2025 End of Year Review
A year of defending democracy, and making it work better
As this year draws to a close, we wanted to share a few of the highlights of the work our tiny but brilliant team has done.
Across the UK and internationally, democracy is under real pressure. Trust is collapsing, systems built for a different era are struggling to cope, and the far right is gaining ground by exploiting frustration and disillusionment. At the same time, fundamental democratic rights, including the right to protest, are being narrowed rather than protected.
Compassion in Politics exists to meet that moment. Not with slogans, but with practical work to defend democracy and modernise it so it can actually deliver.
Here are a few of the things we have done. With huge thanks to all of you who have helped make our work possible.
We reconvened 30 democracy organisations alongside business leaders in London, creating a high trust space to focus on democratic renewal, cooperation, and how to respond to rising polarisation and institutional strain.
Took the case to Parliament, submitting evidence on the damage done by divisive and patriarchal practices, meeting with the Speaker and running the All Party Parliamentary Group on Compassionate Politics which now has nearly 60 MPs and is being led by the brilliant Kim Leadbeater MP.
We convened and spoke out against the use of terrorism legislation against peaceful protesters, warning of the chilling effect this has on democratic participation, and defending the right to protest as a cornerstone of a healthy democracy.
Our Truth in Politics campaign has led to legislation in Wales and a growing body of support in Westminster, with the case being made by Ellie Chowns MP on the floor of the House. Watch this space as we're planning to introduce the measure into Westminster shortly.
We took compassionate politics into the mainstream media, challenging toxic norms in Parliament, defending democratic institutions, and making the case that compassion is not weakness, but leadership.
We partnered with the Charter for Compassion on their new global podcast, presented by our CEO, creating an international platform connecting politics, civic leadership and compassion practice across borders.
We helped place compassion at the heart of debates about human rights and spoke out in defence of the European Convention on Human Rights as European leaders seek to restrict its application.
We brought democratic reform into public culture at festivals, theatres and conferences taking conversations about trust, participation and renewal beyond policy circles and into the public square.
We continued to translate compassion science into practical tools for politicians, staffers and civic leaders, countering the idea that compassion is abstract or unworkable.
And we spoke out in defence of democratic institutions, including the BBC, when they came under attack, because truth and trust matter.
We continued to collaborate and convene. We now work with over 55 organisations to maximise our impact and those of our partners.
We spoke at events around the world, our CEO was awarded a Global Peace Prize at the UN in Bangkok and an amazing team in Australia are planning a 2026 launch.
This year we sadly lost the amazing Professor James Doty, a global figure on the compassion stage and an early and vocal advocate of our work. He is profoundly missed by all of us but his legacy lives on. RIP
Alongside this work, we've just published new polling which shows that if Prime Minister Keir Starmer leaned into values voters already associate with Labour, including compassion, sincerity and tolerance, it could gain a net 3.2 million additional votes, enough to see off the threat posed by Reform.
None of this is abstract. It is about whether democratic systems can still command trust, protect fundamental rights, resist extremism, and deliver answers in a world shaped by overlapping crises.
Finally, we have launched an end of year survey asking for your input on our work in 2026. There is still time to take it, click below it will only take 5 minutes.
With your support in 2026, we can scale what works, deepen parliamentary engagement, defend democratic space, and help build a politics that is fit for the challenges we face.
If you are able to support our work as the new year dawns, we would be hugely grateful. And whether or not you can give, thank you for being part of a movement that insists democracy can be better than this.