Dear supporters,
As you may have heard, our Co-Director Jennifer over the weekend presented the BBC Radio 4 documentary, Broken Politicians, Broken Politics, exposing fears of a growing mental health problem in Parliament.
The investigation was built upon the personal stories of MPs about their experiences in politics together with a survey of MPs who are leaving Parliament that was conducted jointly by the Apolitical Foundation, 50:50 Parliament and us, the cross party think-tank Compassion in Politics.
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In this investigation and Radio 4 documentary, Kim Leadbeater MP, sister of the murdered MP Jo Cox, who represents the same Batley and Spen seat, explained:
“I think politics was in a pretty bad place [when my sister was murdered]. There was a lot of division. There was a lot of anger.
“Sadly, I would say, if anything, it’s worse.
“Elected officials not feeling they can always speak freely, not feeling they can always say what they really think.
“And potentially, worst case scenario, not necessarily voting in the way that they think they should vote because they know the impact it’s going to have on their safety, but also on their mental health and well-being.
“And that’s a really dangerous place to be. That’s not good for democracy.”
The investigation, including the results of the survey, shine a light on the challenges faced by those in elected office.
We need to have a national conversation about the harm our political system is doing to those who work in it. The issue is the symptom of a wider problem. Our political system is in urgent need of modernisation and reform.
We need a politics that is fit for purpose and up to dealing with the challenges we as a nation and a world face like climate change, mass migration and war. Sadly, Westminster has become a refuge for outmoded practices that would have no place in a functional workplace and increase the stress on those who work there.
Take the weekly Punch and Judy shows aka Prime Minister’s Question Time where MPs boo and jeer. Or the whipping system where MPs can be bribed or threatened to follow party lines.
This issue is not just about the wellbeing of our politicians, it is also about the wellbeing of our democracy. If those politicians who are most sensitive to the suffering of those they represent are driven out of politics what will be left with?
If you would like to see us do more to heal our unkind and unwell politics, please support our work. Only with your support, backing our campaigns, can we turn this around. Thank you in advance!
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Kind regards
The Compassion in Politics Team
PS If you missed the programme, you can catch it on BBC Sounds.