For too long mental health has been the neglected service in our health system, not receiving the focus, investment or attention it needs compared with physical health. With one in four people experiencing some kind of mental health problem in the course of a year, and depression standing as the most common mental health issue in Britain, we must do better.

That is why Ed Miliband and Andy Burnham’s words this week were so welcome, pledging that Labour will do better. Compare that to the current health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, asking Alastair Campbell recently: ‘why someone like you, with the life you have, would have depression’.

If the secretary of state does not understand the basic nature of depression then what hope for the future of our mental health services under the Tories?

Today mental health services are stretched to breaking point. Hospital beds are being reduced and mental health trusts face budget cuts, at a time when demand for psychiatric services is increasing. There are huge variations in access to talking therapies across the country, with far too many people facing unacceptably long waits or even struggling to get a referral in the first place.

Too many people are being denied the support they need to live healthier and happier lives. That is why we need to campaign to raise awareness and remove stigma, improve policy and practice in mental health and give people the skills to better manage their mental health and wellbeing.

Take one example: every youth worker, every teacher, every social worker should have substantive mental health education and mental health first aid training as standard. Resilience building and early intervention must be on the agenda of every school and every youth service.

We all know stories of the tragic consequences of when things go wrong. That is why I am delighted that the Labour Party Irish Society is working this year with the suicide prevention charity, Console. Paul Kelly established Console in 2002 after he had experienced the grief of losing a loved one to suicide. Through his loss, Paul recognised a need for a dedicated suicide prevention, intervention and postvention service here in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

 Since then Console has developed into an international organisation supporting
 people in suicidal crisis and those bereaved by suicide through professional counselling, support and helpline services.

We need a Labour government for so many reasons: to roll back the Tories’ privatisation of our NHS, to reduce health inequalities, to integrate health and social care, to boost staff numbers so they have time to care. And vitally important is to ensure mental health has the same priority as physical health. This is a matter of life of death.

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Matthew Doyle is chair of the Labour Party Irish Society

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Photo: Helga Weber