Andrew Stephenson, MP for Pendle, got roped into a spot of political heave-ho at Macmillan Cancer Support’s annual House of Commons vs House of Lords Parliamentary Tug of War event.
The annual event, which this year took place at Westminster Abbey College Gardens on the evening of Tuesday 4th June, saw political heavyweights go head to head to raise vital funds for people living with cancer throughout the UK. Fundraisers hope the event will have raised over £100,000 in total.
MALE Lords win
After an almighty struggle, Andrew Stephenson and his fellow team mates were defeated by the collective might of the Lords. This led to the first Tug of War victory for the House of Lords in almost a decade.
The women’s MP team overcame the collective might of the female Peers – securing the ladies a House of Commons’ victory in the Macmillan Tug of War.
The event, compèred by BBC Deputy Political Editor John Pienaar and sponsored by leading security specialists, Banham Foundation, has raised over £3 million for Macmillan since its conception in 1987.
Local MP Andrew Stephenson said, “I was delighted to once again to take part in the annual tug of war. Which supports the amazing work done by Macmillan Cancer Support. It’s just shame we were unable to abolish the Lords this time round!”
Lynda Thomas, Chief Executive of Macmillan Cancer Support said: “It’s always amazing to see parliamentarians from all sides of the political spectrum pull together for our Tug of War event. We would like to thank everyone who made the event such a success. All of the incredibly generous donations from spectators and teams will help us to continue to support the 2.5 million people living with cancer throughout the UK.”
For further information please visit www.macmillan.org.uk/tugofwar.
About Macmillan Cancer Support
Half of us will get cancer at some point in our lives. There are currently around 2.5 million people across the UK who are living with the consequences of a cancer diagnosis and this number is set to rise to 4 million by 2030. Every two minutes someone is diagnosed with cancer in the UK and it can affect anyone.
Macmillan provides medical, emotional, financial and practical help for cancer patients, from specialist cancer nurses to grants for cancer patients with money problems.
So whatever cancer throws your way, Macmillan are right there with you. Macmillan is the UK’s leading cancer support charity, giving personal one to one care to thousands of people every day.
From the moment people hear the words they have cancer Macmillan Cancer Support is there.
Macmillan is almost entirely funded by donations and simply cannot support the growing number of people who need them without help.
The money raised will go towards helping Macmillan support people affected by cancer at the time they need us most.
