Human beings are social animals, but the prospect of having to spend hours and even days without talking to another living soul is being faced by many people here in Swindon.

Loneliness can be felt by people of all ages, but as we get older, risk factors, which could lead to loneliness, begin to increase and converge. There are around 31,000 people over the age of sixty-five in Swindon, which is 15% of the population. Many people enjoy the company of friends and family, but there are many older residents who don’t have these links.

As part of a local campaign, I have been working closely with Swindon Seniors Forum over the past year to tackle the issue of loneliness.

We are very fortunate here in Swindon to have groups such as Swindon Circles whose volunteers regularly visit more than 300 people who are experiencing loneliness and isolation. I have recently accompanied a volunteer on visits and seen first-hand the real difference this project is making to the lives of elderly people here in Swindon.

A co-ordinated approach where organisations from different sectors worked together was important to our campaign and last July I held a Loneliness Summit with Swindon Seniors Forum, which brought together the police, the local mental health trust, the council, the local NHS, and members from third party sectors to share information about the good work already taking place and come up with future plans on what more can be done to tackle loneliness in Swindon.

Following on from the first successful summit, this Friday, I will be holding another event along with Swindon Seniors Forum to discuss the changes made since our the first event and to identify further actions that need to be taken.

Following the action taken in Syria last week by British, French and American armed forces after chemical weapons were used by the Syrian regime, the Prime Minister has delivered a detailed and careful case in Parliament, which carried the support of MPs from various parties. The action was taken after 75 people, including young children, were killed in a despicable and barbaric attack in Douma, with as many as 500 further casualties.

After diplomatic channels via the United Nations were blocked by Russia, We have rightly decided to use proportionate force as we try to uphold the international rules-based system and prevent the use of chemical weapons from becoming normal.

It is the Government’s view that the UK is permitted under international law, on an exceptional basis, to take measures in order to alleviate overwhelming humanitarian suffering.

The legal basis for the use of force is humanitarian intervention, which requires three conditions to be met: There needs to be convincing evidence, generally accepted by the international community as a whole, of extreme humanitarian distress on a large scale, requiring immediate and urgent relief; It must be objectively clear that there is no practicable alternative to the use of force if lives are to be saved and the proposed use of force must be necessary and proportionate to the aim of relief of humanitarian suffering and must be strictly limited in time and in scope to this aim.

The Syrian regime has been using chemical weapons since 2013. Over 400,000 people have now died over the course of the conflict in Syria, the vast majority civilians. Over half of the Syrian population has been displaced, with over 13 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. The repeated, lethal use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime constitutes a war crime and a crime against humanity. On the basis of what we know about the Syrian regime’s pattern of use of chemical weapons to date, it was highly likely that the regime would seek to use chemical weapons again, leading to further suffering and loss of civilian life as well as the continued displacement of the civilian population.

Inaction has brought its own dreadful consequences; finding excuses not to do anything is not leadership. The Prime Minister made the right call here.