By Jack Larkham and Charlotte Prothero
Amid the obvious causes for celebration, the holidays present some significant challenges for many of us. From the pressures of buying presents, cooking a turkey, and travelling to the risk of family arguments, there are plenty of potential sources of stress to navigate. Overall, though, the festive period is a net positive, with 84% of us enjoying a boost to our mental wellbeing because of spending time with loved ones for example.
Yet for some the next few weeks will be marked by isolation and loneliness, with the ubiquity of jollity on display in the wider world only serving to accentuate their experience. It’s a contrast which is an increasing part of our public consciousness, and there are many community groups and charities offering vital support and advice. But, while the holidays will shine a helpful light on the issue of loneliness, the truth is it’s a condition that many will endure well beyond the twelve days of Christmas.
And there is every sign that the number in this position will continue to rise. As we showed in our recent work on the nation’s wellbeing, the proportion of adults reporting “often” feeling lonely has climbed steadily from 9% in 2017 to an estimated 9.6% in 2024. That means 5.3 million of us are suffering from chronic loneliness across the UK – a jump of 786,000 in just six years.
Given the scale and expansion of the problem, it is helpful therefore to explore the more granular data that has just been released as part of a government prompted expansion of the Community Life Survey. For the first time, it allows us to map loneliness – defined slightly differently (feeling lonely “often” or “always”), and covering both a different period (2023/24) and geography (England only) – by local authority. It reveals considerable variation across the country, as shown in Figure 1, with a clustering of particularly high rates of loneliness in many parts of the Northwest, the Midlands, the East of England, and East London.
At the extremes, we can compare Hyndburn in Lancashire (13.2% suffering from chronic loneliness), Ashfield in Nottinghamshire (12%) and Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham (11.9%) with Mid-Suffolk (2.9%), Blaby in the East Midlands (2.6%) and the Isles of Scilly (1.6%). Relatively small sample sizes mean we have to be cautious about the precision of these estimates, but the scale of contrast is undeniably significant.
As for what drives the difference, clearly further work is required but it will almost certainly derive in part from differences in the prevalence of known risk factors. Previous work has shown for instance that those aged under 30, women, people who are separated from their partners, the unemployed, and those reporting poor health are all significantly more likely to experience chronic loneliness.
What is certain is that the concentration of loneliness in certain parts of the country should serve as a prompt for local communities and authorities to consider what more they might do. How might they best support civil society organisations that already do so much to target more of their support in areas of greatest need?
But the scale of the loneliness crisis facing the country and its direction of travel requires a national level response too. That should include the government strengthening the policy framework by updating the 2018 Loneliness Strategy, while at the same time increasing collaboration with philanthropic sources of funding to expand financial support for organisations working in this field.
Seasonal stresses and strains are an inevitable part of the festive period, but the chronic loneliness faced by too many across the country is sadly not just for Christmas. A resolution from the government to prioritise action and support the more than 5 million people who feel alone and isolated across the UK would be the best way to start the new year.