Tory MP Sara Britcliffe, 28, reveals sher mother's alcoholism struggle

Tory MP Sara Britcliffe, 28, reveals her struggle with being raised by an alcoholic mother who once abandoned her at an airport when she was just five-years-old

• Sara Britcliffe described her as ‘the best woman that you could ever meet’

The Conservative Party’s youngest MP Sara Britcliffe has revealed how she witnessed her mother’s death from alcoholism when she was just nine years old.

Ms Britcliffe’s mother Gabrielle passed away in 2004, with her daughter describing her as ‘the best woman that you could ever meet’.

The MP for Hyndburn and Haslingden is set to appear on GB News this evening to reveal how her mother’s battle with the disease affected her in her early years.

Ms Britcliffe, 28, has described how she was once stranded at an airport when he mother was arrested for being drunk and disorderly, when she was just five years old.

In another incident, the MP said revealed how she had to be rescued by the fire brigade after she was ‘locked’ in the house.

Sara Britcliffe, 24, (pictured) is set to appear on GB News this evening

Despite the difficult circumstances surrounding her upbringing, Ms Britcliffe takes solace in the knowledge that her mother (left) ‘adored her’

She said: ‘She had gone and had a drink and the fire brigade had to come and get me out.’

Ms Britcliffe told The Telegraph: ‘She used to take me up to bed and she’d then go and drink a bottle of vodka whilst I was tucked upstairs in bed.’

The MP said sadly her family were unaware of ‘what was really happening’ with her mother at the heights of her illness.

READ MORE: Do YOU drink too much? Give honest answers to these 10 questions and find out if it’s time to cut down or seek help 

‘It was when my grandma was still alive, mum had fallen down the stairs or something like that and that’s when my grandma realised she was potentially an alcoholic,’ she added.

Understandably, it has had a strong influence on the MP’s upbringing, where she has described ‘really difficult’ situations’ with her mother after her father went abroad.

Ms Britcliffe has described a tough relationship with her father, who she ‘absolutely despised’, whilst her mother was dealing with her alcohol addiction.

She said at one point it felt as though ‘he was taking me away from my mum’ after social services got involved and threatened to take her into care if her mother didn’t move out of the family home.

Despite the difficult circumstances surrounding her upbringing, Ms Britcliffe takes solace in the knowledge that her mother ‘adored her’.

This, in turn added its own pressures, with the MP claiming that she was told by others that ‘the only way she would stop drinking is because of me’.

‘That pressure that existed as a little girl, because you felt that the only way that your mum would survive was for you to do something about it, that you could fix it.’

Ms Britcliffe has called for families suffering from alcoholism to receive more support, saying the policy she would most like to see improvement on is the support ‘around a person coming out of rehab’.

Ms Britcliffe will describe her tough relationship with her father, who she ‘absolutely despised’ in the interview on GB News

This comes from knowledge that after mother returned home after receiving round the clock care, she’d ‘instantly’ hit the bottle.

The MP has revealed she has suffered depression in later life due to her mother’s early death, and that she wishes to speak out about her upbringing to help others.

‘It’s still so stigmatised. It’s an illness and without the right support, you end up in a catastrophic situation like my mum did.’

‘I still struggle. It’s nearly 20 years now since I lost my mum. And the worst bit for me is I’m starting to forget her voice. But actually, mentally, I’m in a really good position. But that’s because I sought support.’

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