"Nothing Ever Changes" – The Most Dangerous Lie in British Politics

You hear it all the time – down the pub, at the school gates, in the comments section under any vaguely political article: “Whoever gets in, nothing ever changes.”

It’s the national shrug. A weary, knowing sigh dressed up as wisdom. And let’s be fair – there’s truth in it. Governments often do seem more like caretakers of decline than agents of progress. Grand promises melt into fudge. The NHS remains on life support. The trains don’t run. You can’t see a GP without sacrificing a chicken under a full moon.

So the temptation is to say: “Surely it’s worth giving them a go? I know very little about politics but can they be any worse?” Things feel broken, stale, like the same tired crew has been steering the ship into the rocks for years. People are absolutely right to be fed up. But here’s the danger in “can they be any worse?” Because honestly? Yes, they absolutely can, they can be catastrophically worse. And history is packed with examples of people voting for change just to shake things up – and ending up with chaos in spades.

Saying you don’t know much about politics but still wanting to roll the dice is like picking a surgeon based on vibes. You wouldn’t say, “Well, I know nothing about medicine, but how bad could it be if he operates with a hammer?” Some of these candidates are exactly that – all brute force, no idea. Wanting change is good. Necessary, even. But it matters what kind of change. Some people flog “different” as if it’s automatically better, when really it’s just the same dysfunction wrapped in a new flag. Because here’s the truth: change can happen. It’s happened before. Attlee built the NHS from the rubble of war. Thatcher – whether you cheered or booed – rewired the economy. Blair brought in the minimum wage and tackled child poverty. These weren’t tweaks – they were structural.

The problem now is that we’ve got leaders with neither the courage to be bold nor the competence to be careful. Political bandwidth has been devoured by Brexit, culture wars, and pantomime outrage, while the real machinery of change – housing, energy, education – clanks on in neglect. And when people stop believing change is possible, they disengage. Shrug. Stay home. Let others decide. That’s when the truly dangerous ones creep in – the ones who rely on your apathy. Who want you to stop caring.

So no – it’s not that nothing ever changes. It’s that meaningful change takes effort, attention, and, yes, a bit of homework. By all means, back someone new – but make sure they’re not worse than what you’re trying to fix. Ask questions. Don’t just vote for "vibes." Because once the wreckers get their hands on power, they don’t tend to give it back.