LONDON: Britain appointed a “minister for loneliness” on Wednesday totackle what Prime Minister Theresa May described as “the sad reality ofmodern life” affecting millions of people.
Tracey Crouch, a junior minister for sport and civil society, will take onthe role as part of a broader strategy to combat loneliness in Britain.
“For far too many people, loneliness is the sad reality of modern life,”May said.
“I want to confront this challenge for our society and for all of us totake action to address the loneliness endured by the elderly, by carers, bythose who have lost loved ones — people who have no one to talk to or sharetheir thoughts and experiences with,” the prime minister added.
More than nine million people say they are always or often lonely, out of apopulation of 65.6 million, according to the British Red Cross.
The charity describes loneliness and isolation as a “hidden epidemic”affecting people across all ages at various moments in their life, such asretirement, bereavement or separation.
The ministerial appointment follows a recommendation from a committee inmemory of Jo Cox, a lawmaker for the opposition Labour party who wasmurdered by a far-right extremist.
“Jo experienced and witnessed loneliness throughout her life especially asa new student at Cambridge University and separated from her sister Kim for(the) first time,” the Jo Cox Foundation wrote on Twitter.
“She would be delighted by Tracey Crouch’s new job as minister forloneliness and would be saying ‘let’s get to work!’” the Foundation added.
The prime minister was to host a reception on Wednesday to celebrate thelegacy left by Cox, whose killing just days ahead of the 2016 Brexitreferendum shocked the nation.
Britain’s loneliness initiative will see a strategy published later thisyear, with input from national and local government, public services, thevoluntary sector and businesses.