Britcliff says her mother was “the best woman you've ever met.” Photo: PAUL COOPER
The youngest Conservative MP to be elected in the last election, told how she witnessed her mother's death from alcoholism when she was only nine years old.
Sarah Britcliffe also said she was stuck at the airport when she was five years old after her mother was arrested for drunkenness and disorderly conduct, and on another occasion she was rescued by the fire brigade.
Ms. Britcliffe was 24 the year she was elected MP for Hyndburn and Haslingden in 2019.
In an interview with GB News that airs on Sunday, she describes how her mother Gabrielle died in 2004.
Miss Britcliff said: “My mother was an alcoholic. She was the best woman you'll ever meet and she loved me so much. Everyone knew this, and anyone who knew my mother knew how attached she was to me.
“She locked me in the house”
Explaining how she hid her drinking, she said: “She used to take me to bed and then go and drink a bottle of vodka while I was upstairs in bed. And so my family didn't understand what was really happening to her.
“It was when my grandmother was still alive, my mother fell down the stairs or something, and then my grandmother realized that she was a potential alcoholic.”
Sarah Britcliffe's mother, Gabrielle, died in 2004
Describing how it affected her growing up, she said: “It got to the point where I got into very difficult situations with my mom, where I think my dad went abroad and my mom looked after me.
“Again no one realized she was an alcoholic and she ended up locking me in the house and leaving. She went out and had a drink and the firemen had to come and get me out.”
Ms Britcliffe said she was “probably four or five years old at the time”. “That's when people realized there was a problem, a huge problem.”
Left stranded
On another occasion, Ms Britcliffe was left stranded at Manchester Airport around the same age after her mother was removed from a flight. “She drank at the airport… she got on the plane and was arrested for drunkenness and disorderly conduct,” she said.
“I remember sitting at the police station at Manchester Airport, waiting for my father to pick me up.”
Ms Britcliffe said that while her mother struggled with her drinking problem, she “absolutely despised” her father. “It wasn't his fault, but I felt like he was taking me away from my mom because social services intervened and said that if Gabby didn't leave the family home, we would take Sara into custody.”
Sar e Britcliffe was 24 years old when she was elected MP for Hyndeburn and Haslingden in 2019. Photo: PAUL COOPER
Describing the toll it took on her as a child, Ms Britcliffe said: “I remember everything about my mom and she just loved me. Anyone you met would tell you that she adored me. And that was one of the problems, because everyone was always telling me, a young girl at the age of four, five, six, that the only way to stop drinking was because of me.
“That pressure that existed as a child, because you felt that the only way for your mother to survive was to do something about it, that you could fix it.”
“But it was not like that, and that's why I think families of alcoholics need a lot of support.”
Support needed
Ms. Britcliffe said the policy change she would most like to see is better “support around the person coming out of rehab.”
Although her mother was under “round the clock care” when she was in rehab, she was left alone when she returned home. “What she did right away was go out and buy a bottle of vodka.”
Ms Britcliffe said growing up without her mother led to her experiencing depression later in life. But she decided to talk about her experience in order to help other people affected by alcoholism.
“Still so stigmatized. It's a disease, and without proper support, you'll end up in a catastrophic situation like my mom.”
“I'm still struggling. It's been almost 20 years since I lost my mom. And the worst thing for me is that I'm starting to forget her voice. But actually, mentally, I'm in a very good position. But that's because I was looking for support.”
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