Shadow Health  Minister Stephen O’Brien‘s words were music to the ears of Rebecca Wood, chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, when he pledged increased proportional funding for dementia research.

He disclosed to the packed audience at a fringe meeting at the Conservative Party Conference that his mother-in-law suffered from the degenerative disease, and described how an earlier pledge to support this cause had not been seized on by Labour as a competitive strategy.

Ms Wood also told Mr O’Brien that she supported Conservative plans to increase the retirement age to 66 as it could help offset some of the symptoms of dementia. She is very vocal in her disappointment about Labour’s lack of support over the last 11 years. accusing them of having a “piecemeal” approach.