Altruism is holding Britain together

Volunteers keep vital services afloat and offer an antidote to our ever more isolated society

- Martha Gill

It is three decades since Robert D Putnam published Bowling Alone, his essay on the decline of social ties in America.

Fewer people were going to church, he noticed, joining social clubs or becoming members of a union: they were watching television instead. Replace television with social media, and Putnam explains our present moment, including in Britain.

By almost every indicator we are becoming more isolated, polarised and antisocial. Except perhaps one.

Britain's vast army of volunteers can go unnoticed. Perhaps we take them for granted - the tradition can be traced back to the almshouses of the 10th century. But quietly, these altruists are resisting the narrative that the bonds of civic society are unravelling. At last measure, between 2021 and 2022, some 25 million people in England and Wales had donated their time to others.

These people are not just helping out at the village fete or coaching the local football team. They are holding a number of our most vital services together. These include the police, which relies on 14,000 volunteers, and the NHS, to which 71,828 people last year donated more than 6.4m hours in England alone. Among these are defibrillator-trained volunteers who rush to emergencies alongside ambulances, blue lights flashing on their cars. A recent report by London Economics found volunteering in England contributes some £24.7bn a year to GDP.