I am a left of centre, liberal-minded, social democrat. I was a Labour Party member for most of my adult life, and in the 2015 General Election I had the privilege of being the official candidate for the Labour Party in my home town of Cheltenham.
Here are just a few of the Conservative Members of Parliament that I admire.
Alex Chalk is the Solicitor General and my local MP. He is a hard-working, intelligent and empathic human being. I believe he cares deeply about the town I live in.
George Freeman is a junior minister in the current administration. He works bloody hard and brings a rigour and a passion to his brief that is admirable and impressive.
Tobias Ellwood is the Chair of the Commons Defence Committee. He speaks with calm authority and dignity. His language is temperate, but sincere.
As I started this list, I realised I could probably make it much longer. A long list of opponents that I admire. I will, of course, happily argue against their positions on specific policies, and I can criticise their voting records and even find examples when they have made me furiously frustrated with the choices they have made.
The point is that in politics, as in families, and in business and in life, we cannot thrive together if all we do is to destroy and divide. In the end, we thrive when we find the ground where we can accept, collaborate and build, for all our sakes.
In the last few years, first in the US, but now in the UK, there is an existential threat to our democratic traditions. If leaders continue to trash the infrastructure and the institutions, by debasing standards and processes and people, and even the rule of law, we risk good people walking away, so that only the amoral, the sociopathic and the self-obsessed can thrive.
Whether you voted for Brexit or to Remain, or for Conservative or Labour (or anyone else) we all need good people from all wings to stand up for our democracy. I don’t hate Mr Johnson. I do not wish him any harm. But I want him to fail, not for Labour to succeed in a partisan way, but for our Parliament and our democracy to succeed.
Take care. Paul xx
