An environment of conflict

[Workingman]

All I can say is that I do not see any need for anyone to use Jo Cox's murder as a vehicle to make very pertinent points about the despicable way the campaign has been operated, by both sides. Any points in that regard stand very ably of their own accord without any further reference.

I got sick of the campaigns weeks ago, as I said at the time, so I do understand the anger and frustration, it is why I have stayed away from reading, listening to or watching any of it.

[cromwell]

WM, I agree. The debate, if you can call it that, has been just awful. Evenmore awful, there are signs that some MP's are going to use her death as a political weapon to limit what are "acceptable" topics to debate.


And this I think is key.

it should also be a wake-up call to the politicians to start listening to the people they represent, not only at local but also at national level. I have been appalled by some MPs, mainly on the Remain side of the referendum, who have adopted the attitude that their constituents should heed their MP's views and then vote in accordance with them. Sorry, but we are not forelock-tugging serfs.

When I were a lad, etc etc. Back in the day local MP's were mostly local people. Usually they had come up through the trades unions - round here usually the NUM - but they were local people. Selected and elected by local people and sent off to Westminster to represent us. They had even had proper jobs before becoming an MP!

Now that has all changed. The national party, be it Labour or Conservative, has a much bigger hand in the selection of candidates. It is rarely left just to the local branch of the party. People like Yvette Cooper, Mary Creagh, Ed Balls, Tristram Hunt, Ed and David Miliband, Luciana Berger and an awful lot more are not from their constituencies. Many of them don't even live in their constituencies.

Mainly they are from London and live in London, where their children if they have any attend school. They are all members of a political elite that absolutely do not represent the views of local people. They represent the views of the London political set. How could they not - that's where they all live!

Plus their career paths don't seem to involve any sort of real work. Many of them go into union or "charity" work, work at the EU, work as interns for MP's, network, and eventually get selected as a parliamentary candidate.

There was a report in the Guardian about how shocked Labour MP's were when they went to their constituencies and found out how many Labour voters were voting Leave, and the question was asked "How could they not know this was happening?".

Because they aren't from there, they don't live there and they rarely visit, that's why.

I don't think I've ever known such contempt and anger towards our MP's. They aren't of us, they don't represent us and they are sent up from London to tell us what we should be thinking.

I don't go so far as civil war but a gradual collapse in the number of people voting and a growing contempt for our "democracy", yes, absolutely.