Ben's New Year resolution

This article was contributed by Audlem resident Ben Clark – it is a little outside AudlemOnline's normal agenda, but we decided to publish it on its own merits and perhaps to find out the level of interest in our readership to this sort of contribution.

My New Year Resolution concerns politics. I know, a rather unusual choice of subject, but none the less, one that I feel is appropriate.

Over the last few years, I have become increasingly concerned about how our attitude to politics has changed. We have become more cynical, and less inclined to believe anything our politicians say.

It's hardly surprising. Political rhetoric has become increasingly strident, misleading, or just plain wrong.

This was particularly evident in the referendum debate:
Leave: 'Our EU contribution would be diverted to the NHS' – 'Turkey will be joining the EU'.

Remain 'Loss of the European market would lead to a catastrophic drop in living standards' – 'All our big city companies would relocate from London to mainland Europe'.

Confronted with this level of misinformation and untruth, voters can hardly be blamed for switching off, and becoming totally cynical about politicians and the whole political process. In this they are actively encouraged by large sections of the press, who have no interest in printing unbiased information, but use selective reporting to mould public opinion to their editorial view.

But just before the Brexit vote, a single event hit the headlines which brought us all up short, and made many of us question our sceptic and cynical view of politics and politicians. In June, the Labour MP, Jo Cox, was murdered. We learnt that here was someone who was completely outside the stereotype. She had gone into politics with one aim, to make the world a better place. It dawned on us that not all MP's were egotists and unprincipled careerists; that here was a woman who not only wanted change to better people's lives, but who believed that parliament and the political process was the way to achieve it.

It was a horrific and tragic event, but I hoped some good could come of it if it would jolt us into a different attitude towards a softer politics, with less point scoring and greater respect for the views of others. Unfortunately, it happened in the middle of the referendum campaign, and within weeks we were back to business as usual.

So here's the point. We can only achieve change through effective politics. To paraphrase Churchill, Democracy is the worst form of government, except all the others. We must rise above the cynicism, put self-interest aside, and press for change that will lead to a more inclusive society. And if enough of us do this, we can reach our policy makers and maybe, just maybe, we can do what Jo Cox dedicated her life to before she was taken from us, make the world a better place.

So, my New Year Resolution is to be less cynical about politics, to take time to understand the issues and use what little influence I have to argue for a fairer, more equal and compassionate society.

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