'You can't be weak' MPs tell of hidden toll on mental health of a career in Commons

A year after they were made a minister the MP had the second breakdown of their political career, and realised they simply had no idea what to do next:

- Peter Walker

"I was so terrified. I didn't know who to talk to. That didn't seem to be anybody that I could trust.

"A family member told me to take time off. But as a minister if you were to say you needed time off sick, the whips would go, 'Yeah, fine. We'll get someone else to do your job. It's often easier to keep your head down and pretend."

MPs are aware the stresses of their job are not always likely to elicit public sympathy. "Cue the tiniest violin you can find," as one put it. Another likened expectations to the mantra of the royal family: "Never complain, never explain."

But while a handful of politicians have openly discussed the mental health toll of their job, the scale of the problem appears far greater. "There are many, many people I know who are at their wit's end," one said.