David Amess's murder should remind us all of our democratic duty to respect political opponents – Scotsman comment

Ahead of the anniversary of the murder of Conservative politician David Amess by an Islamist terrorist during a constituency surgery, Anna Firth, elected as the MP for Southend West in his place, has spoken of her determination to keep meeting constituents in person.
The then Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Labour party leader Sir Keir Starmer and SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford attend a service to honour Sir David Amess at St Margaret's church in London last year (Picture: Jonathan Brady/WPA pool/Getty Images)The then Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Labour party leader Sir Keir Starmer and SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford attend a service to honour Sir David Amess at St Margaret's church in London last year (Picture: Jonathan Brady/WPA pool/Getty Images)
The then Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Labour party leader Sir Keir Starmer and SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford attend a service to honour Sir David Amess at St Margaret's church in London last year (Picture: Jonathan Brady/WPA pool/Getty Images)

Firth said she was “very determined” to continue doing this but added, understandably, that surgeries were now held with “slightly more security”.

The shocking murder of an elected representative among the people he served by an Isis sympathiser provided a gruesome case study in the importance of democracy – a means by which decisions are taken and disputes are resolved peacefully – and the violence inherent in alternative forms of government.

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Just like Isis, dictators do not tolerate dissent and tend to hand out death sentences with chilling regularity because they know their grip on power is unjustified and therefore requires at least a degree of force and fear to be maintained.

Violence is also the means by which democracy can be destroyed. In Russia, the murders of opposition politicians, businessmen who fell foul of the Kremlin, and journalists were part and parcel of the subversion of its fledgling democracy by Vladimir Putin and history offers other examples.

If people are too afraid to run for office, take part in debates or express their views, then the system starts to degrade. Issues are left unresolved, anger rises, increasing the risk of violence, potentially to the point where ‘might’ is more significant than anyone’s rights.

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Therefore, all politicians who subscribe to democratic principles should bear this in mind when thinking about how to treat their opponents and how to define the boundaries of acceptable rhetoric.

However heated the debate, however important the issues at stake, a true democrat must retain a basic level of respect for others with whom they may disagree on every issue under the sun with the exception of one, so ably described by Abraham Lincoln in the Gettysburg Address, “that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish”.

Many take democracy for granted in the UK and find it hard to imagine anything else. However, it can be fragile and so must be cherished by all who value peace, freedom and the multitude of benefits they bring.

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