British Prime Minister, Theresa May, has appointed the country’s first minister for loneliness in order to tackle the misery endured by around nine million Britons.
Tracey Crouch, 42, will take on the role on top of her current job as sports minister.
The Prime Minister has backed a series of recommendations made by the Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness, which highlighted how widespread the problem is.
The commission was set up by MP Jo Cox, who campaigned to find ways to combat loneliness before she was brutally murdered in June 2016 by a far-right terrorist in the run-up to the EU referendum.
As well as announcing the new minister, Mrs May said a cross-government strategy to find ways to stop people feeling lonely will be published later this year.
Ahead of Downing Street reception to celebrate Ms Cox’s legacy on Wednesday, she said: “For far too many people, loneliness is the sad reality of modern life.
“I want to confront this challenge for our society and for all of us to take action to address the loneliness endured by the elderly, by carers, by those who have lost loved ones, people who have no one to talk to or share their thoughts and experiences with.”
The Office for National Statistics will help to devise a method of measuring loneliness and a fund will be set up to allow government and charities to find innovative ways to deal with the problem across all ages, backgrounds and communities.
Ms Crouch said: “I am sure that with the support of volunteers, campaigners, businesses and my fellow MPs from all sides of the House, we can make significant progress in defeating loneliness.
“This is an issue that Jo cared passionately about and we will honour her memory by tackling it, helping the millions of people across the UK who suffer from loneliness.”
