Aidan, our Local Campaigns Officer, talks you through 4 ways you can campaign for bereaved parents and families during the Senedd election.
Shwmae!
This Senedd election is an important one. With the number of Members of the Senedd set to increase to 96, and the opinion polls suggesting a possible change in Welsh Government, there is a lot at stake.
At Sands, we have been supporting a group of bereaved parents from across Wales to campaign to save babies’ lives and improve the care people receive after pregnancy or baby loss. Together we are demanding targets to save babies’ lives, accountability and real change.
“We must break the silence. For too long, baby loss and bereavement have been unspoken topics in Wales. For too long, there has been a lack of accountability from the government and politicians. For too long, Welsh bereaved families have not been listened to.” - from the bereaved parent petition
The Senedd election is an important opportunity to raise the profile of our campaign and call for change.
We have launched a pledge for Senedd candidates from all political parties to sign, asking them to commit to a future where fewer babies die, and everyone gets the care and support they deserve.
In this blog, I’ll talk you through four ways you can contact your Senedd candidates, share the pledge and campaign to raise the profile of baby loss and care for bereaved parents.
As a reminder, the Senedd Election is on 7 May 2026 – so we only have a short period of time to contact all our candidates!
1) Use our email template
Emailing your Senedd candidates with a link to the pledge is the quickest and easiest action to take.
To help you, we have prepared a template email for you to send. We have included some statistics about baby loss in Wales and background information about the campaign.
I’d suggest editing and tailoring the template email as much as possible. The more personal the email, the more likely the candidate will read it and respond. You could mention your own connection to pregnancy or baby loss, or explain why you are passionate about the issue in general.
We’ll be updating the list of candidates that have signed the pledge regularly during the election – you can check this webpage to see if your local candidates are there.
2) Chase your candidates
If your candidate hasn’t replied in a few days, it could be a good idea to give them a friendly reminder. Senedd candidates will undoubtedly be very busy during the election, so you may need to check-in a couple of times.
You could contact your candidates via email, phone, social media or even in person if you see them walking around in your area.
You can use the Who Can I Vote For? website to find the contact details for your local candidates. You could then send them a short message asking if they have seen your email about the pledge and to check if they have any questions.
Unfortunately, not every candidate will have their contact details on the website - so you may need to do a bit of research yourself.
Because of the new 'list system’ being used in this election, you will have multiple candidates for each political party in your area. It could be a good idea to contact the top few candidates for each party. The Senedd website has a good explainer on the new voting system that goes into more detail.
If you need any help finding the contact details of your candidate, or figuring out what to say, please don’t hesitate to reach out to myself and the Sands Campaigns team at campaigns@sands.org.uk
3) Ask candidates or canvassers a question if they knock on your door
Nothing beats a face-to-face conversation!
Throughout the election period, volunteers for the different political parties will be knocking on doors in a process called ‘canvassing’. In a nutshell, they will ask who you plan to vote for and make the argument for you to vote for their party.
If a canvasser knocks on your door, it will be a good opportunity to raise the campaign to save babies’ lives in Wales.
If you ask a question, they should report this back to the candidate for the Senedd they are volunteering for. You could also ask them about our saving babies’ lives pledge, and whether their candidate has signed.
It’s also possible that the candidate themselves will come to your door – which would be an even better opportunity to ask a question!
To help, I’ve drafted a few questions you could use below:
- Does your party plan to set targets to save babies’ lives in Wales?
- How does your party plan to improve hospital bereavement care for people following pregnancy or baby loss?
- Will your party invest in mental health services, like therapies and counselling, for people following pregnancy or baby loss?
- Has your candidate signed Sands’ pledge to save babies’ lives and improve care for bereaved parents? If not, will they?
You can read the briefing on the campaign if you’d like more information on the campaign.
4) Attend a hustings
A ‘hustings’ is an election event where political candidates get asked questions by an audience and debate different topics. The debates can be on specific areas, such as the NHS, or more general where candidates are quizzed on a range of issues.
They will usually take place in a local venue like a town hall, community centre, or religious building. They are also frequently held online on a video call.
There will most likely be a hustings in your local area during the election.
There is no official website or central place where hustings are listed. The best places to look will be local sources of information in your area, such as:
- Local news websites and papers
- Newsletters from the candidates
- Noticeboards
- Local social media pages
Attending a hustings and asking a question about the campaign would be a great way to raise the profile of pregnancy and baby loss in the election.
We know it can be nerve-wracking to ask a question at a hustings, so we can help you pick the right question and talk you through the process – just get in touch with us. You could use some of the questions we suggested in the previous section to help.
If you need anything else – drop me a line.
The Sands Campaigns Team and I are here to help you with any of your campaigning during the election. If you have any ideas you’d like to chat through, or if you have any questions, please do drop us an email and we'd be happy to help.
Thank you so much for being a part of the campaign. Together we are calling for commitment, accountability and real change. This Senedd election, let’s make it happen.
Diolch!