They tell us it’s a crisis.
A failure.
A tragic side-effect of modern life.
But for those trapped in the UK’s collapsing mental health system, the truth is far more brutal: it isn’t failing — it’s functioning exactly as intended.
We’re more than halfway there! Thanks to amazing supporters, we’ve raised £33 toward this month’s £50 goal to fund independent research and reporting.
If you value fearless political journalism that holds the powerful to account, please chip in today. Even £2 helps keep Vox Political running strong.
👉 Support us here: https://ko-fi.com/voxpolitical
When people with ADHD are left on waiting lists for years — then quietly dropped from those lists via a single ignored text — it’s not a bug. It’s a feature.
When elderly people face losing their homes because their sickness benefits are being slashed, while political parties shrug and shuffle forward with “reforms” that will cost lives — it’s not incompetence. It’s cruelty, disguised as policy.
“I was told I’d be assessed for adult ADHD in 12 months. That was four years ago. They dropped me from the list for missing a text — the only time they’ve ever used text to contact me. I’m 68. I’ll probably get assessed as they carry me out in a coffin.”
That isn’t a one-off horror story. It’s one of many.
And the response from Westminster? Ignore it.
Or worse — imply it’s being faked.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
Cruelty, not incompetence
Successive governments — Tory and Labour alike — have spent years stigmatising those with mental health conditions.
In 2025, the language of “benefit scroungers” has simply been rebranded as “economically inactive.”
The result is the same: deflection from systemic inequality onto those least able to defend themselves.
“It’s not a failure — it’s working as intended. They need us to blame each other so we don’t look up.”
That comment, from a viewer of one of This Site’s many YouTube video clips on the subject cuts to the heart of the matter.
As housing costs skyrocket, energy bills soar, and insecure work becomes the norm, people are crumbling under the weight.
But instead of support, they’re offered suspicion.
Flat-screen TVs, “free” cars, claims of luxury — the myths persist while real people are skipping meals, losing homes, and taking their own lives.
“We just lost another young woman to suicide — she couldn’t afford to live. Meanwhile, the government’s cutting what little support we have left.”
Get my free guide: “10 Political Lies You Were Sold This Decade” — just subscribe to our email list here:
👉 https://voxpoliticalonline.com
A crisis across generations
This isn’t just a youth issue.
Elderly people, often with long-term conditions, are facing the same horror show.
“Old people are being set up to lose their benefits, their homes. The Tories started it — and Labour are carrying it on.”
Labour has already signalled cuts to mental health spending before its welfare reforms have even begun — a chilling sign that it, too, is prepared to ignore the human cost of “fiscal responsibility.”
The real threat isn’t fraud — it’s neglect
What’s truly dangerous isn’t some mythical epidemic of benefit fraud — it’s a government too willing to sacrifice the mentally ill to appease tabloid headlines and donor-friendly budgets.
You can’t “work your way” out of trauma.
You can’t “think positive” your way through PTSD.
You can’t survive on nothing — but that’s what’s being asked of thousands across the country right now.
“It’s not if the next wave of suicides happens. It’s when.”
We’re more than halfway there! Thanks to amazing supporters, we’ve raised £33 toward this month’s £50 goal to fund independent research and reporting.
Let’s close the gap this week! Help us hit £50 and power the next investigation.
If you value fearless political journalism that holds the powerful to account, please chip in today. Even £2 helps keep Vox Political running strong.
👉 Support us here: https://ko-fi.com/voxpolitical
What needs to change – now
-
Slash NHS wait times by fast-tracking mental health assessments.
-
Accept private diagnoses for conditions like ADHD when NHS care is unavailable.
-
Reverse welfare cuts that target disabled and sick people.
-
Stop political scapegoating of benefit claimants and those with invisible illnesses.
-
Fund mental health services properly, not just in words, but in real budgets.
This is no longer just a mental health “crisis.”
It’s a national betrayal.
It’s time to stop pretending the system is broken. It’s not.
It’s cruel by design.
And every day we accept that cruelty, more lives will be lost.
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Follow Vox Political writer Mike Sivier on BlueSky
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
From the mental health front line: the system isn’t broken – it’s cruel
They tell us it’s a crisis.
A failure.
A tragic side-effect of modern life.
But for those trapped in the UK’s collapsing mental health system, the truth is far more brutal: it isn’t failing — it’s functioning exactly as intended.
We’re more than halfway there! Thanks to amazing supporters, we’ve raised £33 toward this month’s £50 goal to fund independent research and reporting.
If you value fearless political journalism that holds the powerful to account, please chip in today. Even £2 helps keep Vox Political running strong.
👉 Support us here: https://ko-fi.com/voxpolitical
When people with ADHD are left on waiting lists for years — then quietly dropped from those lists via a single ignored text — it’s not a bug. It’s a feature.
When elderly people face losing their homes because their sickness benefits are being slashed, while political parties shrug and shuffle forward with “reforms” that will cost lives — it’s not incompetence. It’s cruelty, disguised as policy.
That isn’t a one-off horror story. It’s one of many.
And the response from Westminster? Ignore it.
Or worse — imply it’s being faked.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
Cruelty, not incompetence
Successive governments — Tory and Labour alike — have spent years stigmatising those with mental health conditions.
In 2025, the language of “benefit scroungers” has simply been rebranded as “economically inactive.”
The result is the same: deflection from systemic inequality onto those least able to defend themselves.
That comment, from a viewer of one of This Site’s many YouTube video clips on the subject cuts to the heart of the matter.
As housing costs skyrocket, energy bills soar, and insecure work becomes the norm, people are crumbling under the weight.
But instead of support, they’re offered suspicion.
Flat-screen TVs, “free” cars, claims of luxury — the myths persist while real people are skipping meals, losing homes, and taking their own lives.
Get my free guide: “10 Political Lies You Were Sold This Decade” — just subscribe to our email list here:
👉 https://voxpoliticalonline.com
A crisis across generations
This isn’t just a youth issue.
Elderly people, often with long-term conditions, are facing the same horror show.
Labour has already signalled cuts to mental health spending before its welfare reforms have even begun — a chilling sign that it, too, is prepared to ignore the human cost of “fiscal responsibility.”
The real threat isn’t fraud — it’s neglect
What’s truly dangerous isn’t some mythical epidemic of benefit fraud — it’s a government too willing to sacrifice the mentally ill to appease tabloid headlines and donor-friendly budgets.
You can’t “work your way” out of trauma.
You can’t “think positive” your way through PTSD.
You can’t survive on nothing — but that’s what’s being asked of thousands across the country right now.
We’re more than halfway there! Thanks to amazing supporters, we’ve raised £33 toward this month’s £50 goal to fund independent research and reporting.
Let’s close the gap this week! Help us hit £50 and power the next investigation.
If you value fearless political journalism that holds the powerful to account, please chip in today. Even £2 helps keep Vox Political running strong.
👉 Support us here: https://ko-fi.com/voxpolitical
What needs to change – now
Slash NHS wait times by fast-tracking mental health assessments.
Accept private diagnoses for conditions like ADHD when NHS care is unavailable.
Reverse welfare cuts that target disabled and sick people.
Stop political scapegoating of benefit claimants and those with invisible illnesses.
Fund mental health services properly, not just in words, but in real budgets.
This is no longer just a mental health “crisis.”
It’s a national betrayal.
It’s time to stop pretending the system is broken. It’s not.
It’s cruel by design.
And every day we accept that cruelty, more lives will be lost.
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Follow Vox Political writer Mike Sivier on BlueSky
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
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