Dean Russell was invited to speak at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester 2017 on the challenges around community and social injustices.
Dean spoke about his experiences as a former Parliamentary Candidate in his speech 'Go Knock On The Doors' where he talks about the need to tackle the injustice of loneliness in modern society. His speech focussed on the need to reach out to the vulnerable in society and connect with those around us.
Above is a video of Dean Russell's speech shown live on BBC.
The full speech script for 'Go Knock On The Doors' is also shared in full below:
**** Go Knock On The Doors ****
I would like to start my speech with a request. Can I ask you all to be silent for a moment please…
[Silent pause for fifteen seconds]
That silence was just fifteen seconds. But imagine if that silence had lasted an hour, a week or even a month?
Imagine you had no one to talk to and no one to listen to you?
Loneliness is a great injustice of our time;
for young and old alike. And it’s getting worse
Like never before, technology is fragmenting society and politics is more divisive than ever
Isolating conversation and dividing communities
Social media means people are swapping being
lonely in a crowd
to being lonely in the cloud
Society is losing out. Imagine how many life lessons go untold
and how many ideas lost because there is no one there to hear them?
It doesn’t have to be this way
I am a Conservative because I believe in society working together, in community and opportunity
That together we are stronger and that whatever background you come from,
you should be able to be the best version of you
Not to be alone
Not to be silenced
Not to be lonely
Politics doesn’t have to be just about the big ideas
Sometimes we can effect change through a daily commitment to our Conservative values.
So let’s not just knock on doors during the election time period for a vote
Go knock on the door of the elderly widow that doesn’t get visitors to show her someone cares
Go knock on the door of somebody who has to care after a disabled daughter, or son,
and tell them that you’ll lend them an ear
Go knock on the door of the new student to check in, and make sure they are settling in ok at University
Let’s unite our community around us one conversation at a time
Let us not just campaign for our Party,
but apply Conservative values by helping all in society live a life they love
There is nothing stopping any of us from defeating loneliness
You can do this today
And maybe, just maybe, we will win over many more hearts and minds in the process
Truly delivering a United Kingdom for all, and a Country that works for everyone