AS election day draws near, many may see it heralding a new dawn for the country. But is such a view naïve?

Five years ago Labour suffered a historic electoral defeat at the 2019 general election with the Conservatives reminding us they were being called the most successful political party in history, in the whole wide world.

Five years on and the political fortunes are completely reversed. The Conservatives now preside over government services and national finances in crisis and it is Labour on the threshold of a historic election victory.

These wild swings in political fortune remind me of system behaviour in which emerging system instability can be symptomatic of impending total system failure. This is most worrying as the system in question is our system of government.

And our political leaders seem oblivious to such a danger.

Reflecting on the five-year political turnaround in a BBC interview with Laura Kuenssberg, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer defended his own changing political priorities by insisting “opposition is futile” and that people join the Labour Party because they want a Labour government.

It seems our big political parties fight each other tooth-and-nail solely to gain control of government but have failed to grasp a truth that dates back to Aristotle.

It is more difficult and indeed more important to win the peace than it is to win the war.

Dr Martin Rodger

Bloxworth Road,

Parkstone