Yesterday Ed Davey and his wife Emily, who is also the Housing Portfolio holder at Kingston Council, went on This Morning to talk about Ed’s book, Why I care and why care matters. which you can buy from the publishers Harper Collins or from other bookstores.
They talked about their own experience of caring for their disabled son John and about why supporting family carers is so important. Without them, the NHS and social care would literally fall apart.
You can see the whole interview on ITVx or STV Player or watch this clip:
“If we can support family carers just a little bit more, that would help so many of the problems that we have.” @EdwardJDavey pic.twitter.com/Nr5oTe5CJi
— Liberal Democrats (@LibDems) June 10, 2025
Their son remains without an official diagnosis, with Ed explaining that John finds walking and communicating difficult, adding: “Because he’s undiagnosed, you’re on a journey both with the people in the health service, and other carers.”
“He’s our wonderful boy and we’ve tried to help him become as independent as possible,” Ed, who also shares daughter Ellie with his wife, said.
Emily went on to share the reality of being a carer for a loved one, and told how she thinks carers are simply “too tired” to campaign to make their voices to be heard.
“We’re not different from anybody else, it’s a very ordinary story in many ways of being a carer.
“But, part of the issue about being a carer is that it’s physically and emotionally exhausting, so by the end of the day, you just collapse into bed,” Emily, who married Ed back in 2005, told Ben and Cat.
Here’s a reminder of Ed’s story from the General Election campaign, the moving video that really introduced him and what he was about to the nation.