Former Welsh Lib Dem Leader Kirsty Williams has spoken out about the unpleasant divisiveness of our political atmosphere after one of her team was racially abused and she had the unsettling experience of a man making a shooting gesture and telling her Liberals should be shot.
From Wales Online:
Describing the change she has seen since the EU referendum, she said: “I think ever since the Brexit vote I think politics has become very divisive in a way I haven’t witnessed in all these years and I think in some ways that has unleashed something where the country is very, very, very divided and that’s to be regretted and unfortunately I don’t see how that divide is going to be healed.”
Acknowledging the responsibility of politicians to take care in the language they use, she said: “I think all politicians at all times need to be mindful about how they express their arguments.
“There are legitimate arguments to be expressed but words are powerful and the influence politicians have is powerful and therefore there is a responsibility on all of us to be very mindful about how we conduct ourselves and the language we use.
She described what had happened to her volunteer and the effect that has on people:
“Unfortunately it just seems that this kind of discourse is becoming the norm. We’ve had a volunteer racially abused this week.
“She feels that she can’t go and deliver any leaflets because she was racially abused while just out delivering leaflets.”
The volunteer was someone who wanted to “do her bit in support of the values she believed in and unfortunately feels she won’t be able to do that again”.
The AM fears such experiences will stop people from getting involved in politics.
“That’s the issue, isn’t it,” she said. “Why would people want to put themselves and potentially their families through this?
Read on to find out how she reacted to a Conservative sign being planted in her hedge.
I do agree with Kirsty that politics can be pretty vicious at the moment. I am not sure it’s any worse than when I started out back in the 80s, though. It did calm down for a while in the late 90s. It used to be Labour who were the worst. Power came too easy to them and they responded with an aggressive arrogance to anyone who tried to take it from them.
It’s a bit like that with the SNP at the moment. They are in real trouble in a fair few seats across Scotland. We are pushing them hard in Edinburgh West, East Dunbartonshire, North East Fife, Argyll and the Highlands. They are responding with vicious leaflets and the other night two of us were yelled at by SNP supporters while out leafletting in different parts of Edinburgh West. They used an almost identical script.
Standing up for what you believe in is really important – and when our core liberal values are under threat as they have never before been in my lifetime, we really have no choice. That’s going to mean you take abuse from time to time, but there is also a great sense of solidarity even across party politics at times. We can’t allow the actions of a few idiots to silence us.
* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings. You can find her on Bluesky at caronmlindsay.bsky.social
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9 Comments
Those of us who stand for election have to be prepared for the odd hostile reaction (though in my experience most people manage to disagree in a civilised manner).
The more serious point Kirsty raises is the wholly unacceptable reaction to people volunteering to help. Such intimidation undermines our democracy, but preventing it is not easy.
There are nazis about these days.
Balance: have we always been so perfect, lets be honest.
Thomas Jefferson (SBN 8139-0284-3, ISBN 0-19-913074-4) complained about fake news in the prints and vicious lies aimed at him personally from his political opponents, but was elected twice as President with an increasing majority, trusting in the good sense of the voters.
There have been changes to the political system though. Imagine Donald J trump as President and Hillary Rodham Clinton as Vice-President, or Barrack Obama filling all the vacant appointed posts after the election result was known and before the end of his own second term.
theakes, the behavour described here represents a certain value system. Liberals would never behave like this. Unacceptable behaviour is always unacceptable behaviour. No apologists.
The intimidation is designed to prevent alternative voices being heard. Sadly, this has been going on in Scotland during and since the 2014 referendum. I’ve heard so many stories of volunteers who deliver leaflets or man stalls being videoed and photographed to create a database of opposition campaigners just in case you go on Question Time and ask a question, at which point they are entitled to abuse you. This invariably goes wrong, when someone who looks a bit like someone in a leaflet asks a question.
Just today this was posted by a Tory candidate, showing abuse of Tory campaigners by a woman who videoed herself following a campaign team around a residential area, shouting abuse (and quite probably committing multiple driving offences).
https://twitter.com/stephenckerr/status/867879368563011584
Yes politics can get nasty and there are unacceptable behaviours in all parties and amongst supporters I am afraid.
Over the last couple of years I have read poor comments on here about women, attitudes towards women in the LibDems, nasty and ill informed comments about Hillsborough to name a few. I say this not to be antagonistic but to make sure we all remain grounded and vigilant.
I’m not sure how we can stop this but the leadership of all parties has a role.
All the more disappointing then that Corbyn’s speech on terrorism and specifically the need to avoid petty politics and personal attacks was over looked by Tim Farron.
A missed opportunity for a platform appealing for decency.
Dave
Maybe you did read the comments you mention but like you made by outsiders.
Corbyn was clearly a PIRA sympathiser.
@ Manfarang.
My facebook account is being overtaken by posts from young people, middle -aged and elderly people who are not the momentum bogey men and women that we are supposed to believe are supporting Jeremy Corbyn.
Admittedly some of my friends are Quakers, some Christians of other denominations, but amongst this mornings offerings –
‘Jeremy Corbyn winner of the 2013 Gandhi Foundation International Peace award ‘.
These slurs against a man who it appears, chooses the way of peace, not war, just isn’t working.