Westminster wellbeing crisis | MPs' staff suffer rising levels of mental distress, report finds

MPs’ staff are battling growing levels of poor mental health as tensions rise over issues such as global conflicts, a new survey has found.

The study, reported by The Guardian, found that 46% of the staff employed by MPs met the medical threshold for psychological distress – which is reportedly more than twice the level of the general public.

This rose from 42% in 2022, and is in line with the increased pressure on politicians and their workers to act on issues including the cost-of-living crisis and the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza. 

However, the current rate of mental ill-health remains lower than the 49.8% recorded in 2021, during the pandemic when concerns about vaccines and furlough were rampant.