |
| Vaizey, Ed | Wantage |
| Vickers, Martin | Cleethorpes |
| Walker, Robin | Worcester |
| Ward, David | Bradford East |
| Watkinson, Angela | Hornchurch and Upminster |
| Weir, Michael | Angus |
| Wheeler, Heather | South Derbyshire |
| Whiteford, Eilidh | Banff and Buchan |
| Wiggin, Bill | North Herefordshire |
| Williams, Roger | Brecon and Radnorshire |
| Williams, Stephen | Bristol West |
| Willott, Jenny | Cardiff Central |
| Winterton, Rosie | Doncaster Central |
| Wood, Mike | Batley and Spen |
| Woolas, Philip | Oldham East and Saddleworth |
| Wright, Simon | Norwich South |
| Zahawi, Nadhim | Stratford-on-Avon |
This message is from The National Autistic Society (NAS). The NAS randomly monitors the content of e-mail messages sent and received.
Any opinions contained in this message are those of the author and are not given or endorsed by the NAS unless the author is clearly stated to have authority to bind the charity, and this has been duly verified by e-mailing companysecretary@nas.org.uk
The NAS is a company limited by guarantee (No. 1205298) registered in England and also a charity registered in England and Wales (CR269425) and in Scotland (SC039427), its registered office being 393 City Road, London, EC1V 1NG.
www.autism.org.uk
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