Reform’s collapse into backstabbing and chaos after only a few short months was so predictable it is barely worthy of comment. But Rupert Lowe’s allegations that there had been malicious briefings against him from “senior Reform figures” claiming he had dementia are despicable and must be challenged.
Dementia is no laughing matter and should never be trivialised. It is such a cruel disease. My Dad died of Alzheimer’s 18 months ago. Nothing can prepare you for what feels like losing a loved one twice. First you watch the person you know slowly disappear in front of you and then you lose them all over again as their body finally gives up the fight.
Dementia is the defining health and social care challenge of our time, with half of us set to be affected by it in our lifetimes. Either through getting a diagnosis ourselves or caring for someone who is suffering.
My Mum was my Dad’s sole carer whilst he battled with the disease over the last few years of his life. Caring for someone with dementia takes a huge toll and it is vital as a society that we care for the carers as much they care for the sufferer. That is why I campaigned so hard against Derbyshire Conservative’s proposals to close our adult day care centres, including doing town hall meetings and raising the issue directly with the Prime Minister in Parliament.
Our adult day care centres provided such a lifeline for the families that use them and the proposals to close them were so shortsighted. At a time when we need more and better social care the Conservatives decided to cut it. Their proposals caused a great deal of distress to patients, carers and their families. It was great that we managed to force Derbyshire Conservatives into a u-turn and to keep Eccles Fold in Chapel open. But they still went ahead with the devastating closures of the Jubilee Centre in New Mills and Queens Court in Buxton.
Carers are our country’s unsung heroes. That is why I was so pleased to see Rachel Reeves increase the weekly earnings limit for Carer’s Allowance to 16 hours at the National Living Wage. This change that will come in next month will make over 60,000 carers eligible for support and help them to better balance work and caring responsibilities.
There is much more to do to support families affected by dementia, not least the independent commission’s work on building a national consensus around a new national care service able to meet the needs of older and disabled people into the 21st century. I’ll keep fighting for the families who, just like mine, are affected by this cruel, cruel disease.
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Watching my father disappear into Alzheimer’s is something my family will never forget. It is a story that, sadly, will feel painfully familiar to so many families across High Peak.
People often say that with Alzheimer’s and dementia you lose the person twice. First, as the illness slowly robs them of the person they once were, and then again when their body finally gives up after a long and cruel battle.
As heartbreaking as that is, it is often accompanied by another burden: the constant worry about how to provide the care they need, and how that care will be paid for.
For decades, social care has been the problem every politician acknowledges but no government has truly solved. Almost everyone agrees the system is broken. Yet whenever serious reform is proposed, the debate quickly descends into scare stories, political point-scoring and accusations of “death taxes”, leaving families exactly where they started.
That has to change.
Last week, Andy Burnham said he was prepared to spend political capital on fixing social care and to work with other political parties to build the consensus needed to make lasting reform possible.
I know this is deeply personal for Andy. His own father is living with Alzheimer’s. But long before that, as Health Secretary, he argued that social care should be valued alongside healthcare as an essential part of the system, not treated as an afterthought.
For too long, social care has been the forgotten partner of the NHS.
When we think about our health service, we rightly picture doctors, nurses and hospitals. But social care is every bit as vital. It helps older people remain independent, supports disabled adults to live fulfilling lives, gives families reassurance, and frees up hospital beds by helping people return home safely when they are ready.
When social care fails, the NHS feels the consequences. Hospital beds stay occupied, ambulance queues grow longer, families are left exhausted, and vulnerable people do not receive the support they deserve.
Years of underinvestment have left providers struggling to survive, care workers undervalued despite the extraordinary job they do, and families facing impossible choices at the most difficult moments of their lives.
Getting social care right is not simply about one public service. It is about making our entire health and care system work better.
Andy has instructed that the review of social care should report much sooner, with conclusions expected by this time next year. That gives us a real opportunity to have the honest, grown-up conversation the country has avoided for far too long.
As your MP, I will work with anyone - whatever their political party - who is serious about delivering the lasting reforms families deserve.
My father’s journey with Alzheimer’s will stay with me forever. It reinforced something I have always believed: every one of us deserves to grow old with dignity. Every family deserves the confidence that, when the time comes, good care will be there without fear, uncertainty or impossible financial decisions.
We’ve talked about fixing social care for long enough. It’s time we finally did it.
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