Achi news desk-
The BBC Question Time audience was furious with Rod Liddle last night about the correlation between mental health and poverty.
The columnist said he had “some sympathy” for the work and pensions secretary, Mel Stride, after he claimed mental health had “gone too far”.
He said the UK has a problem in this area, but “it’s not something to do with poverty”, but more to do with a lack of community.
“There is a link between wealth and the kind of introspection that takes place,” he said.
However, this did not go down well with the audience.
One woman said: “I’m a therapist, I work in a school, so I know what I’m talking about.
“Rod, if you think mental health has nothing to do with poverty, may I suggest you live in poverty for six months and I’ll give you a free session of psychotherapy, and I’ll chat about your mental health.
“It’s absolutely everything.”
The audience erupted in a round of applause at that.
Liddle said the wealthier the UK is now, the more therapists and psychiatrists we have.
He said the cause of this growing mental health crisis needed to be investigated, adding: “It’s not the Tories – they’re not helping, obviously, but they’re not the Tories.”
A medical student in the audience also criticized Liddle’s comments, saying it was “absolutely ridiculous” for him to think poverty has nothing to do with mental health.
He continued: “People cannot afford food for their children.
“They can’t get a job because there isn’t one up here because the Tory government hasn’t invested money up here.”
Liddle claimed: “It’s not. If you look at the figures, it’s not.”
He said the two issues are “not interrelated”, adding that “some of the poorest countries in the world have some of the highest levels of social resilience and the lowest level of mental health problems.”
But when fellow panellist Philippa Gregory said there was a correlation in the UK, Liddle said: “It’s not all the Tories’ fault. They may be terrible, but it’s not all their fault.”
Then, as Lib Dem MP Tim Farron pointed out, “we are a society that is more free to talk about our mental health”, Liddle said: “It can go too far.”
