‘Jo felt strongly that loneliness was a great threat to our society and should be tackled as such’

Chatting to strangers at the bus stop, inviting elderly aunties or uncles round for dinner, or sneaking to the neighbours’ for a sherry. Everyone gets more sociable at Christmas time.

And we all agree that no one should spend the day alone. But for millions of people loneliness is something they face every day of the year.

Loneliness doesn’t discriminate either. It affects people of all ages and from all backgrounds – from the school child who struggles to make friends, to the new parent coping alone, to the older person who has outlived friends and immediate family.

The evidence suggests that big life changes – such as moving home, changing schools, developing a health condition, becoming a carer, having a child, changing jobs or leaving work, experiencing family breakdown and bereavement – can all act as triggers for chronic loneliness.

Jo and I both knew this. Having been very close for all of our young lives, we both experienced loneliness the first time we were apart after Jo went away to university. It was a very difficult time for both of us. We were lucky enough to have support from our friends and family but the experience stayed with us both.

At the beginning of the year the Jo Cox Loneliness Commission was launched to carry forward my sister’s determination to turbo-charge the national response on this issue. Jo felt strongly that loneliness was a great threat to our society and should be tackled as such.

Feelings of loneliness affect us all at some point, but being lonely is a problem when it becomes chronic – a day-to-day reality which, over time, can grind us down, affecting our health and wellbeing and damaging our ability to connect with others.

Loneliness has become a social epidemic. It can be a difficult thing to admit to feeling, yet almost one in five of all adults are often or always lonely.

As our society changes it can get