My name is Dr Dan Lawrence and I’m a psychologist who works with the team at Compassion in Politics. My role is to ensure that everything we do is aligned with the latest scientific research. 

As you may know, together with the Jo Cox Foundation, Compassion in Politics has been promoting the value of civility in politics.  

When we see the amount of hate and abuse that is swirling around our political space, civility can feel like quite a small concept. But civility is the core to how we begin to turn our politics around and there’s a wealth of scientific research to back that up. 

Next month we’ll be formally launching our Civility Pledge in Parliament which will give all MPs the opportunity to commit to civility, integrity and compassion in political life. Ahead of that I wanted to share an article I've written with you: “Civility – Why does it matter?”

It makes the compelling case that civil, respectful engagement not only protects the wellbeing of those working in politics, but also improves decision-making, leadership effectiveness, and public trust.

If you care about the future of political debate and leadership culture, this is well worth a read.

Read the article by clicking here.

Best regards,

Dan