‘The world has changed, and the new politics is a politics of plurality. If there is to be an end to Conservative rule, progressive parties must come together’ Jonathan Bartley writes in The Independent.
He continues:
‘Democracy relies on trust. In order for people to be able to have their say, they need to know confidently who they are voting for and what their preferred candidate or party stands for.
That is why disinformation in politics is such a dangerous game. Attempts to warp reality in order to serve a distinct group will inevitably disenfranchise whole sections of society and make people feel powerless to bring about change.
Unfortunately, our two-party system breeds exactly this kind of behaviour. If you can’t win support for your own vision, you can always misrepresent your opponents in the hope that if you sling enough mud, voters will pick you as the least reprehensible option. Ultimately, we all end up losing.
We need a new politics, one that values cooperation over conflict and collaboration over isolation. After all, we have more in common than that which divides us. We have known it for decades, and invariably, every new leader promises this sense of togetherness. But every new leader also gets quickly ground down by the system, and reverts to type.
In a two-party system, a cooperative approach to politics is the road less travelled. Any suggestion you might wish to work with others is portrayed by opponents as an admission that you can’t win on your own. And old habits die hard. The older, bigger parties will always feel entitled to govern.’
