Ian Ross, Labour's parliamentary candidate for Worthing West, waltzed with Cinderella and her ugly sisters at the Labour party conference last month to pledge his support for mental health.
 
Campaigners from the mental health charity Rethink were dressed as characters from the fairytale to highlight that mental health is the Cinderella service of the NHS.

Mental health receives only a fraction of the funding awarded to other health conditions, even though one in four people will experience mental health problems at some point in their lives.
 
Paul Corry, Rethink’s director of public affairs said:
“For too long, mental health, like Cinderella, has been left in rags and tatters. It is time for a fairy godmother to wave a magic wand and invest in mental health so that it too can go to the ball. However, fairy godmothers - and politicians - need to be aware that a short-term commitment won’t be enough. Mental health service users and carers don’t want to see pumpkins and mice appear at the stroke of midnight.”

Ian Ross added:
“For too long mental health has been allowed to be the Cinderella service of the NHS.  Mental health is a public health priority and must be treated as such given the immense social costs of mental illness.”

The mental health campaigners, dressed as fairytale characters or holding placards sporting the slogan Let mental health go to the ball, encouraging MPs to stop and pledge their support as they entered the conference zone in Brighton last month.