Amazing Grace

I finally got round to watching Amazing Grace at the weekend, and I must admit I was incredibly moved by it.

Now, I'll hold my hands up and confess to being an idealist when it comes to politics. But what I saw in that film is what, to me, politics is all about. The vision to change the world, the dedication to overcome challenges and the commitment to doing what is right, even if it carries personal cost.

I get depressed when I hear the negativity that is felt towards politicians. At an event I was running last week, the audience (composed of very educated and motivated people) waxed lyrical about how all politicians are in it for themselves, concerned only with protecting their pensions rather than in making a difference to the world. When I disputed this assessment, I was greeted with looks of incredulity - how on earth could I be so naive as to think that there were any politicians in it for the greater good.

But I do believe that this is the motivating factor for involvement in politics, and I certainly know it is for me. For me, politics is a vocation. Now, I know that the religious terminology will grate for some readers, but I very much believe that there is a calling to politics. It is not just a job or a career with good pay and benefits, but rather is a chance to change the world to be a better place. Politicians are elected with different views of how they would like the world to be, and Parliament is where they are able to argue their views and put forward a direction for the country.

This type of vocational politics is one that can inspire the public and the next generation of activists. As a job, politics is not the ideal way to make money. It is intensive and demanding, and although the pay for MPs is very high, there are business jobs which are far better paying - just ask all those MPs who have moved on to be board members of big companies!
Politics is crucial to our lives - it impacts on everything that we do. I say this to groups when I am doing my outreach events, and at first many of them look at me as if I have two heads! However, when we discuss the impact that it has and the changes it can make, they change their views and get fired up at the possibilities that it presents.

William Wilberforce was a man who changed the world, even though the odds were stacked outrageously against him. He strived through years of failure, ridicule and personal attacks, and sacrificed his own personal ambition to the greater good of those who had no voice for themselves. This, to me, should be the mantra of all our elected representatives and indeed for our Party as a whole. Politics, and politicians, do matter - we need to make sure that the public is aware of this through the actions and motivations of those elected to represent them.