Blog: And now for something completely different

Well, this has been a May to remember. I’m not a particularly political person – and don’t worry, I’m not about to start pinning my colours to the mast here – but I must admit to being captivated by the goings on of the past few weeks. If I ever get asked to help with a homework question (don’t panic Mrs R) like ‘What factors influenced the formation of the Con-Lib coalition in Britain in 2010?’, I’ll clean up!

As was apparent from the word emblazoned on billboards and impromptu poster sites along the motorways, the Tories were campaigning for ‘change’, just as Labour did in 1997 and the Conservatives did in 1979 and … I’m sure I needn’t go on. It’s a well-worn mantra of a country with an entrenched two-party system, and it’s hardly surprising when all we seem to achieve from protracted terms in office is a smorgasbord of expenses scandals or sleaze.

In politics, we like the idea of change but, in our own lives, many of us shy away from it. We fear the unknown; it’s better the devil you know (according to Kylie at least). We do things a certain way because that’s the way we’ve always done them, and ‘it was good enough for old Uncle Alf, so it’s good enough for me’. We’re quick to assume that something won’t work because it hasn’t worked before (you only have to listen to Messrs Cameron and Clegg to hear a robust rebuttal of that assumption), and we often feel the upheaval of doing things differently isn’t worth the potential gain.

In fact, change isn’t necessarily good or bad, and change for change’s sake is futile. What we should really consider is whether or not we can do something better. This was clearly the thinking from the Lib Dem and Tory faithful, which led them to support the negotiated deal. It must have made some of them baulk initially, but it seems that, with pragmatic reflection, they decided it could bring about a viable improvement on the status quo.

Sometimes we do have to take a leap of faith, but not a blind one, one taken with an open mind and full awareness of the facts. There is a dynamic of change that I suggest is at its most rapid now than ever before, and that alone makes it necessary to continually reflect on whether or not to do things differently. For the party leaders at this election, they chose to have TV debates, and that context arguably brought about a change that has benefited not only Cameron and Clegg, but also the democratic process in the long term.

Forgive me for regressing from political analysis to cult cinema of the ‘80s, but I think Ferris Bueller had it just right when he said: “Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

Matthew Reed is chief executive of PowerPlace.