Creating space for political excellence
Common Room brings people together from across political, business and civic life to disagree well, so the work that matters gets done.
Political culture is under pressure
People are switching off
Politics often rewards whoever is loudest and most divisive. Many people are tired of it.
Those who serve pay a price
Abuse and stress take a toll on elected representatives and their families. They also put good people off standing.
Compounding losses
Short-term point-scoring crowds out the long-term thinking our communities and economy needs.
A visible alternative
We believe people can disagree robustly and still respect each other
Three key areas
LEADERS
Support across the whole political career, from future leaders and onboarding to mentoring and life after office.
RELATIONSHIPS
Cross-party conversations. Connections between politics, business, media and civil society. Former representatives passing on what they've learnt.
SYSTEMS
Research and evidence-based thought leadership that shows what works and makes a different kind of politics visible.
How we work
Multipartisan
Every party is invited in on equal terms
Evidence-led
Grounded in research across disciplines
Robust and respectful
Disagreement held with courage and dignity
Founder
Dr Mary Miller founded Common Room to explore a shared commitment to better political culture. She is a consultant, clinical psychologist and author of Leading with Fierce Compassion (Routledge, 2026)
She is bringing together a cross-party initiative including those within the political system, those who have left, business, academia, media and civil society.
In her 20s she lived through a series of sudden losses. One question helped her find her way: "what good can come from this?" It has shaped her career and convinced her that connection and shared humanity give us the strength to face hard problems together.
Let's create this together
Common Room is in its early stages. We're looking for people who want to help build something that lasts:
Advisors who can offer expertise in law, governance, communications, design or research
Connectors who can introduce us to political, business and civic leaders
Partners who can help with funding, venues or resources