Together We Rise
Today marks the start of a new era of Governance in the UK. Yesterday millions of people across the UK were galvanised towards action to oust a Conservative Government that officially has the worst track record in post-war era Britain.
The election campaign was typically fraught and hectic: the Tories continued their campaign of slurs, misinformation and lies; and the Labour party appeared fairly content on only canvassing to the centrist voters (a strategic gambit perhaps, but one that meant they achieved fewer overall votes than Jeremy Corbyn in 2017, and Tony Blair in 1997).
Perhaps these types of political tactics are not new, but given our exposure to a Government that consistently lacked any sense of compassion or integrity (see for example Brexit, the handling of Covid, Partygate, Liz Truss crashing the economy, Gamblegate… the list goes on), I must admit I was worried about how this would all play out. Would those who are disillusioned with politics come together at this critical time? Would populism gain even further traction? Thankfully this morning my worries turned to a rising feeling of hope, of optimism for what the future could bring. And I am not the only one celebrating.
For many members of the UK public, there was much to celebrate as the results rolled in that the Conservative party had been beaten in the 2024 UK general election.
Reflecting on the past 24 hours, I believe what we have witnessed from the British public is an act of collective compassion: people rallying together en masse to enact positive systemic change.
It is no wonder that we have reached such an inflection point. How much more suffering, austerity, and poverty were the public expected to endure before saying enough is enough? Indeed, when people are exposed to prolonged human suffering (in any form), there is the potential for a mass coordinated response which researchers call ‘compassion organising’ (Dutton et al., 2006).
Whilst compassion organising is ultimately used for good - to alleviate suffering, collective action more broadly can be leveraged by insidious individuals looking to achieve a specific goal. For example, Boris Johnson’s pursuit of personal advancement and power, and more recently Nigel Farage’s far right Reform party securing 5 seats in parliament (including Farage himself after 8 years of trying)! Farage has been vocal in his views on immigration - a position that entirely lacks understanding and compassion, and falsely paints immigrants as the culprits of a broken economy.
We must therefore remain vigilant, and persist with compassion organising, because this is the beginning of the fight, not the end.
Far-right populism is advancing with gusto across the globe, and particularly in Europe, notably in France where Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party led the pack in the first round of legislative elections, Germany where the far right AfD (Alternative für Deutschland) party is gaining ground by demonising immigrants, and Italy where Georgia Meloni’s right-wing party have attacked the parental rights of same-sex couples. These few examples (and there are many more!) are the tip of the iceberg: an iceberg which could inflict serious damage across the rest of Europe and the UK.
So now is not the time to sit back. Our job is not over! We must continue to push for a better, and kinder society; even if you feel disenfranchised, devalued, forgotten, or ostracised, now is the time to hold those in power to a higher standard. Now is the time to rebuild community and to leverage the power of our collective humanity.
Indeed, in the past decade, we have witnessed a gradual decline in Britons’ sense of community belonging, dropping from 42% in 2013/14, to 36% in 2021/22 (Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport, 2023). This is due, in part, to the over-reliance on technology and social media to meet our basic social capital needs such as connection and friendship. Similarly, civic participation is also declining, as reflected in the low turnout of voters (less than 60%) in yesterday’s general election. These numbers suggest a general malaise or despondency that we cannot allow to grow, one that ironically could be remedied by greater engagement with our local communities.
We are therefore calling upon each and every person to be compassionate, reach out to a neighbour, reach across the divide and connect to those from marginalised backgrounds. Talk to one another, listen to one another, be brave, but be kind. Let us bring back the era of community spirit, community support, and work together to push for a better world.
As Margaret Mead so astutely said:
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed individuals can change the world. In fact, it's the only thing that ever has."
Margaret Mead
References
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. (2023). Community Life Survey, 2021-2022. [data collection]. UK Data Service. SN: 9079, DOI: http://doi.org/10.5255/UKDA-SN-9079-1
Dutton, J. E., Worline, M. C., Frost, P. J., & Lilius, J. (2006). Explaining compassion organizing. Administrative science quarterly, 51(1), 59-96.