Labour Pledges Mental Health Support for Lockdown Generation

A young girl paints a picture of herself on the school window as children of key workers take part in school activities at Oldfield Brow Primary School in Altrincham, England, during the first COVID-19 lockdown on April 8, 2020. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Labour says Britain owes a debt to the lockdown generation which has seen its future “cut off at the knees,” with the shadow health secretary pledging to improve mental health services to children and young people.

Writing in The Telegraph on Friday, Wes Streeting said Labour will recruit thousands of extra mental health professionals, providing support in “every school” and putting walk-in mental health hubs for young people “in every community,” if Labour wins the election on July 4.

“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,” Mr. Streeting wrote.

Pinpointing a connection between the effects of lockdown and worsening mental health of the young, he continued: “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.”

Mr. Streeting, who in the event of a Labour victory could be the next health minister, admitted that his party had “supported the Conservative Government’s decisions to put the country into lockdown,” but said that now the UK owes a “debt” to the lockdown generation.

Mental Health a ‘Second Pandemic’

Labour’s manifesto, published on Thursday, says a mental health “epidemic” is “paralysing” lives, particularly those of children and young people.

The manifesto says by providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every school, earlier invention would “address problems before they escalate.”

The party has also pledged to tackle the “shamefully” long waiting lists that young people are sitting on as they wait to be referred to mental health support on the NHS. Labour say they would bring waiting times down by recruiting an additional 8,500 staff to treat children and adults in their first term in government—funded by “closing tax loopholes.”

In March, the Care and Quality Commission described a “ticking time bomb“ in mental health services for children, revealing that in November 2023, nearly half a million children were waiting for or were undergoing mental health treatment, a record high.

Mr. Streeting visited a men’s mental health charity in Wakefield on Friday to discuss Labour’s plan to tackle the crisis in mental illness. The party acknowledged the rise in mental health problems is also impacting Britain’s workforce and costing the UK billions, saying its measures will help “get people back to work.”

Statistics released by the Office of National Statistics this week revealed that one in five working age people are economically inactive, with the annual increase driven partially by an increase in long-term illness.

Parties Largely Silent on Economic Fallout of Lockdowns

Apart from Mr. Streeting’s reference to the impact on the mental health of children, discourse on the fallout of COVID-19 lockdowns has been largely absent from political discourse during the election campaign, especially the economic repercussions.

According to the National Audit Office, about £372 billion was allocated through loan schemes, grants, and other financial support mechanisms during the pandemic in the UK, though this amount could be up to £410 billion. This works out to about £4,600 to £6,100 per person.

Additionally, the Bank of England implemented significant monetary measures during lockdowns, including a £450 billion expansion of its quantitative easing programme.

All of these measures were supported by the major political parties in Opposition, along with the government.

This week, senior British economist Paul Ormerod told The Epoch Times that what happened with the lockdowns is a key determinant in the General Election. The costs have put a constraint on the government’s ability to do things, and their consequences will “dominate politics for at least 10 years.”

Owen Evans and PA Media contributed to this report.