Throughout May to July 2024, we called on the next government to commit to supporting veterans and their families and end the ongoing injustices they face.  

With a General Election due to take place on Thursday, 4 July, we asked all party leaders to sign our 'Veterans Pledge', committing to

  • Keeping the Office for Veterans’ Affairs, led by a Cabinet attending minister;
  • Commissioning an independent review of the medical discharge process;
  • Ensuring veterans get the benefits and compensations they deserve.

We asked you to show your support. You did this in your thousands. You joined us in telling all party leaders to sign the Veterans Pledge. 

READ THE OUTCOMES of the veterans pledge

What was the Veterans Pledge? 

Keep the Office for Veterans’ Affairs, led by a Cabinet attending minister 

In 2019, Help for Heroes, along with other veterans’ charities, led the campaign to create the Office for Veterans’ Affairs (OVA).  

Without its existence and independence from the Ministry of Defence (MoD), we believe successes, such as reinstating the Veterans’ Mobility Fund, would not have been possible.  

We posed, that if the next Administration was serious about making the UK the best place in the world to be a veteran, it must give veterans a voice at the heart of Government, with a minister reporting directly to the Prime Minister.  

Commission an independent review of the medical discharge process  

Veterans tell us that the medical discharge process is not working. Our studies show that almost 70 per cent of the veterans we supported who had been medically discharged from the Armed Forces had a negative or very negative transition experience.  

Major inconsistencies and gaps exist, and an average of five service personnel leave the military every day due to injury or illness. We believe the process needs urgent reform, which will also ease future pressure on the NHS. 

“I was told “you’re broken and you’ve got to leave”. It felt like my world had ended. I felt confused and alone. It got so bad that I considered ending my life.”
Paul Colling

Veteran

Read Paul's story

Ensure veterans get the benefits and compensations they deserve 

Too many veterans are having to fight the system to get the compensation and financial support they deserve – often while battling physical or mental illness and injuries from service.  

We are calling on the new government to remove unfair barriers to receiving compensation and benefits. They need to

  • Make sure chronic pain is recognised as a distinct illness, so the long-term, debilitating impact it has on veterans' lives is fairly compensated
  • Disregard all forms of Armed Forces compensation as income, when it comes to deciding on benefits for veterans  
  • End multiple assessments for amputees to qualify for benefits
  • Increase the cap of £50 million on reparations for LGBT+ veterans and deliver the recommendations from the Lord Etherton review.  
READ THE OUTCOMES OF THE VETERANS PLEDGE