It’s tough not to be cynical. And if demonstrated by withdrawal, distrust of human sincerity, and abandonment of hope, there’s a lot of it about.

A report from The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) indicated that turnout in the recent UK General Election was the lowest by share of population since universal suffrage.

At least the 4th July poll was deliciously timed for this year’s Byline Festival at Dartington, in the beautiful Devon countryside. Starting on Friday 5th the stage was set for lively and topical debate on the prospects and priorities for the new government.

For the uninitiated, Byline is both an annual event and a monthly journal that, without fear or favour, provide a platform for independent journalism, under the banner ‘What the papers don’t’ say’.

It was while chairing one of the panel sessions in the Great Hall that Hardeep Matharu, the inspirational editor of Byline Times, shared one of her guiding principles. That even against the odds, she remains sceptical not cynical. She assiduously seeks the truth, she holds to account all those with political power, but she engages with an open mind, her hope undimmed.

Optimism is the foundation of this stance. Harder to maintain, I feel, if only held as a belief. My sense of hope is always nourished by behaviour, targeted action that may not change the world but that breaks the personal inertia.

Which begs the question. How, when so many of the issues we face appear so huge, do we tackle their potentially paralysing impact?

This was asked specifically of writer and activist George Monbiot in an interview at the Byline Festival by Anthea Simmons, editor of West Country Voices.

His response, not immediately a solution, took the form of what he described as social tipping. In short, communicating, establishing shared purpose and, from an article in The Guardian on 28th April 2023, “widening the concentric circles of those committed to systemic change until a critical threshold is reached.”

Monbiot cited research from 2018 suggesting that when the size of a committed minority reaches roughly 25% of the population, the status quo and its social conventions flip.

This requires tenacity but certainly beats violence and sabotage as agents for change. And, despite the scale of the challenges, scepticism, not cynicism, is in the driving seat.

To close, I will quote from a moving tribute to former Sunday Times editor Sir Harold Evans by Byline Co-Founder Peter Dukes, from September 2020. Harry Evans was a legendary journalist, “sceptical at times but never cynical – always enthusiastic and positive.”

Be more Harry. Be more Hardeep. Be more George.