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Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey has spoken to Stephen Dixon and Ellie Costello about the insight his new book provides into his life as a carer.Many of Davey’s loved ones have suffered with health issues, meaning he has taken on a caring role in many of their lives.He reflects on how he became closer to his family as a result of him looking after them more.Davey urged the Government to assist carers, saying his experience has given him ideas as to how it should be done.
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and something on which you have, we know, a great deal of experience
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But first, can I just ask you, because I know you were listening in to that interview with Robert Jenrick
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and my producer is telling me you didn't seem too happy with what he was saying about immigration
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I didn't know whether to laugh or cry listening to Robert Jenrick
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The Conservatives really ought to start every interview with an apology, frankly
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I'm not here to defend the Labour government's record. I think that needs to be vastly improved
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But they didn't build enough prisons. We had record levels of immigration. They broke the system, particularly after Brexit. We had record levels of illegal and legal immigration under Robert Jenrick and the Conservatives. He was in the Home Office for much of this period. So I really think you need to ask him to apologise next time he's on your show
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Can I also ask you about this breaking news that we've had in the past half an hour or so
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The government has temporarily been banned from concluding its negotiations on the Chagos Islands deal
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It was believed to have been signed today or hoped to have been signed today. And this all down to an injunction that was granted in the early hours of this morning by a High Court judge
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Yeah, I mean, I haven't seen any of the details. Clearly, the Chagos negotiations have been going on for years now
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They had several rounds under the Conservatives, who I think if they'd been returned would have no doubt concluded a deal
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despite what they say now. Let's see. I mean, maybe it gives a greater chance for scrutiny
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I'm all in favour of that. This government absolutely needs to be held to account for everything they do
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Right. Can we talk about your book, which I see you grasping away in front of you, quite rightly so
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So, look, whether people agree with you politically or not is beside the point when it comes to this Because you had a I mean if you don mind me saying you had a rough ride your dad when he when you were four your mum when you were 15 your son has a very serious condition
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that means he needs care. Your wife has been diagnosed with MS. I mean, you have, you have
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always been a carer and you, it looks like always will be a carer. It's a tough time. It gives you
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insight that most of us would never want. Yeah, but millions of people do look after
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their loved ones. Many of your viewers this morning will know that they will spend the
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rest of this day looking after one of their family members who needs care, whether it's
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an elderly relative, a disabled relative, or maybe a husband or wife who has got dementia
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So it's actually an experience of millions of people. And one of the reasons I wanted
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to write this book was, yes, explain that I've had quite a lot of experience caring for my nearest
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and dearest, but that it's a story of many other people. Indeed, there's four different carers in
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this book telling their stories. And then I talk about how I think we should improve the system
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And there's one thing I want to say that caring can be tough, but there's no point sugarcoating it
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It can be a really challenging period of one's life, particularly when your mother's dying
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and you're looking after her as a young carer. But there are positive sides as well
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I had a brilliant relationship with my mother. I became very close to her
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Then when I looked after my nana, I couldn't have had a happier, better relationship with my grandmother
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And then my son. We have a great time. Lots of laughs, and I wouldn't be without him for the world
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and one of my messages to the government is if we look after family carers better
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people looking after their loved ones, their nearest and dearest, do you know what I think that wouldn just be good for them and the people they looking after I think that would help with the challenges that we have with the health service The health service really needs a lot of improvement let face it
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And part of that is social care, and a big part of that is looking after family carers
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So I'm afraid there's a serious point to writing this book. And you also talk about your ideas for fixing the system, and it starts with a good community model, doesn't it
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So a named carer and a social worker to family is just like people would hope to have a named GP
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That's right. I mean, the GP has been the centre of the health service for a long time
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It needs to be improved, doesn't it? We need many more GPs. And that's what the Liberal Democrats argued at the general election
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If we're going to sort out the health service, we need that named GP, that family GP for many, many more people so they can get earlier appointments
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But then when you look at care, I think we could actually do this rescue of care, which would help the health service in a relatively cheap way by having a named carer
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These people exist at the moment, right? So it's not having new people, but making sure that the system doesn't require people to repeat their story time and time again
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And so that when people are making decisions or giving advice, it's a very efficient and and you get the right advice
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and so there's a lot of things that you could do within the current budgetary framework
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which will make a massive difference for people's lives and really help them
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Just a final thought. I'm quite struck by the fact you looked at some of the positives
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because, as you say, it clearly can be very difficult, whether a young carer or an older carer
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But I'm very struck by the fact you said there are some benefits
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there are some closenesses in relationships that develop as a result of all of this
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It is important as well for those people who need to be cared for that they don feel like they a burden on their loved ones A hundred percent And you know you could have looked at the way my brothers and I looked
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after my mum and said, do you know what, there should have been a lot more professional social
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care coming in and maybe we should have had some more support. And I think young carers do
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deserve more support. However, I wouldn't have wanted that to become all professionalised and
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done by outsiders because in the family I think my mother got not just better care but a different
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type of care and I'd lay for hours on her bed talking to her and the relationship I built up
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with her was was special and you get insights into what life is all about frankly so I'll give you
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a little story that I write up in my book I got on a as a I think 14 year old to a coach trip to
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Germany for about three days and we didn't a car park and I got out and I started talking to this
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German girl and had a nice conversation with her had a photograph taken with her and when I got
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back we developed it weren't digital photographs in those days got it developed and showed my mum
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and she said looked at it and said I wonder who you'll end up with and the point there when I
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reflect on it is how parents think about who's going to look after their children when they're
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not there and I think about that all the time with my disabled son because no one's going to hold him
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and care for him the way that my wife and I do. And so I think there are so many families out there
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who worry about who's going to look after their loved ones who may be very, very vulnerable
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So those insights into care and what people are thinking, millions of people are thinking
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is really important for politicians to understand better and think through how we help people
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That's a really nice point. Ed Davey, a real pleasure to talk to you
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about something which isn't just politics, and a bit of an insight into you as a person
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Thank you very much indeed
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