Why reading other people’s opinions is a great way to make sense of today’s politics

Sorting through the noise of ever-changing political developments in the UK has been something of a challenge since the 2016 referendum.

With a bitter and progressively divisive general election on the horizon, that’s especially true now. But although rooting out the truth in order to make our minds up about where we stand on the biggest issues in our lives can be a daily challenge, there are more tools out there to help us to make sense of the chaos than we often realise.

Take the current manifesto battle unfolding between Labour and the Tories, for example. Amid a number of promises (including shadow chancellor John McDonnell’s assertion that this is the party’s most radical yet, and Sajid Javid’s allusion to possible tax cuts in the Tory manifesto) are even more questions about what these proposals could mean for each of us. Questions we anticipate and aim to answer as thoroughly as possible through news reporting, analysis and more.

But alongside the aforementioned approaches, there is another means of helping to clear the fog that we often fail to mention: comment articles. Basing huge decisions on the personal views of a select few is not advisable, of course. However, referring to the vast array of voices, expertise and personal experiences centred around this general election can be an incredibly useful and entertaining way to stay abreast of what’s going on.

There are columns by political experts such as John Rentoul; MPs themselves, particularly the new faces we don’t often get to hear from; political sketches from the likes of Tom Peck, providing an often much-needed comic slant on an otherwise dire set of circumstances; and pieces from those whose livelihoods and exposure to varying aspects of the political landscape are directly impacted by this election: working parents, young voters, NHS staff – everyone.

You don’t have to agree with each comment article you read. But there’s no reason you can’t, in addition to consuming straight news reporting, use them to demystify what can too often descend into a mayhem of confusing and polarising sound bites.

Yours,

Kuba Shand-Baptiste

Commissioning editor, Voices