Nick Clegg: The lack of funding for mental health research is unfair and wrong Many complex problems in life have been solved through rigorous testing and research until a solution is found. The search […]

Many complex problems in life have been solved through rigorous testing and research until a solution is found. The search to cure simple infections, for example, started in the 19th Century and continued until Alexander Fleming discovered Penicillin in 1928, a drug we now take for granted.

This helps explain why Cancer Research remains a top priority for the government and charities, as we accept that a cure for this disease, which touches most of our lives in some way, will take time. In recent years dementia research has also increased significantly as the spread of the disease has accelerated.

We fund mental health research 22 times less per person than cancer research, and 14 times less than dementia i's opinion newsletter: talking points from today Email address is invalid Email address is invalid Thank you for subscribing! Sorry, there was a problem with your subscription.

However, there is another big problem in the UK today which has, until more recently, been spoken about only in hushed tones and for which research funding is lamentable: mental health.

One in four people in the UK will experience some form of mental health each year. I can guarantee, whether they have told you or not, that you know someone, right now, who is suffering from a mental health problem.

So why is it that mental health research has lagged behind other conditions for so long? The level of funding per person affected is currently 22 times less than the equivalent investment into cancer research and 14 times less than dementia.

Invisible illnesses

But just because an illness is not obvious to the human eye, does not mean it should be overlooked

Our brain is the most complex machine that has ever existed. It is extremely powerful and can change suddenly in unexpected and unknown ways. There are around 100 billion neurons in the human brain, the same number of stars in our galaxy. Something so multifaceted needs serious investment in research to understand how it works and to help when things go wrong.

Not spending on mental health research would be condemned as manifestly unfair and wrong if mental health conditions, and the suffering they provoke, were as obvious and visible as physical health conditions. But just because an illness is not obvious to the human eye, does not mean it should be overlooked.

I was shocked to learn recently that 75 per cent of mental illness starts by the age of 18. If you have an average class of 30 school children, three will have a diagnosable mental illness. As a father of three young boys I find it frustrating to know that not nearly enough research has been done to develop remedies for mental health conditions if they were ever to suffer from them in the future.

An overdue conversation

When I entered government I focused on introducing waiting times for mental health and putting it on an equal legal footing to the rest of the NHS. Our manifesto, should we have remained in Government after 2015, also pledged to increase research spending to £50m a year in England by 2020. Alas, this wasn’t to be, and we have had to wait almost two years for this government to start talking about mental health seriously again.

That is why, this week, I am delighted to be supporting the first major charity dedicated to mental health research, MQ, which are launching a public campaign to gain support for their latest work. This year, the charity is bringing together leading scientists to better understand how mental illness develops, identify those who are most at risk, develop effective interventions, and ensure they are implemented.

As a charity, MQ are able to prioritise spending explicitly on mental health research whereas projects initiated in government have generally had to share funds between other important public services. Charities can also fundraise to increase their pot of money through generous donations from the public.

Mental health will touch your life at some point, if it hasn’t already. It will be something that sneaks up on you, your mother, father, siblings or friends, often when you are least expecting it. Join MQ’s campaign with me today and swear to help tackle mental illness in 2017 and beyond.