Transforming politics: with Fellow Tom Christmas

After leaving the On Purpose core team in April, I began working for an MP, leading the team within his office. It felt exciting to enter a space where such significant structural impact could be possible, at a time when lots was changing. However, I felt concerned that healthy leadership and culture were often undervalued in the political space, where frantic reactions to the latest media events often take precedence over the important but not urgent things that really create lasting impact.

I am lucky to work for an MP who is up for trying to do things differently, and so we have been working to build a culture that puts serving others over political expedience and game-playing; that prizes humility in the face of complexity rather than tribalism and oversimplification; that is open to experimentation rather than beholden to the status quo; that makes time for focus, depth and rest rather than succumbing to performative busyness.

We hope that building a team that operates in these ways will help us make a meaningful contribution to creating an economy and society that works for everyone. I am learning that creating change through politics often requires taking risks, doing hard and unpopular things, and building resilience in the face of relentless criticism - we have a long way to go, but I’m hopeful that things will get better!

If you want to get more involved with politics, connect with me.