The NHS signed a million Brits off work last year for mental illness, but the worklessness crisis has nothing to do with GPs – and everything to do with politicians, says Alexis Paton B ritish politics has long had an unhealthy obsession with sick notes. The issue, however, has truly come to a head in 2026. This week, the BBC reported that hundreds of GPs have never denied their patients sick notes for mental illness, and highlighted that mental health has become the single most commonly cited