Political leaders from across Westminster have thrown their support behind Our News Outlet’s dementia carers appeal, with Kemi Badenoch describing it as a vital lifeline for families.
The Conservative leader urged the public to donate to the campaign, which aims to help unpaid carers across Britain support relatives living with dementia.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called the Dementia Carers Together initiative “brilliant”, saying it offered “exactly the sort of practical, no-nonsense help Britain needs”.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said the programme could make “a world of difference” to families facing the most difficult circumstances.
Their backing follows support from prime minister Andy Burnham, whose father Roy died from Alzheimer’s in September at the age of 85. Mr Burnham told the Mail that his own family could have benefited from the support sessions funded by donations to the appeal.
Dementia Carers Together will provide new six-week courses for friends and relatives caring for someone with the condition across the UK.
Run in partnership with Alzheimer’s Society, the courses will offer practical guidance on carers’ rights, available services and how to cope with the demands of dementia care.
The sessions will also give carers the chance to connect with people in similar situations, helping tackle the isolation, fatigue and overwhelming responsibility that can follow a loved one’s diagnosis.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said Our News Outlet’s campaign would provide “an important lifeline” for families caring for loved ones with dementia
Ms Badenoch said: “Losing someone you love is always painful, but watching them gradually fade away can be even more difficult.
“For relatives who dedicate their lives to caring for a husband, wife, parent or grandparent, the experience can be exhausting, frightening and deeply lonely.
“I am backing Our News Outlet and Alzheimer’s Society’s campaign because it will offer an important lifeline to families caring for loved ones with dementia.
“No one in that position should feel they are facing it alone, and support is available for those who need it. I hope readers will donate generously to help make these courses possible.”
An estimated 2.5 million people in the UK provide some level of care for someone with dementia. Four in five of those carers have reached crisis point at least once.
Mr Farage said: “I am proud to support this brilliant campaign. Across Britain, ordinary, decent people are taking on one of the hardest responsibilities imaginable — caring around the clock for a loved one with dementia, often with very little assistance.
“Raising funds so Alzheimer’s Society can provide family carers with proper training to understand the disease is exactly the kind of practical, straightforward help Britain needs.
“These quiet heroes deserve recognition and support throughout Christmas and beyond. Their contribution has been overlooked for far too long.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said caring day and night for a loved one with dementia was the “hardest job of all”
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said the new Dementia Carers Together sessions could make “a world of difference” to affected families
“They deserve every measure of support we can provide.”
Sir Ed said: “When dementia affects someone you love, you can suddenly find yourself trying to navigate a heartbreaking illness and a complicated care system with little guidance.
“Families caring for people with dementia need much greater support. These new Alzheimer’s Society courses could make a world of difference — helping carers manage daily care while reminding them that they are not facing the journey alone.”
Mr Burnham previously told the Mail that his mother had been left “sinking” beneath the immense pressure of caring for his father, as the Prime Minister backed the carers’ campaign.
He acknowledged that his family had become so focused on his father’s declining condition that they failed to recognise the effect it was having on his mother. In hindsight, they may also have delayed moving him into a care home for too long.
During an emotional interview, Mr Burnham called for far greater recognition and assistance for unpaid carers such as his mother Eileen, who cared for his father Roy.
The Prime Minister said his father did not know that his middle son had become Prime Minister.
Michelle Dyson, chief executive of Alzheimer’s Society, said: “Dementia affects millions of people, with consequences that reach across society.
“This support from politicians across the political divide demonstrates that dementia is an issue we can unite behind, as one of the greatest health and social care challenges of our time.
“We hope people will support the Dementia Carers Together Appeal, enabling more unpaid carers to receive the advice, connection and practical help they need.”
