State 'should fund weddings to combat loneliness', says report
Married people are the least lonely, but report suggests the poorest are priced out

Rebecca Messina, The Week UK
Less well-off couples should have their weddings subsidised by the state to tackle the national loneliness epidemic, according to a think tank set up by Sir Iain Duncan Smith.
The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) said the government should offer up to £550 to low-income couples to cover the costs of getting hitched, after their research indicated marriage to be among the best safeguards against loneliness.
The CSJ's "Lonely Nation" report found that 60% of Brits feel lonely at least some of the time, but relationship status had a significant impact. Unmarried couples living together were about half as likely to feel lonely as single people, and "married people were even less likely than cohabitees to be lonely", said The Telegraph.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The majority of poorer unmarried adults surveyed said that, even if they met the right person, the cost of a wedding would put them off getting married. The average cost of a wedding in 2023 was £20,700, according to a study by wedding planning website Hitched.co.uk.
Josh Nicholson, a researcher at the CSJ, said: "Helping more people to get married by subsidising the bill for those on the lowest incomes offers significant health, social and economic benefits for them and the taxpayer."
The discount would only be available for couples with a relative or absolute low household income, and could impact "an estimated one in five weddings", said The Times. To help ensure relationships were "stable and secure", the CSJ said the £550 subsidy "would be contingent on participating in a marriage preparation course".
The annual cost of such a scheme is estimated at £35 million, "a fraction of the estimated £2.5 billion price of loneliness to employers alone through time taken off for illness, poor mental health and lower productivity", said The Telegraph.
The government said it had already invested more than £80 million in projects tackling the "pressing public health issue" of chronic loneliness.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Arion McNicoll is a freelance writer at The Week Digital and was previously the UK website’s editor. He has also held senior editorial roles at CNN, The Times and The Sunday Times. Along with his writing work, he co-hosts “Today in History with The Retrospectors”, Rethink Audio’s flagship daily podcast, and is a regular panellist (and occasional stand-in host) on “The Week Unwrapped”. He is also a judge for The Publisher Podcast Awards.
-
How global conflicts are reshaping flight paths
Under the Radar Airlines are having to take longer and convoluted routes to avoid conflict zones
-
Zohran Mamdani: the young progressive likely to be New York City's next mayor
In The Spotlight The policies and experience that led to his meteoric rise
-
The best film reboots of all time
The Week Recommends Creativity and imagination are often required to breathe fresh life into old material
-
Court allows National Guard in LA as Dodgers repel feds
Speed Read The team said they 'denied entry' to ICE agents seeking to enter their stadium
-
ICE arrests NYC comptroller at courthouse
Speed Read Brad Lander was held for about four hours before being released
-
Trump ramps up Iran threats, demands 'surrender'
Speed Read Trump met with his top aides in the Situation Room on Tuesday
-
ABA sues Trump over 'law firm intimidation policy'
Speed Read Trump has 'used the vast powers of the executive branch to coerce lawyers,' the lawsuit said
-
Judge orders Trump's NIH grant cuts reversed
Speed Read Trump had attempted to slash more than $1 billion in research grants
-
Trump leaves G7 early, warns Tehran to evacuate
Speed Read Trump claimed to have left the summit due to ongoing issues in the Middle East
-
Trump tells ICE to hit blue cities, spare farms, hotels
Speed Read Trump has targeted New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles among other cities
-
Police capture suspect in Minnesota lawmaker killing
Speed Read The suspect is accused of killing the top Democrat in the Minnesota House and her husband