So lonely

by Rick Johansen

I come to praise Theresa May, not bury her. And with good reason: she has appointed Tracey Crouch as Minister for Loneliness.

Minister for what you might ask? is the PM taking leave of her senses? About many things, for sure, but not this. I have worked in the third sector for a few years now and there is no doubt in my mind that loneliness is reaching epidemic status. It’s mainly, though not solely, older people, the bereaved and those whose families rarely visit or even call. To be honest, I was very shocked when I came in contact with lonely older people, some of whom suffered with dementia, whose children lived miles away and basically ignored them or, perhaps worse still, actually lived locally and basically ignored them.

Some older people – quite a few, actually – made excuses for their offspring, pointing out they lived busy lives and had so much else to do. If they looked at me for a reaction, I might nod in an emotionless way. It was not for me to have a pop at them, but I have to say I felt like I should have. The offspring were making a choice. It was a nonsense that they could not call by or even ring them on the telephone. They were making the conscious decision to not bother to see their mums and dads. All those years of bringing them up had plainly not paid off when it came to expecting their children to give a little something back.

For a Tory, Ms Crouch seems a decent sort and a good choice to become minister. She’s active in a number of all party groups in parliament including one about dementia. And it’s good to see that at least one privately educated Tory having a conscience and, indeed, a desire to actually make some people’s lives better, in the face of the attacks on the very same people by the government she represents. It’s a start I suppose.

A minister for anything isn’t worth a shit if her government is not prepared to spend money seeking solutions. We none of us want this post to be mere lip service to such a serious issue. My guess is that Ms Crouch is very serious about loneliness. The acid test will be if May and her ghastly government are serious, too. Recent history suggests it will soon be forgotten.

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