Politics But Better

An A–Z Guide to Creating a More Hopeful Future

Tatton Spiller

• Publisher: Elliott & Thompson
• Year: 2024
• Print ISBN:
  9781783967520
• eBook ISBN:
  9781783967537
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: European Politics
• Index: Politics & International Relations

From the founder of Simple Politics comes a guide to rediscovering the heart of our democracy, reshaping our political system and making the UK a better place for all. Strikes across the country. A prime minister resigning after just forty-four days. Accusations of bullying in the House of Commons. Our politics and our democracy appear to be fundamentally broken. But that doesn' t mean that all hope is lost. Things can get better. There are solutions out there to the complex web of failure in which we' re currently entangled. Politics, But Better will look at the very fabric of our system and what improvements can be made. Exploring twenty-six issues in UK politics, from A to Z – including censorship, elections, insults and U-turns – it clearly lays out the problems and challenges we face, and puts forward possible solutions. Looking at a variety of ideas and real-world examples, it will encourage us to rethink the fundamental ways we do things, to question the status quo, and to chart a path towards a more hopeful future. Respect and understanding are at the heart of this book, promoting open debate, tolerance and compassion as the cornerstones of a reformed political landscape. Politics is about improving the world – and we can do better.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Contents
• Introduction
• A Alert! Alert! Alert! Why the twenty-four-hour news cycle can be harmful
• B Boys Like Me The importance of equality, diversity and representation
• C Censorship The problem of no-platforming
• D Desire Paths Why we need public consultations
• E Elections Ending negative and combative campaigning
• F Fake News Navigating false and misleading information
• G God The role of religion in a multi-faith society
• H Hope Finding realistic ambitions to keep optimism alive
• I Interference Government involvement in private lives
• J Justification Explaining policy decisions to the public
• K Knowledge How much do we want our representatives to know?
• L Long-term Problems The difficulty of future planning in short-term governments
• M Mental Health A service in crisis
• N Nincompoop Tackling the language of hate
• O Oceans How to engage with the younger generations
• P Policing Re-establishing trust in a flawed institution
• Q Quick! Preventing the rush to engage with voters just before election time
• R Referendum Overcoming the divisiveness of public votes
• S Status Quo Why we need to question the fundamental way we do things
• T Tory Scum Calming political polarisation and aggression
• U Undone Why we all deserve a second chance
• V Visions of the Future Why we need concrete plans from all parties
• W Where’s Wally Do you know who your local representatives are?
• X X Factor Celebrity-style political leadership
• Y Yardstick How do we measure a government’s record?
• Z Zero Emissions When problems are too big for politics
• Conclusion
• Acknowledgements
• About the author
• Copyright