By Max Langer, President of the University of Bristol Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrat’s are the party students can trust to fix Bristol’s biggest issue: mental health
Recently, members of the Liberal Democrats gathered in Brighton for their Autumn conference where, they discussed their policy and their way forward. I attended, and it was this more than ever that proved the Lib Dems are the party demanding better for students.
I joined the Lib Dems because they are the party of change. From bringing green issues on to the political agenda, to legalising gay marriage - they have pointed out injustices in our society.
Now, in our Brexit obsessed politics, they are the only party offering a People’s Vote on the final deal, something they have been promising for two years.However, the issue where they have achieved most is in the field of mental health. An issue that is growing in importance across the UK, but most visibly here at the University of Bristol.
The treatment of people with poor mental health is a stain on our society. It is constantly underfunded in relation to physical health, causing longer waiting times and worse treatments. All of this whilst our country as a whole, and especially younger people, are going through a mental health
crisis.
We have felt the ramifications of this all too severely here in Bristol. 11 of our fellow students have died from suicide since October 2016 and rightfully the University’s wellbeing services have been questioned.
"The Liberal Democrats have always managed to find flagship policies to distinguish themselves from their two bigger rivals." -https://t.co/Y7pivPOfYJ
— TalkPolitics (@UKTalkPolitics) September 27, 2018
Unfortunately, these problems are not unique to Bristol.According to the mental health charity, Mind, only one in eight people with a mental health problem are currently receiving treatment. Would we accept if only one in eight were treated for broken bones?
Too often the importance of mental health is undervalued and people crying out for help are ignored.
The Lib Dems have long fought to end this injustice, implementing the first ever targets for mental health when they were in government. Now, they continue to campaign to bring parity between these targets and those for physical health.
Why should we distinguish between illness, whatever its form?
However, target parity will not solve our mental health crisis. Services across the NHS are being stretched to their limit and need more resources to keep up. That is why the Liberal Democrats are calling for an increase of a penny in every pound of income tax to be used specifically for the NHS and social care, with a big emphasis on funding mental health treatment.But, even this is not the end.
At this conference, the Lib Dems built on their policy with a motion which specifically targets the treatmeant of mental health amongst young people and the reduction of self-harm rates.
Moved by Lib Dem health spokesperson, Norman Lamb MP, the motion will see the Lib Dems campaigning to ensure all schools and colleges offer access to a counsellor and will include mental health awareness in school inspections.It will also ensure that all in the mental health profession will undergo LGBTQ+ awareness training to tackle the huge disparity between mental health in the LGBTQ+ community and the general population.
Lib Dem parliamentary spokesperson for Bristol West, James Cox, who is a Masters student here at the University of Bristol, spoke in the debate, saying:
‘The link between self-harm and suicide is often discussed. For some, it is a way to take control of their pain, for others a cry for help that too often
goes unheard.
‘I am living with a mental health condition, but I am lucky that I recognised the signs earlier, sought help and am undergoing treatment. Others, too often tragically, are not so lucky.'
Policies and debates like the this are the reason why I am a Lib Dem.The constant aim is to point out injustices wherever they may be and to fight them even in difficult situations or against powerful opponents.
We at the University of Bristol should follow suit and demand better from our university on mental health. We should demand better for our city and our environment. We should demand better than a Brexit that will damage all of our opportunities.
And, when one fight is won, we should look to the next injustice and tackle that too.
Featured image: Max Langer
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