I have been contacted by some people who are concerned about the possibly political nature of my Loneliness and Isolation Directory and wanted to provide some reassurance.
Following the work done by the Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness and the ‘Beyond the Front Door’ Loneliness and Isolation Conference that I organised earlier this year to bring organisations and interested parties together to discuss how we combat this incredibly important issue, I wanted to ensure that those organisations were able to maintain contact and reach others. This was the idea behind the Directory, which was produced on a non-political basis.
To ensure that the Directory reached as many people as possible, local organisations were contacted to see whether they would find it useful to have copies of it themselves. A large number of organisations took up the offer - which was entirely voluntary. I am therefore very surprised that there should be such a reaction given that it was the choice of each organisation whether they took up the offer and what they chose to do with their own copies.
The Directory was paid for by very kind donations from third parties and it was produced sometime ago before there was any possibility of a General Election.
Given that we are in a General Election campaign and I am now a candidate, not an MP, I will not be issuing any more copies of the Directory at this time. If I am honoured to be reelected, this non-political, community focused Directory will be available again for anyone who would like to take up this offer of support and information.
Rt Hon Karen Bradley