Tag Archives: #whatstigma

MPs with mental illness will no longer be automatically disqualified

The government announced today the repeal of a law which automatically expels MPs from Parliament if they have a serious mental health condition.

This morning on Daybreak TV, Nick Clegg spoke about the abolition of Section 141 of the Mental Health Act 1983:

Today we are announcing that we are repealing an old-fashioned outdated law which means that MPs at the moment are disqualified from being MPs if they have a mental health problem which goes on for more than six months.

We are scrapping that – it is a relatively symbolic thing because it has never been used – but

Posted in Election law, News and Parliament | Also tagged , , and | 7 Comments

New mental health strategy

Mental illness has always been a somewhat taboo subject. Yet 1 in 4 of us will experience some sort of mental health problem in our lifetimes. The first rally I ever helped to organise as an MP in my constituency was to prevent the closure of our local mental health ward at Westmorland General Hospital. You would have thought, with the stigma that surrounds mental health, that turnout would have been fairly low, but on that day back in January 2006 as I marched to save our local mental health services I was joined by over 3000 people. …

Posted in News | Also tagged and | 5 Comments
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