Last week, a member of the UK parliament named Mike Freer announced that he is not seeking reelection and plans to withdraw from politics altogether. The reason? Repeated threats and harassment due to his support for Israel, and an attempt to burn down his office on Christmas eve. Douglas Murray comments:
It strikes me that had it been far-right extremists who had been targeting Freer, MPs might have had something to say. They might even—rightly—have said that this country should do everything it can to stop far-right extremists attacking MPs. But this was different. The hatred comes from a different direction, so they were silent. Freer himself gave an interview last week in which even he tried to get around the truth of his own situation. He refused to identify the ideology of the people who have been targeting him.
I remember a different Britain. A Britain where Margaret Thatcher stood in Brighton after an attempt on her life and told the world that the men of violence must not be allowed to win. But we don’t live in that society anymore. We have decided that the men of violence are winning, and that we must as a result all just keep our heads down.
Read more on Spectator: https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/im-embarrassed-by-modern-britain/