‘We are at war’ over future of democracy, warns Sir Lindsay Hoyle
The Commons Speaker has said “we are at war” over the future of democracy and “must never give in to others who don’t believe in our values”.
Sir Lindsay Hoyle revealed that he had written to Donald Trump after he was shot at during a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday to express concern at the “attack on democracy”.
He told Times Radio: “The first thing I wanted to do was express my worries and concerns in sending a letter to the former president ... to say, look, we are at war.
“We believe in the democratic process. We must never give in to the others who don’t believe in our values.”
Sir Lindsay said of the assassination attempt on Mr Trump: “This is trying to see people influence the democratic process.
“Because they don’t believe in the ballot box, they go to extreme measures – which is my biggest worry about the future of democracy.”
His intervention came as the Home Secretary warned that MPs and candidates in the UK faced an “alarming rise” in intimidation and abuse during the general election campaign”.
On Saturday, Yvette Cooper received a dossier from the Government’s political violence tsar detailing incidents of abuse, as he warned of a “dark underbelly of extremism” in public life.
Ms Cooper also announced that she will chair a meeting of the Defending Democracy Taskforce next week to ensure “public safety, security and standards”.
She said on Monday: “The recent general election campaign demonstrated some of the great strengths of our democratic traditions, including a smooth and peaceful transition of power from one party to another.
“But during this campaign we also saw an alarming rise in intimidation, harassment and abuse towards candidates, campaigners and volunteers from all parties, which simply cannot be tolerated. Some of those incidents are now being investigated by the police.
“In our democracy, we must be able to passionately debate and disagree on issues without ever resorting to intimidating tactics designed to silence voices, suppress votes or prevent free and full participation in our democratic processes.
“The disgraceful scenes we saw in some areas during this election campaign must not be repeated. In the coming weeks, I will also be speaking and meeting with MPs and candidates from across political parties who faced intimidation, harassment and abuse during the election campaign to hear about their experiences.”
It comes after some Labour candidates and MPs spoke of being targeted by bullying and intimidating behaviour throughout the campaign, particularly over the party’s handling of the conflict in Gaza.
Jess Phillips, the Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley, was booed and jeered by pro-Palestinian supporters during her acceptance speech on July 4.
Jonathan Ashworth, who lost his Leicester South seat to a pro-Gaza independent, said he was forced to hide in a vicarage from protesters and was the subject of anonymous leaflets calling him “Genocide Jon”.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman said there were “extensive and comprehensive security measures available” for all MPs, adding that the Home Office would be “following up” with individuals, including candidates, who had made reports of intimidation or abuse during the campaign.
Meanwhile, Dame Andrea Jenkyns, a former Tory minister, told The Telegraph that the atmosphere in public life had become “a lot more vitriolic”.
She said on Monday: “It has probably been the worst campaign I’ve ever encountered, and it was my fourth campaign. You get used to your signs and everything being damaged and graffitied, that becomes par for the course. But it was just the anger out there was a lot more vitriolic. The trolls on social media were through the roof.”
Dame Andrea, who lost her seat of Morley and Outwood, said last month that she had been flashed at by a constituent while out canvassing with her seven-year-old son.