Former Health Secretary and Chancellor Sir Jeremy Hunt has raised concerns over what he describes as the UK’s increasing tendency to “over-medicalise” everyday life events such as bereavement and job loss. Speaking at the Buxton Literary Festival, Hunt criticised the growing number of people being signed off work due to anxiety and depression, warning it risks doing more harm than good.
“Everyone has trauma—bereavements, sometimes losing their jobs. That is not the same as mental illness,” Hunt told attendees. “I think it’s immoral we are signing off 3,000 people a day saying they don’t have to look for work.”
The remarks come amid growing scrutiny of the UK’s welfare system and a surge in mental health-related benefit claims. Figures from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) reveal that nearly one million more working-age adults in England and Wales are now claiming disability benefits compared to 2019, bringing the total to 2.9 million. Approximately half a million of these new claims are linked to anxiety and depression.
Hunt, who served as Health Secretary from 2012 to 2018, acknowledged the importance of destigmatising mental health but argued that withdrawing individuals from the workforce without sufficient support can exacerbate their condition. “The majority of those have anxiety and depression, and the one thing they need is social contact,” he said. “If you sign them out of the world of work, their anxiety is going to get worse rather than better.”
He also urged the government to invest more in NHS mental health services, arguing that better access to treatment would benefit both individuals and public finances. “It’s far better for that individual—and it’s also better for Rachel Reeves when she’s trying to make the numbers add up for her budget,” he added, referring to the current Chancellor.
Hunt’s comments come as Westminster grapples with how to reform welfare policy in the face of rising disability claims. Internal tensions have emerged over plans to tighten benefit assessments, with critics highlighting that NHS mental health services remain under-resourced.
In the same address, Hunt backed Kemi Badenoch, the newly appointed Conservative Party leader, following the party’s defeat in the recent general election. Calling for a shift from “contrition to solutions,” he said the Tories must provide credible answers to Britain’s challenges, warning that Labour was “ducking decisions” and Reform UK “was not credible.”
While ruling out a return to frontline politics, Hunt said he would support Badenoch “if it would help” in the run-up to the next general election.
On a lighter note, the MP for Godalming and Ash shared that his approval ratings may have benefited from a widely circulated photo of him with his family dog, Poppy. “Someone tweeted, ‘God, he’s got a labrador—can I change the way I voted?’ That’s the British public!” he joked.
