To be heard.

Yesterday, I met a Labourite and we had dinner in a Brick Lane curry house, and I remembered seeing their members in the Pride in London parade. The clever folk of LGBT Labour produced shirts for members to wear which stated “I’ve never kissed a Tory.”

And whilst this tongue-in-cheek statement is, on the face of it, satirical and amusing, it presents a deep rooted issue with politics – one where the self-preservation of polarised political identity is of paramount importance over governance in the national interest from both Labour and the Conservatives.

It’s because of this party political tribalism, and the disconnect it has inevitably created, that we have many of the issues we now face: Brexit, Scottish independence, the rise of nationalism and the far-right. The most important question facing British politics surely isn’t how do we deal with the result of the Brexit referendum, but how do we reconnect our communities across the UK to regain their trust in our establishments.

A system of representation which relies on, even promotes, a two-party parliament is therefore fundamentally flawed for the nuance it ignores, glosses over, and for all the communities it ignores. It doesn’t allow for true representation of our wonderfully diverse communities.

We should also remember that politics isn’t binary. It isn’t polarised. It isn’t a black or white choice. Instead, its a confusingly brilliant hodgepodge of ideas and concepts, with each of us having our own opinions and attitudes, shaping us into a complex, multi-dimensional, living organism. And for far too long, politicians have assumed that the public isn’t switched on enough to comprehend that there is a different, more complex way which would ensure that more of us feel like we have our voices heard.

Why? The power they would therefore have to relinquish.

Ultimately, we need to ask ourselves how we wish to be represented. Are the traditions and history of the Palace of Westminster worth saving or should we press for reform? Do we need an unelected chamber to hold the Commons to account, or should we adapt this too? Should we introduce a new electoral system to allow for a more proportional house in the future? Does the design of the chamber need to be addressed to challenge the us-or-them approach? Do we need to devolve more power away from Westminster?

We can start by breaking down the two-party system we face in the UK by supporting smaller parties to hold governments and parliaments to account, and ultimately create a progressive movement that’s well informed, considerate and compassionate, and most importantly representative of the communities it serves in order to regain trust.

What’s clear is that fundamental change is needed to prevent, or more accurately reverse, the shift to the right in politics within the UK, and we can be proud to be a Liberal beacon in a world moving to the extremes.

That’s the real problem with the LGBT Labour “I’ve never kissed a Tory” shirts – the fact that it further polarises choice between two parties, when in reality that’s the last thing we need right now. In order to create a UK that works for everyone, we need to communicate, collaborate and consider, now for arguably the first time since Churchill’s wartime coalition.