by Jo Cox, the British Labour MP who was shot and stabbed on Thursday, sounded absolutely lovely and full of compassion. It’s so sad that two small children are now without a mother. Her suspected murderer has just appeared in court; he gave his name as “Death to traitors, freedom for Britain”. He sounds seriously messed up.
The compassion that Jo Cox showed in spades appears to be in increasing short supply in Britain. The picture of the UK that is beamed to me via various news websites (and therefore may not be entirely accurate) does not resemble the tolerant place I was brought up in, and that makes me sad. I’m seeing a lot of anger and resentment and hatred there now, and this EU referendum has given people an outlet for that. I don’t blame them in a way, but the EU is only a small part of the problem. The real problem is that successive governments over the last 35 years haven’t done enough to help poor people and poor communities. Britain’s economy is increasingly concentrated in London and the south-east. That includes St Ives in Cambridgeshire where my parents are staying now. Dad said he’s seen no evidence of the sort of anger I’m talking about, but then he wouldn’t in a town which is only a guided busway ride away from Cambridge, an outward-looking city which is likely to vote Remain by one of the largest percentage margins in the whole of England. If instead he went for a half-hour drive to the Welland Estate in Peterborough, parts of which some buses wouldn’t go through (and maybe still don’t) because it was too dangerous, I’m sure he’d see it. In 2003 I lived and worked in Peterborough, which is in the same county as Cambridge (sort of), but it’s really a world away and I expect it to vote Leave by a hefty margin.
How will Jo Cox’s murder affect the referendum? It sounds crass to even ask, but I think for such a huge decision we have to. Before the event I was picking a fairly comfortable win for Leave by nearly ten points. The more coverage the referendum and the campaigns got, the more it seemed to favour Leave as it became the mainstream option, and I could see that continuing right up until voting day. (This is the opposite of what some commentators were saying, i.e. that more attention would lead to a higher turnout, especially amongst Remain-friendly younger people.) The murder itself might garner some sympathy votes for Remain, but perhaps more importantly there hasn’t been any campaigning for two days and what campaigning is left will probably be more civil than before the shooting. I can see the pendulum swinging back towards Remain but will it be enough to get them over the line? I’m not so sure. And if it is enough but only just, people will say that the murder changed the result. What a terrible mess.
