I’d like UK politics to be far less tribal, please…

Several years ago, I remember listening to four (I think) ‘senior’ politicians on the radio talking about their political lives (sadly, I can no longer recall their names)… about issues of the day; about their regrets; about their frustrations; and about stuff they’d been proud to have been involved in. A General Election was due, but each of the politicians in question had decided it was time they ‘stepped down’.
The politicians were from different parties and I can clearly remember listening to the programme in absolute awe.
Each of them spoke with quiet authority and, crucially, from their own personal perspectives… they were generous to each other; they acknowledged each others’ point of view; and, in the course of the discussion, there were several times when they were able to agree various compromise options to hugely difficult issues.
The discussion was relaxed, authoritative, intelligent and good-humoured. There was a wonderful spirit of ‘if-only-we-could-have-set-aside-our-respective-party-dogmas-we-might-have-achieved-something’. It was quite, quite brilliant… without doubt, one of the most impressive political ‘debates’ I’ve ever experienced. Above all, it all seemed SO refreshing and hopeful.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve become HUGELY disillusioned with the whole world of politics here in the UK (yes, I’d be the first to acknowledge that one or two other western democracies have similar issues… mentioning no names!).

I’d also be happy to acknowledge that we are fortune to have some very gifted politicians in the UK… I could probably come up with a list of more than 50 (if only I could actually remember some of their names!) whose opinions, integrity and principles I particularly respected… and there are obviously many more about whom I know very little(!).
It’ll probably never happen, but I long for a time when the UK might be governed by a coalition of sensible, sensitive, gifted people (not necessarily those whose political views reflect my own!) and an end to the appalling, embarrassing, bah-humbug, them-and-us, politics that we witness on a weekly basis at Prime Minister’s Questions.
Sadly, with party politics seemingly dominating everything else, we have the continuing, farcical Brexit ‘debate’ which has totally divided the Tory party (not to mention the nation) whilst, at the same time, we have a largely ineffective Labour opposition party unable to bring the government to account on a whole range of issues - at a time when the government is regularly ‘failing’. I'd like a world where the politicians who represent us endeavour to make decisions on a 'taking-everything-on-its-merits' basis, rather than how Party Whips instruct them to vote.

So, if it’s ok with you, I’d like the following politicians to get together and offer themselves to the country as the core of an alternative government (please feel free to add your own favourites – as long as they don’t include Rees-Mogg, Gove and Johnson - or even delete some of mine!): Caroline Lucas; Dominic Grieve; Harriet Harman; Chuka Umunna; Yvette Cooper; David Lammy; Luciana Burger; Mhairi Black; Layla Moran; Andrew Mitchell; Anna Soubry, Ben Bradshaw and Tom Brake for starters?