Macmillan staff gathered on Westminster Bridge outside the Houses of Parliament. They are wearing green Macmillan t-shirts.

King's Speech 2024: Key points for people with cancer

Blog
Published: 18 July 2024
Just eight weeks ago a General Election was called and alongside thousands of campaigners like you, Macmillan swung into action to make cancer a top priority. The new Government in Westminster is now in place, and the King’s Speech this week was their first opportunity to outline their plans for the coming months. Here are Macmillan’s key points on what the speech means for people with cancer. 
Photo of Yvonne. She is standing in front of a brick wall, looking at the camera and smiling.

Yvonne Jeffery Advocacy Campaigns Manager at Macmillan Cancer Support

What is the King’s Speech?

Following the recent General Election, the King’s Speech marks the beginning of a new parliamentary session. It was delivered by His Majesty The King on Wednesday 17 July at the State Opening of Parliament.

Written by the new UK Government, the speech outlines their priorities for the coming months and sets out the bills they intend to introduce to Parliament.

In this King’s Speech, the Government introduced a wide range of bills. They included measures to stimulate economic growth, build houses, strengthen workers’ rights, improve transport and clean energy, and devolve power to local leaders.

In this blog, we share our key points from the King’s Speech for people living with cancer.

The NHS as a 'service for all'

It was encouraging to hear the NHS highlighted as a service which provides care for all, and a specific point around reducing waiting times.

Macmillan sees and hears about the devastating impact of cancer care delays and cancellations every day. Across the UK, 2023 was one of the worst years on record for cancer treatment delays in the NHS1.

After campaigning with you over the past year to reduce dangerously long waiting times with our ‘What Are We Waiting For?’ campaign and throughout the General Election, we were delighted to see reducing waiting times prioritised in the King’s Speech.

Together, we highlighted the urgency and helped shape the conversation to make waiting times a priority for the new Government. Your voices have been heard, and Macmillan is ready to work with the new Westminster Government to ensure everyone living with cancer in the UK receives the best care in the world.

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill 

Macmillan welcomes the bill to progressively increase the age at which people can buy cigarettes, and impose limits on the sale and marketing of vapes.


There are more than 3 million people living with cancer in the UK and this is set to rise to 4 million by 20302. Throughout the King’s Speech, there was a clear theme of preventing ill-health in the first place. In the UK, someone receives a cancer diagnosis every 90 seconds3, and 1 in 2 of us will face it in our lifetime4. For future generations, preventative measures such as the Tobacco and Vapes Bill could be the most vital change the Government can make to public health, as tobacco is the largest preventable cause of cancer in the UK5.

The Employment Rights Bill 

The Employment Rights Bill will strengthen Statutory Sick Pay by removing the lower earnings limit to make it available to all workers as well as the waiting period.


Macmillan knows that cancer comes at a financial cost, and that money is a worry for many. Four in five people with cancer in the UK (83%) experience a financial impact from their diagnosis, which can reach more than £1,000 a month on average6.

Macmillan has supported calls to strengthen Statutory Sick Pay through the ‘Safe Sick Pay’ campaign. We will continue to provide information on money, work, and welfare, to issue Macmillan Grants, and campaign for changes needed to ensure people with cancer receive the financial support they need, when they need it.

Devolving power to improve outcomes

The Government will give new powers to local leaders, and set up a new Council of the Nations and Regions to strengthen outcomes between them.


Cancer can affect every part of a person’s life – from treatment and transport, to welfare, energy and employment. Across every nation and region of the UK, every generation from the youngest to the oldest, and every socioeconomic and income group, cancer has touched the majority of people’s lives in some way7.

To truly meet the complex needs of people with cancer and tackle the cancer care crisis, the new UK Government must enable the expertise and power of all relevant departments at every level of government. Facilitating collaboration by devolving power and promoting collaboration between the UK Nations and Regions is positive step, and Macmillan will campaign for a cross-governmental approach to bring cancer care into the future, and ensure every person with cancer in the UK receives world-class care.

A cancer care revolution

As we reflect on the King’s Speech and our continued mission to revolutionise cancer care, there’s one thing we know for certain: we can’t do it without you.  

With the help of thousands of amazing Macmillan campaigners during the General Election, we reached 90% of Parliamentary candidates, with over 130 candidates pledging to revolutionise cancer care if elected in the new Parliament.

In the coming months we will be supporting people to build relationships with their MPs so they can be the most effective champions of cancer in the new Parliament. Will you join us? Sign up for our campaigner updates to be part of the movement to transform the experiences of people living with cancer. 
  • 1. Cancer treatment delays in the NHS
  • 2. More than 3 million people living with cancer in the UK
    Macmillan Cancer Support. Cancer prevalence. Accessed May 2024.
  • 3. Cancer diagnosis rates

    Based on aggregated UK-wide figures for 2002 and 2020, the earliest and latest year for which cancer incidence data is available for all countries in the UK. Figures include all malignant neoplasms excluding non- melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) (ICD-10 codes C00-97 excl. C44. Scotland does not use C97): 1) NHS England - National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service, 2) Public Health Scotland, 3) Cancer Reporting Tool - Official Statistics - Public Health Wales, 4) Northern Ireland Cancer Registry Queen’s University Belfast.

  • 4. Trends in the lifetime risk of developing cancer

    Ahmad AS, Ormiston-Smith N, Sasieni PD. Trends in the lifetime risk of developing cancer in Great Britain: comparison of risk for those born from 1930 to 1960. Br J Cancer 2015;112: 943-947. doi: 10.1038/bjc.2014.606

  • 5. Tobacco is the largest preventable cause of cancer in the UK
    Cancer Research UK, Accessed 18 July 2024.
  • 6. Financial impact from a cancer diagnosis

    Current estimate from Macmillan Cancer Support as of May 2024. Data from Macmillan Cancer Support/YouGov survey from January 2024 has been used to cross-check and validate an inflation-based update of a previous figure derived from a Macmillan Cancer Support/Truth survey from January 2020. Further validation of this analysis is needed, however even the most conservative estimate from this analysis so far results in an updated monthly cost of over £1,000. Sources:

    1. Macmillan Cancer Support/Truth survey of 1,329 adults who have received a cancer diagnosis. Fieldwork was undertaken between 13th January and 7th February 2020. The survey was carried out online. Sample is weighted to represent national population of people who have received a cancer diagnosis in terms of demographics (age, gender, region) and cancer type/time since diagnosis using prevalence data. This research found that four in five people with cancer (83%) experience a financial impact, which for those affected reaches £891 a month on average in addition to their usual outgoings. The £891 figure is a weighted average, taking into account both loss of income and increased costs.

    2. Bank of England Inflation Calculator.

    3. Macmillan Cancer Support/YouGov survey of 2,099 adults in the UK who have had a cancer diagnosis. Fieldwork was undertaken between 2nd January and 22nd January 2024. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of people living with cancer in the UK (aged 18+). Survey asked respondents for details of their monthly income (after tax) before their cancer diagnosis and at the peak of the financial impact of their diagnosis to estimate loss of income, and for details of any monthly costs related to travelling to hospital or other medical appointments related to their diagnosis, and any monthly costs of personal parking for hospital or other medical appointments, to estimate two key drivers of increased costs.

  • 7. Cancer's affect on peoples lives

    Macmillan Cancer Support/Savanta survey of 2,201 UK adults aged 18+. Survey was carried out online between 11th and 14th August 2023. The figures have been weighted by region, gender, age, social grade, working status, home ownership/rental status, cars in the household, and foreign holidays taken in the past 3 years, they are representative of adults in the UK (aged 18+).

    Question wording was as follows: Have you, or anyone else you know, ever been diagnosed with cancer? Please think of all types of cancer except non-melanoma skin cancer (e.g. basal or squamous cell carcinoma). If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with non-melanoma skin cancer (e.g. basal or squamous cell carcinoma), and no other type of cancer, please select the ‘none of these’ option below. If you are not certain if the type of cancer was non-melanoma skin cancer, please also select ‘none of these’.

    82% of all respondents know at least someone with cancer, such as themselves or their own partner or child, close family or friends, and up to and including acquaintances and work colleagues, etc. Figures for each of the four UK nations, England regions, AB/C1/C2/DE socioeconomic groups, low/medium/high income groups, and all age groups from 18–24 to 75+ are all higher than 75%.  

About our information

This information was written by the Advocacy team and edited by our Digital Content team.

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