As we enter 2026, the UK is in desperate need of a political reset. From manufactured outrage to simplistic blame games, this is the age of TikTok politics, where complex policy challenges are reduced to 40-second clips, and success is measured more in social posts shared than real lives improved.

But here’s the crucial reality check: most people are absolutely sick of it. Young people especially tell me all the time how the whole tribal and adversarial politics is a complete turn-off. “Why can’t you politicians all just work together?” one asked me plaintively the other day.

And I completely share their frustration.

Because the challenges facing our communities really are too serious for this kind of divisive, clickbait politics. Whether it’s the cost of living, the housing emergency, or community safety, people need real-world solutions, not social media soundbites. The increasing polarisation and politicisation of issues we’ve seen in recent years just doesn’t help anyone. Real progress requires working across the political spectrum and bringing communities together rather than hammering a wedge between them.

That’s where I think City Hall politics can offer a better example to follow. Not least, of course, in having some form of proportional representation as we do here in London to make each vote count and ensure a more diverse political spectrum so everyone feels they have a voice at the table.

But it’s not just our fairer voting system that national politics could learn from, it’s the far more collaborative style of working together you find in the London Assembly. Even the chamber where we meet is set up for a better kind of politics – seated around a table together, rather than glaring at each other from across a dispatch box.

Sure, we have our scraps now and again – both with the Mayor and with other parties. But more often than not, City Hall politics consistently demonstrates that it’s possible to work constructively and collaboratively with people across party lines to advocate for your community, whilst still maintaining and representing your principles and values.

You see this at committee level especially, whether it’s on devolution, fire, policing, transport or the economy. When the Met announced it was going to shut police front counters across the city, you would have been hard pressed to tell which party any Assembly Member was from, so closely did we work together to scrutinise and interrogate that decision.

The same could be said of our work on the Transport Committee recently, to get to the bottom of why Zipcar had chosen to withdraw from London. And as Chair of the London Assembly’s Economy Committee, I could not praise more highly the commitment and cross-party working I’ve seen from all the Assembly Members on everything from helping prison leavers into employment to how we can better support unpaid carers.

Collaboration is built into how we all operate at City Hall. Unlike the House of Commons, in the Assembly no party has a landslide majority. That means to get any motion passed, each political group is reliant on making its case and winning the support of others. For example, we Lib Dems have teamed up with the Conservatives to pass a motion for a London Disability Champion, with Labour to pass one on more action on Islamophobia, and with the Greens in support of trans rights.

Similarly when it comes to the Mayor, our engagement is often more constructive than confrontational. Recently, I asked him to look at introducing the same kind of protections and innovations for London’s delivery riders as we’ve seen in both Manchester and New York. Rather than taking my questions as some kind of political challenge, the Mayor instead promised to follow up on my suggestions.

This approach at City Hall works because it focuses on outcomes rather than optics. Being a voice for London means being a voice for all Londoners – not just those who agree with us, not just those in certain boroughs or from particular backgrounds. It means listening as much as speaking, and building consensus rather than conflict.

The London Assembly shows that a better politics is possible. One that prioritises problem-solving over point-scoring, collaboration over confrontation, and real change over viral moments. As Liberal Democrats, this has always been our tradition – community organising, practical solutions, and bringing people together to get things done.

As we look ahead through 2026, that approach is needed more than ever to move beyond the show and deliver meaningful change. That’s the politics London needs. That’s the politics the whole country needs. And that’s the kind of politics Lib Dems deliver.

* Hina Bokhari is the Liberal Democrat Leader on the London Assembly and the most prominent elected Muslim within the Liberal Democrats.