I’ve been more optimistic than ever since the election. Thursday the 4th of July was an extraordinary moment in British political history: a landslide victory for Labour, the Conservative Party’s worst ever election defeat, and the Liberal Democrats’ best parliamentary performance. But more than anything, this general election reminded me how proud we should be of our politics, and how lucky we are to live in a country where the transfer of power is carried out calmly, respectfully and with dignity.
Our MPs are, by and large, good people. And we don’t talk about or acknowledge that enough, especially in the media. The vast majority run for office because they want to serve their country, and because they believe they can make it better. It’s natural that we will disagree about the best way to achieve that. But good intentions are not denied. Deep down, we know it. That explains why our politicians are punished when they fail to perform to the standards we expect – when they commit the egregious act of party-gate, or gambling the date of an election. It’s why the country became so angry and disgusted by the Conservative Party’s repeated failure to play by the rules that millions of voters abandoned them.
But what we saw and heard in the early hours of July 5th, and repeatedly on social media afterwards, was a display of honesty, humility and integrity. The campaign slurs and shouting were gone, the people’s choice was accepted. And in every constituency, politicians put the people first. In Portsmouth North, Penny Mordaunt promised to do all she could to help Labour’s Amanda Martin, who lost the seat she had held for 14 years by just 1,000 votes. Minutes after Conservative Kate Kneveton was defeated by Labour’s Jacob Collier, she messaged Jess Phillips, asking her to keep her job in the Family Court. “It’s not my party, but that’s what — my friends — any decent representative would do,” Phillips later said. On hearing that Dan Jarvis would take over the role in a Labour government, former security minister Tom Tugendhat wrote, “Good luck, my friend.” “There are things more important than politics,” he said, accompanying a photo of the two serving together in Afghanistan.
This show of public service extended all the way to the top. Rishi Sunak, who resigned as chancellor, took responsibility not only for his party’s defeat but also for the anger his government had caused at home. He was not keen to blame anyone else. Keir Starmer, he said, was “a decent, public-spirited man whom I respect.” There is deep feeling and power in a former chancellor’s sincere wishes for the best for his successor. We have a political system to be proud of. Yes, sometimes a few politicians try to abuse it. But this election shows that such politicians will be punished.
I was reminded recently of the slogan “I never kissed a Tory”. The phrase, which has been a staple of Pride events for over a decade, originated with the LGBT Labour Party. It started out purely as a joke, meant to sell a few t-shirts. But others have taken it more seriously and literally. I’ve spoken to a lot of Gen Z and Millennials who think they can’t even be friends, let alone be intimate, with people who disagree with them on every point. This has always seemed unreasonable, intolerant and childish to me. It’s refreshing to see our politicians rejecting tribalism rather than embracing it, as we’ve seen too often in recent years. We now have a Labour Prime Minister who has not only kissed a Tory, but is “not ashamed of it”.
“I am not a tribal politician,” Starmer declared at his first press conference as Prime Minister. We have waited a long time to not only hear these words, but to see them translated into action. Within days of taking power, Starmer travelled around the UK, meeting with metropolitan mayors, including the only remaining Conservative, Ben Houchen of Tees Valley. The Prime Minister is right to say that he “does not have a monopoly on good ideas.” He has “opened the door” to people who are motivated to do their best for the people they serve. The same sentiment is reflected in his ministerial appointments, such as Patrick Vallance and James Timpson. Let us hope that this is a government of talent, not political favour.
Will this be a new era of more sophisticated politics? A proper Labour government, newly resurgent Liberal Democrats promising to provide “constructive opposition”, and perhaps a repentant Conservative party willing to learn from the past? We can only hope.
A civilized and peaceful transfer of power cannot be taken for granted. Who would envy our French neighbours or our American allies, whose countries have been plunged into chaos and uncertainty by the vanity of leaders who do not want to let go of power? We are lucky to live in a country where, as former Prime Minister Jeremy Hunt has said, decisions about the seat of power are made “not by bombs or bullets, but by thousands of ordinary citizens, peacefully putting a cross in a box on a piece of paper”. We are also lucky to live in a country where politicians can rise above narrow loyalties to do the right thing for their people. And, as Hunt says, that is “the magic of democracy”.
[See also: The SNP’s uncivil war]
