Why Batley’s recognition by Duke and Duchess of Cambridge was so deserved – The Yorkshire Post says

The Royal couple’s informality, so typical of their wider work, clearly left a lasting impression on the select number of people that they met at the town’s community centre – Covid precautions mean that their walkabouts will have to wait until next year.

But Batley is also synonymous with the late MP Jo Cox who was amongst the very first to identify – and then champion – the issue of loneliness as one of the great social challenges of our times. And, while her work was cut short so tragically, it continues to be embraced by her family, and others, through the work of the Jo Cox Foundation.

This is set out so eloquently in today’s newspaper by her sister Kim Leadbeater who explains how the Great Winter Get Together is attempting to reach out to all those sections of society, from the elderly cut adrift from friends to office staff now working at home, who are finding solitary isolation to be particularly challenging.

As she says, loneliness is one of the few issues where everyone has the power to make a difference – and that the simplest of things, like a phone call or letter, do have a positive effect on those who find themselves without a support network of their own. If everyone seeks to reach out to just one person this month and, in doing so, embrace the can-do approach of the Duke and Duchess, it will make the world of difference.

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today. Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you’ll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers. Click here to subscribe.