Here at CARE we long to see civility, decency and good debate in our politics. We believe that rigorous debate is a key part of a healthy politics and can help politics to be a great force for good. Sadly, though we often see plenty of examples of bad debate, incivility, and downright poor behaviour.
Each week we will bring you some of our favourite examples of civility, decency, and good debate in our politics, as well as some sad examples of the darker side of politics.
GOOD
Rishi reluctant to attack Kier…
I’m not sure this is an overwhelmingly heart-warming story, that being said, a reluctance to launch into personal attacks on an opponent isn’t the negative that ministers seem to think. Debating policies, principles, and plans is a far better use of political time than the smear campaigns that are sadly viewed as more effective yet do so much damage to the quality of public life.
Hustings commitment…
Good stories have been hard to come by this week, but the tale of Green Party candidate Jack Lenox who turned up to a hustings even after the other parties dropped out (the Conservative candidate due to illness), was a nice example of commitment to the democratic process and displayed a willingness to open oneself up to scrutiny and discussion even when it’s not flashy.
BAD
Scaremongering and the race to the bottom…
As we have said before, genuine scrutiny and accountability is a key part of healthy politics. However, rather than asking decent informative questions of the Labour party this week, the Tories embarked on a smear campaign attacking Labour on matters of national security and immigration.
You will have your own thoughts on the parties’ records on these questions, but these two posts were cynical and sought not to ask important questions but misportray the other side and ignite fear amongst the electorate.
UGLY
Fear and intimidation…
Last week Rosie Duffield who is the Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Canterbury, Whitstable and the Villages withdrew from a hustings event citing a vigorous campaign of trolling, spite, misrepresentation as threats to her safety and wellbeing. Unfortunately, this is an all too familiar story in our present political context….
FUNNY
Politics has its good moments and its bad moments but sometimes it’s just quite funny. Each week we will bring you some of our favourite highlights from the week.
Old Macdonald has a Farm…
This week was perhaps a bit of an eye opener of the risk of going campaigning around animals. Lid Dem MSP, Alex Cole-Hamilton found out that Shetland Pony’s aren’t quite so sweet when they step on your foot…
Later on in the week, Rishi Sunak was left crouched in a field as the sheep he was trying to feed, showed a distinct lack of interest in playing ball…
