Yesterday was International Long Covid Day, a day to raise awareness of the impact of Long Covid and to campaign for more action to support the tens of millions  who suffer from it worldwide and more research into treatments to alleviate its symptoms.

As one of the 1.8 million British people who have this horrible condition, I know only too well the debilitating impact it can have on your life. Back in October I summated Alex Cole-Hamilton’s motion calling for a cross government package of support. Five months on, I am gradually getting stronger, but recovery is far from linear. Though I’m slowly getting back to work, it generally takes two days to recover from a commute into the office.

Now I got it after two doses of the vaccine and a booster. The frontline workers who came down with it in the early days had no such defence.  Those workers put themselves in harm’s way to look after the rest of us, so of course we are looking after them now aren’t we?

Well, we should be, but we aren’t. Fellow Scottish Lib Dem activist and nurse Cass Macdonald caught Covid in April 2020. I remember how sick they were at the time, but their symptoms have persisted. They and two others started a petition calling for a compensation scheme which has attracted more than 120,000 signatures.

It is beyond disgraceful that people who contracted this disabling condition in our service have been basically hung out to dry and face losing jobs, incomes and homes as a result.

Yesterday Layla Moran, who chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group on Long Covid and Christine Jardine joined Cass and their fellow campaigners as they handed the petition into Downing Street.

Christine said:

I am incredibly proud all the hard work that Cass and their fellow campaigners have put into this. Long Covid is a horrendous illness which carries severely debilitating effects, and that is why we need the government to take real action right now.

From teaching to policing, from social care to ambulance services, key workers across various sectors are struggling to find the support they need. Having been unable to return to work after contracting the illness, many are now suffering from financial deprivation, homelessness and other health issues.

People have had enough of the empty platitudes, policy spin and broken promises.

This campaign is an essential platform for raising awareness and championing the needs of key workers whose lives have been thrown into disarray. Liberal Democrats will continue to press for better support and stronger rights to protect all those suffering from Long Covid.

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings. You can find her on Bluesky at caronmlindsay.bsky.social