How Great Winter Get Together inspired by former Yorkshire MP Jo Cox can help tackle loneliness in cost-of-living crisis

While in Parliament, one of Jo’s key goals was to shine a light on the loneliness crisis and its impact and she set up a national cross-party commission to focus on a response to the issue. She said she would “not live in a country where thousands of people are living lonely lives, forgotten by the rest of us”. The Jo Cox Foundation was set up to continue Jo’s work on the many issues she cared about after her death. One focus is on helping to build stronger communities up and down the country, where everyone has a sense of belonging.

The foundation’s CEO Su Moore says: “Jo was absolutely passionate about turbo-charging the response to loneliness in this country. She had personally experienced loneliness when she was a student. She said that when she went off to Cambridge she felt like a fish out of water and she found that to be a really lonely time. She also talked about how when she was a new mum, she also found that to be quite isolating. When she became an MP, [loneliness] was something she wanted to make a real difference around.”

Today, a day dubbed Blue Monday, the foundation is launching its Great Winter Get Together campaign –two weeks of events taking place in communities across the country. The events, which range from winter walks to board games nights and community meals, are designed to champion connection with others, building a sense of community and tackling isolation.

The foundation has today highlighted new research on the cost-of-living crisis and its impact on loneliness. It underlines how young people remain the loneliest age group in the UK - with 80 per cent of those aged 18 to 24 saying they felt lonely in the past month, compared to 30 per cent of 65 to 74-year-olds. Six in 10 younger people reported being unable to afford their usual social activities because of the cost-of-living crisis, compared to four in ten Brits overall. Half said they feel more lonely due to the crisis, with 27 per cent of all British adults reporting that to be the case, in the data which was taken from a Walnut Unlimited survey of nearly 2,000 adults carried out in December.

Su says: “We have been wondering from the summer onwards about what impact the cost-of-living crisis might have on loneliness and we were hearing anecdotal evidence of people talking about how they weren’t able to afford the bus fare to go their usual social club or activity and people feeling they were really going to have to cut back on the things they were doing, and the opportunity to go and see friends and family, for example….We were really shocked by what the research discovered and it was actually worse than what we thought it would be.”

"One of the key things is to raise awareness of this,” Su continues. “We’re coming off the back of the Covid crisis and what we found during Covid, because we all had to stay in our houses, was that there was a lot of talk about the impact of loneliness. It was really high up on the agenda for people to remember to check in with friends and neighbours and for politicians as well. There’s a risk now of people not realising this is a problem.”

Su adds: “We’ve made really big strides in this country in talking about mental health but there’s a stigma still attached to talking about loneliness...We’ll also continue to advocate with government to ensure loneliness is considered as a priority across all departments and policymaking.”

Socialising and staying connected with people doesn’t have to cost money, Su points out. “Sometimes it can make a real difference to somebody’s day to drop them a message and say thinking about you, do you want to have a chat? Are you doing okay? It’s about keeping the importance of connection in our minds even when there’s so many things going on that are really difficult for everyone.”

The foundation’s Great Winter Get Together campaign is running from today until January 29. Events taking place in Yorkshire include The Batley Great Write Together, a poetry and letter-writing event. Words crafted in the town on the day will be sent to strangers to help reduce feelings of isolation.

Su says: “While people’s calendars are often busy in December, the new year can be a difficult time for many - with fewer opportunities to socialise, tighter finances, and the days remaining cold and dark. Our research into loneliness in 2021 highlighted the startling reality that young people are the most affected, and sadly, this still remains the case following our latest poll.

"That’s why ensuring there are opportunities for meaningful connection in communities is crucial this January, especially for young people. Connecting with others doesn’t need to cost anything and we’d encourage everyone to look for a Great Winter Get Together in their area, particularly if you are feeling isolated amid this cost-of-living crisis.”

Visit www.greatgettogether.org/winter for the full list of events.