Will the MPs’ Team REMAIN Victorious or will the Lords and Media Teams LEAVE them with Egg on their Faces?
What: Rehab Parliamentary Pancake Race 2017
When: Shrove Tuesday, February 28 2017 at 10am
Where: Victoria Tower Gardens, Westminster, SW1P 3JA*
Who: Only the flippest of MPs, Lords and media types
Why: All for the thrill of the spill and supporting the work of Rehab Group
How: By battering the opposition and whipping across the finish line first.
It’s the burning question on the lips of Remainers and Leavers in the halls of Westminster right now – will the MPs’ team remain egg-static in triumph following their 2016 win, or will the Lords or media teams leave with all the spoils of victory at the 2017 Rehab Parliamentary Pancake Race?
The annual clash between MPs, Lords and media this year celebrates 20 years of flipping pancake madness in aid of disability charity, Rehab Group. The 2017 Race will once again take place in Victoria Tower Gardens*, Westminster, in the shadow of the Houses of Parliament, on Shrove Tuesday, February 28 at 10am. Rehab Group provides life-changing services at its Birmingham and Newcastle centres in the areas of vocational rehabilitation and social care support, particularly for those living with an acquired brain injury.
Sabotaging the Opposition
The relay race, which involves a series of laps, is over in approximately six minutes. It sees MPs, Lords and media types gather from early morning to survey the route, gauge the wind direction, finesse their winning pancake-flipping moves, and, perhaps occasionally, sabotage the opposition by greasing their pans when they’re not looking. But, as with many things in life, the excitement of the Rehab Parliamentary Pancake Race is all in the anticipation for the hundreds of spectators who survey the participants as they get ready for the off, and the international media organisations who beam the comical proceedings back home.
Already, members of the Lords and media teams have been brushing up on their flipping techniques and reading up on winning pancake recipes to knock the MPs’ Team – current champions of the Rehab Parliamentary Pancake Race – off their lofty perch. Among the well-known TV faces to have participated in the race in years gone by have been Sky News’ Adam Boulton, the BBC’s James Lansdale, and Channel 4’s Gary Gibbon. The media team last flipped to victory in 2015, while it was the Lords’ team who scooped the Rehab Parliamentary Pancake Race Magnificent Tin Cup in 2014.
Winning Feeling!
Stephen Pound MP, member for Ealing North, is a pancake race veteran and was a member of the 2016 winning MPs’ Team:
“As a member of the Labour party, having that winning feeling is a pretty foreign emotion for me these days. So, taking part in the Rehab Parliamentary Pancake Race and winning last year was a rare moment to savour. It’s not just about putting the House of Lords back in their place, or crushing the press into the gutter, though I must say both are slightly thrilling! Taking part is about Rehab and those who use its services. Everyone who has had anything to do with Rehab knows how valuable and vital its work is and if anyone deserves to be a winner, it’s the people with disabilities in our communities.”
ITV News Presenter, Alistair Stewart OBE, who was a member of the losing media team in 2016, believes it’s important to support people with disabilities, even if that means looking ever-so-slightly ludicrous:
“So often in life, we take ourselves a little too seriously. The Rehab Parliamentary Pancake Race really is an eggs-cellent way for our MPs, Lords and even my colleagues in the media, to show that we don’t mind sending ourselves up for a good cause. That cause is, of course, Rehab, which supports people who are born with disabilities and others who develop disabilities such as acquired brain injury later in life. So, you can see why the work of Rehab is so important in supporting people to get their lives back on track. That, and wiping the smug smile off those MPs and Lords. Now where’s my pan? I need to get some practice in!”
To keep up-to-date on all the latest Rehab Parliamentary Pancake Race news, including details of the 2017 Official Starter and the Official Team Line-ups as they are announced, visit
www.parliamentarypancakerace.co.uk or
follow on facebook.com/RehabParliamentaryPancakeRace
and on twitter @flip4rehab using the hashtag #RehabPancakeRace
