MP is ‘energised’ by return to work after time out
SHE IS BALANCING DUTIES WITH ONGOING TREATMENT FOR PTSD
NOTTINGHAM MP Nadia Whittome says her return to work three months after being diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has been “rewarding and energising”.
Back in September, Ms Whittome opened up about her diagnosis for the first time during an interview with the Post.
She had taken a break from her duties representing Nottingham East for Labour to focus on her ongoing recovery from PTSD and spoke out about an “extremely dangerous” stigma surrounding it at the time.
Ms Whittome’s return to work has, she says, been both rewarding and energising so far.
“I’ve enjoyed it,” she says. “It has been great to get back to work. It has been fantastic holding my fortnightly surgeries again and be able to open my office officially on Mansfield Road.”
Returning after three months Ms Whittome was thrown back into the fray with issues ranging from the evacuation of Afghanistan to Universal Credit uplift cuts.
The latter being a particularly prominent issue in her constituency.
Despite the heavy workload, however, she argued juggling her MP duties with ongoing treatment is “going well”.
“I haven’t found it a struggle,” she said.
“I’ve found it a relief to come back and I’m just focusing on being back. I get a lot of energy from my work, from representing my community and going out and speaking to people and amplifying their voices in Parliament.
“I’m continuing with my treatment for PTSD which I am managing well alongside my work and I think it is important to restate it is not, a sort of, you take time off and then you are all better. It is a process. It takes a long time.
“But my treatment is going well. It was the right thing to do, prioritise my health in the way that I did. It was necessary. It has been rewarding to return. It feels very energising.”
Ms Whittome is a prominent figure in contemporary politics on a national level, but she says she has been involved with pressing local issues.
She added her monthly meetings with the Nottingham City Council, concerning fly-tipping in areas such as Hyson Green, have continued.
But the most casework Ms Whittome receives, she says, is typically issues relating to health and social care, immigration, as well as concerns from 14,000 families in Nottingham East who have been affected by the Universal Credit uplift withdrawal.
A £20-a-week boost to payments came to an end in October.
“Universal Credit cuts was a huge, huge issue for many, many people in my constituency,” she added.
“People just feel very angry with the Government. I always try and remind people because I think there is a great deal of shame around poverty and benefits, but the shame doesn’t belong to them, it belongs to the Government.
“Political choices make people poorer.
“There is a narrative peddled by the Government that if you are in poverty you haven’t worked hard enough. That isn’t true.
“People have been very angry about corruption. Second job scandals, the Downing Street parties.
“I think people are just very angry because it seems to be one rule for the Government and another for everyone else.”
Ms Whittome says she has a number of priorities heading into 2022.
“My priority is encouraging people to take up the vaccine and booster jabs,” she says.
“That’s extremely important if we are to curb the spread of Omicron.
“The other is the treatment of people by the DWP. Philippa Day was my constituent and I want justice for her and her family and the hundreds of other families who have experienced similar appalling treatment by our benefits system.
“I will also be resisting the cuts that have been imposed on our communities, with the cost of living crisis and pay.”