some way. If it is not you yourself who is struggling, it is your mum or dad, son or daughter, nephew or niece, friend or loved one. The WHO predicts that by 2030, depression will be the leading cause of disease around the world. Physical or mental. And people can lose years off their lives as mental illnesses undermine their physical health too. Increasing their vulnerability in the face of cancer, heart disease and all the other great killers of our new century. It is the biggest unaddressed health challenge of our age. That means mental health must be at the top of the agenda of the next Labour government. Fighting the taboo Fighting the taboo is the first thing we need to do. People like Marcus Trescothick, Stephen Fry, Fiona Phillips, Labour's Alastair Campbell and Kevan Jones, and politicians from other parties, like Charles Walker, have all been exceptionally brave in sharing their own painful stories with our country. And some newspapers from the Sunday Express and Observer have tried to break the taboo and they too are to be congratulated. But far too often there is scepticism and abuse. Abuse that reinforces the taboo. And it's not just casual name calling in the streets or the school playground. There are still people who abuse the privilege of their celebrity to insult, demean and belittle others. Such as when Janet Street-Porter in a shocking article says that depression is "the latest must-have accessory" promoted by the "misery movement". And