I'm delighted to receive an MBE in this year's New Year's Honours.

I'm delighted to receive an MBE in this year's New Year's Honours. I dedicate it to everyone alleviating or raising awareness of loneliness in any way. Many of you inspired me in my own work, thank you.

Of course, the honours system leaves some people divided, and for many reasons. Healing divisions and creating connections were some of the aspects of strengthening our communities that we aimed for while I worked at the Campaign to End Loneliness. And I thought hard about what it means to accept this honour, particularly this year, with the Black Lives Matter movement so centrally in my mind as I have navigated my new leadership role at the Ancient Tree Forum.

Some of the attributes I learned from others during my time at the Campaign could, I think, help in these times of division, challenge, and change: collaboration has become my focus in all of my work and was the touchstone of Andrew Barnett, the Director of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation who brought the original founders together, and seed-funded the Campaign, and has also been awarded an OBE in today’s Honours - congratulations Andrew. There were the thousands of community groups, charities, local authorities and businesses who came together under the Campaign's banner, who showed that collaborative spirit in working alongside us from the beginning, not for their brand, or their bottom line, but because they knew it was the right thing to do.

Articulating the need for major change and providing ego-less leadership came from the other founders of the Campaign to End Loneliness - a group of five extraordinary people and organisations who gave so much of their time and intellect. There were other funders who provided seed or growth funding to this new initiative when they could have chosen a more tried and trusted path - this level of trust and belief in a better future was critical. There were researchers who provided knowledge and evidence - so crucial when choosing a future path. Politicians and health leaders who took on what was an unpopular cause well before it became a big issue stood out as standing up for an underdog issue. I learned so much from you all.

And most importantly, there were the people who had experienced loneliness. Over those nine years, what you taught me about self-care, self-awareness, and being honest about our emotions touched me deeply - whether you were sharing stories of overcoming loneliness or being overcome by it.

For all of those who are working on loneliness, and particularly those experiencing loneliness, there is still so much that needs to be done to enable us all to feel the strong sense of connection that we need, particularly at this time. For all the team members I worked with the Campaign to End Loneliness - your commitment to change, and yet your willingness to flex with the needs of the issue within an organisation that was constantly changing was vital to our success - thank you for your team work, I learned so much from working with you all. For those of you still working in this field, it is important to continue to raise awareness about loneliness, and to honour those who have worked tirelessly in their fields.

Yet, I also add my name to those who have called for a change to the continued use of the word "empire" in these honours, due to it being inappropriate in today’s world. As Jane Ide OBE has called for this New Year, if you have congratulated me on this award, or even more importantly, if you feel that you cannot congratulate me at all, or whole-heartedly, because of the conflicts in these awards and the way they are named, then please sign this petition.

Like so many of you working for social good, as a campaigner, my aim is to create positive social change, and whether you are working directly on loneliness and connection or not, creating change while simultaneously creating a less divided society is such an important consquence of social change. Seeing that we have more in common that divides us, as Jo Cox’s brilliant sister, Kim Leadbeater, also awarded today with an MBE, often remembers Jo as saying, is critical to our future healthy communities.

Finally, if you’re experiencing loneliness, you don’t have to face it alone if you don't want to. Loneliness can be experienced by anyone at any time. It is ok to want to be heard and understood, to ask for help, or even just to acknowledge it to yourself. If you do want help, or if someone you know is experiencing loneliness, they may be happy to talk to you about it - and there are places and people that can help us all to reconnect - here are some ideas from the Campaign to End Loneliness.

So many people I know feel conflicted about the honours system for more reasons than the empire - which is big enough reason. So many of those people are not making their voices heard in a way that will make change happen. Even if you have congratulated me, or especially if you feel unable to do so, or feel any conflict about the honours system, make your voice matter and take action on at least one of your displeasures with this system - please sign this petition so that more people can accept these honours in the future for work they have done.