Simon Hattenstone 

‘You live with cancer – not just die with it’

Last week, the MP Evan Harris announced he was putting his political career on hold to spend time with his terminally ill girlfriend. He tells Simon Hattenstone how he feels the NHS let her down - and what lessons can be learned.
  
  


Evan Harris looks flustered. His phone is continually ringing, he has a mountain of papers in front of him, and he doesn't know what to think about first. The Lib-Dem MP for West Oxford and Abingdon has just announced that he is standing down as health spokesman because his 29-year-old girlfriend has a terminal brain tumour. Overnight, the press has elevated him from diligent if obscure parliamentarian to selfless would-be political giant who has sacrificed power for love, a future leader of his party who has prioritised real life over the career ladder, a role model, a national treasure.

Harris laughs, and insists that it is nonsense. He sa 503 Service Unavailable

Service Unavailable

The server is temporarily unable to service your request due to maintenance downtime or capacity problems. Please try again later.

Additionally, a 503 Service Unavailable error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.