Political

Nick Clegg: Progress made on mental health but still work to do

Writing for the Evening Standard, Nick Clegg talks about reducing the stigma still wrongly attached to mental health:

Eight years ago, when I became leader of the Liberal Democrats, I used one of my first opportunities at Prime Minister’s Questions to ask Gordon Brown about mental health services. The House of Commons chamber, usually a hostile wall of sound, became quiet. Afterwards, a number of MPs told me I was “brave” to raise the issue.

We have come a long way in the few short years since then. It is no longer considered “brave” for a politician to talk about mental health. Indeed, there has been an unusual outbreak of consensus among the main parties that it should be treated as a priority.

Celebrity advocates such as Stephen Fry and Alastair Campbell have brought the issue into people’s living rooms. Charities such as Mind, Rethink and Place2Be — championed by the Duchess of Cambridge — have campaigned tirelessly to put the issue on the national agenda…

So there’s been real progress — especially in tackling the silent stigma that used to shroud mental health. But this is no time for complacency. The stigma still exists — with devastating consequences.

Read Nick Clegg’s article in full here.

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