Britain has suffered terribly under these Tories, especially our children. The only word for it is neglect

‘If we want to get our children’s future back, we need to rekindle a sense of ambition.’ Photograph: davidf/Getty Images

Like all parents of teenage children, I worry about them. About what they are exposed to online, their physical health and about pressures on their mental health. We know that healthy children make healthy families – that much is common sense – but we also know that if you want to know whether a country is going in the right or wrong direction, you need look no further than the nation’s children.

How we treat our children says so much about our priorities. The official, independent statistics don’t lie. When I first looked at them, I was angered and shocked by the story they told and it’s happening in plain sight.