Displaying items by tag: Tracey Crouch

Tracey Crouch, the sports minister, resigned on 1 November as a protest over the delay in cutting the maximum stakes from £100 in fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs). The Government had announced this plan in May 2018 (see ), and Philip Hammond announced in his Budget Day speech it would come into force in October 2019. Ms Crouch said pushing back the date was ‘unjustifiable’, and could cost the lives of problem gamblers. She tweeted: ’Politicians come and go, but principles stay with us forever.’ Culture secretary Jeremy Wright denied Labour claims that MPs had been led to believe the cut would come into force in April 2019. But in her resignation letter, Ms Crouch said: ‘Unfortunately, implementation of these changes are now being delayed until October 2019 due to commitments made by others to those with registered interests.’

Theresa May has appointed Tracey Crouch, the minister for sport and civil society, to head a government-wide group with responsibility for policies connected to loneliness. She will implement one of the main recommendations of a report by the Jo Cox Commission. The Government said it would develop a wider strategy on the issue, gather more evidence and statistics, and provide funding for community groups to start activities which connect people. Researchers say that nine million people often or always feel lonely; the prime minister said, ‘For far too many people, loneliness is the sad reality of modern life’. Pray for Social Services, churches, charities and community leaders to address loneliness endured by the elderly, carers, new parents, refugees and the bereaved. Pray for Ms Crouch and her team to have a specific God-given anointing for the new role they have been given. See also