How can we calm our politics down and restore civility?

To call upon a fitting idiom, it does not feel like an exaggeration to say that British politics has crossed the Rubicon. The politics of austerity, foreign military intervention, and of course Brexit, have cultivated a febrile climate of seemingly irreconcilable political opinions. New social, cultural and economic divides do not sit neatly along traditional Left-Right or partisan lines, and as such they create earthquakes of incivility as British politics reorients itself to a different modus operandi. Generations, regions and social groups are pitted against one another, and at its worst this has resulted in divided families, segregated communities and the death of democratic representatives such as Jo Cox. To say that we need to rediscover civility in our politics is, then, an understatement. 

I suggest three important responses. 

The first is a call for conscious restraint and compassion in political discourse. It is not acceptable for politicians to invoke images of Syrian refugees on campaign posters, to dismiss death threats as mere ‘humbug’, or to shout hyperbolic insults at one another across the Commons’ debating chamber during national broadcasts. If politicians resort to dog-whistle populism, verbal abuse and infighting, then how can we expect anything better from those they [seek to] govern. 

The second is a complete overhaul of the media coverage of politics. Increasingly intent on personalising the political and politicising the personal, a 24-hour news media has drip-fed blunt stereotypes about voters and politicians rather than scrutinising policy or informing the public on matters of national interest. By contrast to ongoing news coverage of politicians, my own research with hundreds of elected MPs and councillors has shown that the majority enter politics with an extraordinary dedication to improving the lives of others. 

Thirdly and finally, future governments need to commit to a fully funded and well-resourced programme of political education. Politics is messy and full of contingencies, and a deficit in political education leads to inflated public expectations about what is possible or desirable. In turn, this breeds disappointment and cynicism. Existing programmes of study in citizenship education, for example, require much greater support in terms of teacher training, Ofsted inspection and assessment, and national advocacy by leaders across the education sector.