Tracey Crouch appointed minister for loneliness following Jo Cox recommendations
Prime minister Theresa May has appointed a minister for loneliness, an idea recommended by murdered MP Jo Cox.
The new role is in place to tackle the misery felt by around nine million Britons.
Ms Cox, who was murdered by a far-right terrorist, campaigned repeatedly before her death as she looked a methods to combat loneliness.
Tracey Crouch has become the first person to be appointed to the position. The Prime Minister has also confirmed that a cross-government strategy to find ways to stop people feeling lonely will be published in 2018.
Mrs May is hosting an event on Wednesday at Downing Street to celebrate Ms Cox's legacy.
Ahead of the event, she said: "For far too many people, loneliness is the sad reality of modern life.
"I want to confront this challenge for our society and for all of us to take action to address the loneliness endured by the elderly, by carers, by those who have lost loved ones, people who have no one to talk to or share their thoughts and experiences with.
"Jo Cox recognised the scale of loneliness across the country and dedicated herself to doing all she could to help those affected.
"So I am pleased that Government can build on her legacy with a ministerial lead forloneliness who will work with the Commission, businesses and charities to shine a light on the issue and pull together all strands of Government to create the first ever strategy.
"We should all do everything we can to see that, in Jo's memory, we bring an end to the acceptance of loneliness for good."
Government and charities will use funds to create a strategy to tackle the problem across all ages backgrounds and communities, while the Office for National Statistics will devise a way to measure loneliness.
Ms Crouch said: "I am sure that with the support of volunteers, campaigners, businesses and my fellow MPs from all sides of the House, we can make significant progress in defeating loneliness.
"This is an issue that Jo cared passionately about and we will honour her memory by tackling it, helping the millions of people across the UK who suffer from loneliness."
Ms Cox's husband, Brendan, tweeted: "One of the awful things about losing Jo is knowing how much difference she would have made in the world. When the kids wake up this morning I’m going to tell them how - even though she’s not here - she’s still making the world a better place."