A Labour government would repay the debt to generation lockdown with an expansion in mental health support, the shadow health secretary has said.
Wes Streeting said that Britain owed a debt to the youngest in society, who were now suffering “shamefully” long waits for help to tackle the fallout from the pandemic.
Writing for The Telegraph he said that the current generation of young people had “seen their futures cut off at the knees”.
He wrote: “The pandemic was the only time in our history that the lives, liberties, and livelihoods of the young have been sacrificed to protect the elderly.
“Perhaps most damaging of all, young people saw their mental health corrupted by lockdown. Teenage boys in particular are not seeing their mental wellbeing return to normal as they mature.”
Mr Streeting said that having taken such measures, the country now “owe a debt to this generation” – a debt that he accused Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, of refusing to pay.
Highlighting waits of up to five years for a mental health appointment, he said that the situation had become a “second pandemic” and “one of the most urgent needs of our time”.
He wrote: “It is not good enough to dismiss this crisis as the complaints of a bunch of snowflakes. Not when children at risk of suicide are denied even a place on a waiting list, because services are so desperate. 32,000 children have been waiting more than two years for their first appointment.”.
The Labour manifesto, published on Thursday, promises an additional 8,500 new NHS staff over a first term in government to treat children and adults suffering from mental health problems.
It also promises walk-in mental health hubs for young people in every community and support in every school, including fast-tracking to help for the most serious mental health concerns.
“Britain is currently suffering from a mental health epidemic that is paralysing lives, particularly those of children and young people,” the manifesto states, describing the situation as “a tragedy”.
Data from the Office for National Statistics suggests that one in five children is suffering from “probable mental health disorders” – up from one in eight before the pandemic.
Last year, a study suggested that middle-class children suffered the worst effects on mental health during the pandemic.
The British study of almost 10,000 families found those from affluent backgrounds experienced the steepest decline.
Researchers from the University of Glasgow said that such families may have been more likely to have parents working from home, while trying to juggle childcare.
Sick society holding back Britain
The MP said that all the mental health policies were fully costed and would be fully funded through closing tax loopholes for the wealthiest.
Mr Streeting said that Britain’s mental health crisis was also keeping people out of the labour market and costing the country billions.
He said that the expansion in mental health services would “get people back to work” and increase economic growth.
Before a visit to a men’s mental health charity, Mr Streeting said: “The Tories’ high-tax, low-growth record offers no hope for the future – just £4,800 more on the mortgages of working families.
“People right across the country are being denied the support that they need to get into work and stay in work.
“The increase in mental ill health under the Tories is costing Britain £23 billion per year.
“Stress, depression and anxiety account for 17 million lost workdays every year. There are now three million people out of work for long-term sickness, almost half of whom suffer with mental health problems.
The cost in lost economic output, if nothing changes and the Conservatives are given another five years, will total £115 billion,” he wrote, saying “our sick society is holding back Britain’s economy”.
Only Labour has compelling offer for next generation in its manifesto
By Wes Streeting
This generation of young people has seen their futures cut off at the knees.
The pandemic was the only time in our history that the lives, liberties and livelihoods of the young have been sacrificed to protect the elderly.
Young people missed out on crucial years of education and saw the start of their early careers cut short. Unless something changes, they will inherit a country with record-long NHS waiting lists and be bequeathed the highest levels of public debt since the 1960s.
Perhaps most damaging of all, young people saw their mental health corrupted by lockdown. Teenage boys in particular are not seeing their mental wellbeing return to normal as they mature. We surely do not yet know the true scale of the damage done to our children.
Labour supported the Conservative Government’s decisions to put the country into lockdown, I don’t for a minute pretend otherwise. But having done so, we now owe a debt to this generation. A debt that Rishi Sunak refuses to pay.
He cancelled their education catch-up. He’s admitted that the dream of home ownership has become a myth for many under the Conservatives. His manifesto full of uncosted spending risks sending mortgages soaring by another £4,800, putting them further out of reach for millions. And young people have been left waiting as long as five years for a mental health appointment, at a critical stage of their development.
An urgent need of our time
Mental health is now one of the urgent needs of our time – a second pandemic after Covid. It is not good enough to dismiss this crisis as the complaints of a bunch of snowflakes. Not when children at risk of suicide are denied even a place on a waiting list, because services are so desperate. A total of 32,000 children have been waiting more than two years for their first appointment.
It is not just a dereliction of our duty to care for children, it is damaging the economy. Stress, depression and anxiety account for 17 million lost workdays every year. There are now three million people out of work for long-term sickness, almost half of whom suffer with mental health problems. The cost in lost economic output, if nothing changes and the Conservatives are given another five years, will total £115 billion.
Our sick society is holding back Britain’s economy. You can’t build a wealthy economy without a healthy society.
Only Labour has a plan to cut waiting lists and get people back to work. That is a key part of our programme to get our economy growing again. We will recruit an extra 8,500 mental health professionals to get people the treatment they need, when they need it. We will provide walk-in mental health hubs for young people in every community.
Lots of kids on mental health waiting lists won’t be at the sharp end, with the most serious mental health problems. They may just need reassurance that feeling stressed around exams is normal and that puberty isn’t easy for anyone. Labour will provide mental health support in every school, so children get the early intervention they need, and those with serious mental health concerns can be fast tracked. All of our mental health policies are fully costed, fully funded through closing tax loopholes for the wealthiest.
It is only Labour that has a compelling offer for the next generation running through its manifesto. With our plans to introduce primary school breakfast clubs so kids start the day with hungry minds not hungry bellies, reform planning and build 1.5 million more homes to revive the dream of home ownership, and to get young people off mental health waiting lists and into work, only Labour will build a better future for young people.
