Theresa May Appoints Crouch Minister For ‘Loneliness’ For The UK
Theresa May has appointed a “minister for loneliness” as part of the legacy of the murdered Labour MP Jo Cox.
Tracey Crouch, the Minister for Sport and Civil Society, will fill the newly-created role of ministerial lead on loneliness to head up the Government’s work to tackle a problem that is believed to affect nine million people in the UK.
Ahead of a Downing Street reception today to celebrate the life and legacy of Mrs Cox, Mrs May said she was keen to “shine a light” on the issue of loneliness.
The Jo Cox Loneliness Commission, set up to tackle one of the issues the late MP cared most passionately about, recommended that the Government make a minister responsible for a national strategy to combat loneliness.
Mrs May 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”.
Mrs Cox was murdered in 2016 in her constituency of Batley and Spen by Thomas Mair, a white supremacist. She was 41 years old and left a husband and two young children.
