Samaritans put on a special Christmas event in Parliament, hosted by Madeleine Moon MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Suicide and Self-harm Prevention, to get politicians from all parties thinking about how they could make sure fewer lives are lost to suicide in 2018. There are nearly 6000 suicides in the UK every year.

Samaritans’ CEO, Ruth Sutherland, said:

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“It’s amazing to see MPs turn up today to say they’re going to work hard next year to prevent suicide. People sometimes wonder whether suicide can be prevented: of course it can. At Samaritans we’ve got a clear list of recommendations, informed by our decades of work on this issue. We’ll work with MPs next year to turn these recommendations into reality.”

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Samaritans is calling for local councils and central Government to ensure that services aimed at reducing suicide are targeted at the most vulnerable people. The evidence, set out in their recent report Dying from Inequality shows a strong link between economic disadvantage and suicide.

 

Sir Roger said:

 

“It was good to join Samaritans and hear about their recommendations, and what we can all do to help vulnerable people. I’ll be doing everything I can next year to raise this issue in Parliament, and to help to prevent suicide.

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