Unlock Democracy in Conversation with Jennifer Nadel

We hosted a webinar with Jennifer Nadel, co-founder and director of Compassion in Politics. Compassion in Politics is an organisation dedicated to creating a political system for the UK that is guided by empathy, fairness, and integrity.

Jennifer kicked off the event by telling us that she started Compassion in Politics when she noticed British politics becoming increasingly toxic. The organisation was founded on the belief that creating a more compassionate politics is the best way to unify people pushing for progressive change.

She went on to discuss how a more compassionate politics could tackle many of society’s problems, and why she believes collaboration between different campaign groups is so important.

Unlock Democracy’s co-chair Jessica Metheringham posed some initial questions to get the event rolling and then took questions from our members in person and online.

The first question was about how threats to democracy manifest themselves. Jennifer highlighted that Prime Minister’s Questions, the main way that politics is presented to the public, is toxic, damaging and deeply unrepresentative of how politics works. Another threat to democracy is that hate, greed, othering and self interest have all been legitimised in British politics.

We also asked Jennifer what she believes is the best way to achieve compassion in politics. Jennifer told us about the work that Compassion in Politics is doing to modernise parliament, reduce tribalism in politics, and push for more compassionate policies. She also noted that working in coalition with other progressive organisations such as Unlock Democracy has been vital.

Our final question was: who do politicians represent? Jennifer explained that the whipping system strongarms many MPs into supporting policies that do not represent their constituents or their conscience. Fixing this system would be one way to create a more compassionate and representative type of politics.

Jennifer also offered many other insights into the threats facing democracies worldwide such as a lack of professional standards in politics and the absence of an inspiring vision for the future. She maintained that positivity and compassion are the best ways to fix these problems.

Thank you to Jennifer Nadel, our staff, council, and members for making this such an enjoyable event.

You can watch our Webinar on Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWs-1aEYOOg