Common Ground: What Parliament Taught Me About the Fight Against Loneliness
Julian Businge reflects on a visit to Parliament and what tackling loneliness, building connected communities and valuing older people means for Luton.
COMMUNITYWELLBEINGNEWS
Julian Businge
9/26/20264 min read
By Julian Businge, Founder, Royal Elderly Care & Wellbeing CIC
On 7 September 2026, I had the privilege of visiting the Houses of Parliament to take part in the Common Ground consultation on tackling loneliness and connected communities, held in Committee Room 8 at the House of Commons.
As I walked through Parliament, I found myself thinking about a deceptively simple question:
What actually makes someone feel that they belong?
For me, this was more than a visit to Parliament. It was an opportunity to reflect on something that sits at the heart of the work we are developing through Royal Elderly Care & Wellbeing CIC: human connection.
Loneliness Is About More Than Being Alone
One of my strongest reflections from the discussion was that loneliness cannot simply be understood as the absence of people.
A person can be surrounded by others and still feel unseen.
An older person can have services around them and still miss meaningful conversation, friendship, purpose and the feeling that somebody genuinely values their presence.
That distinction matters.
When we talk about tackling loneliness, we must therefore think beyond services alone and ask how we create communities in which people feel that they belong.
The Power of Community
The discussion reinforced the importance of accessible community hubs, trusted spaces, befriending, volunteering, intergenerational activities, culture, music and digital inclusion.
None of these ideas needs to be complicated.
Sometimes transformation begins with something as simple as a conversation.
A cup of tea.
Music that awakens a memory.
Someone remembering your name.
An invitation to leave the house and join others.
Or simply knowing that somebody is expecting you.
These apparently small moments can carry enormous human value.
Why This Matters to Royal Elderly Care
This is one of the reasons we created the Royal Day Experience through Royal Elderly Care & Wellbeing CIC.
The idea is simple: create welcoming opportunities where older people can come together, enjoy conversation and activities, meet others and experience genuine social connection.
Our work is grounded in a belief that dignity should not diminish with age.
Older people should not merely be recipients of services. They remain people with stories, wisdom, humour, gifts, memories and contributions to make.
They deserve spaces where they are seen, heard and valued.
From Luton to Westminster
Sitting in Parliament also reminded me why grassroots voices need to be part of national conversations.
Community organisations are often close enough to see the small gaps that larger systems can miss.
There can be a space between formal services and the everyday human connection that helps prevent isolation.
Community initiatives can help fill that space, but stronger relationships are needed between grassroots organisations, public services and the communities they serve.
We need clearer pathways for collaboration, referrals and sustainable support so that promising local initiatives can grow rather than continually starting again from zero.
Listening to Other Communities
One of the valuable parts of the visit was meeting people who are tackling loneliness in their own communities.
I met a fellow community leader working to end loneliness in Milton Keynes.
Conversations like these remind us that loneliness does not belong to one town or one organisation.
It is a shared challenge – and therefore requires shared learning.
What works in Luton can inform another community, and what is being learned elsewhere can strengthen what we do locally.
That is the value of bringing people together.
My Reflection Leaving Parliament
I left Westminster encouraged, but also challenged.
Policies matter.
Funding matters.
Services matter.
But human connection matters too.
A truly connected community is one where people notice when someone disappears from the room.
It is where an older neighbour is not forgotten simply because they no longer move through society at the same pace as everyone else.
It is where dignity is practised, not merely discussed.
And perhaps tackling loneliness begins there – with each of us recognising that everyone is somebody.
At Royal Elderly Care & Wellbeing CIC, we will continue learning, listening and developing ways of creating meaningful connection for older people in our community.
Because ageing should never mean becoming invisible.
A question for all of us
What could we do differently in our own communities to make sure older people feel seen, valued and connected?
If you would like to learn more about Royal Elderly Care & Wellbeing CIC, attend a Royal Day Experience, refer someone or explore partnership opportunities, please get in touch.
Contacts
+44 7438 375874
royalelderlynursingcare@gmail.com
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© 2026 Royal Elderly Care & Wellbeing CIC – the trading name of Elderly Care and Wellbeing CIC, a community interest company registered in England and Wales, Company No. 16798996. Our current services are non-regulated and do not include personal care or medication administration.