Kim Leadbetter

And we've got to remain optimistic about the role that we can all play in sort of rolling things back a little bit.

Finding the spaces for human connection as well, where we can, it's much harder to hate somebody once you've met them and once you've had a conversation with them.

And I think, you know, from a government perspective, we need policies which enable human connection to take place.

We've seen things closed down like youth clubs and community centres and things like that.

So we're not able to connect with our fellow human beings maybe in the way that we used to.

Even when you go to the supermarket and it's self-service checkouts, we're not, I hate it, I hate it.

So the opportunities where we could chat to each other and connect as a human being, whatever the differences might be, just don't exist in the same way that they did when I was a lot younger.

It needs political leadership, but it also needs really strong grassroots work as well.

One of the things I've been involved with since I've been an MP has been the Keep Britain Tidy campaign at the Great British Spring Clean.

And I absolutely love it.

Yes, it's partly about litter picking, which is disgusting.

You know, we've got to sort that out.

But it needs to be done.

But actually, when you get together a bunch of people to go litter picking and tidy up the street, that sense of togetherness and that sense of, like, shared endeavour is so incredibly powerful.

And...

And the people that I've met doing things like that, doing all the events that we've done over the last 10 years, shows what we are really like as a country.

But again, it goes back to telling those stories and making sure those voices are the loudest and not the voices.

And there are some voices who are intentionally trying to drive us apart and push us towards the extremes.

But we've got to fight back and we've got to push back against it.

Well, join in with a great get together.