We must never allow evil to triumph over the democracy Sir David loved so much
BORIS Johnson yesterday led emotional tributes to Sir David Amess.
Speaking at a Commons sitting held in memory of the Tory backbencher who was stabbed last week, the Prime Minister said Parliament had lost “a steadfast servant, a dear friend and colleague”.
He said: “While his death leaves a vacuum that will not and can never be filled, we will cherish his memory, we will celebrate his legacy.”
MPs on both sides of the Commons paid tributes to Sir David after the day’s parliamentary agenda was cleared for the memorial debate.
Opening the special adjournment debate, the Prime Minister condemned the “contemptible act of violence” that led to the MP’s death at a constituency surgery in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, last Friday.
“This country needs people like Sir David, this House needs people like Sir David, our politics needs people like Sir David – dedicated, passionate, firm in his beliefs but never anything less than respectful for those who thought differently,” Mr Johnson said.
“We will never allow those who commit acts of evil to triumph over the democracy and the Parliament that Sir David Amess loved so much,” he added.
Mr Johnson expressed sorrow for the MP’s widow, Julia, and their children, who had “lost a loving husband and devoted father”.
He said: “Sir David was taken from us in a contemptible act of violence… But we will not allow the manner of Sir David’s death to in any way detract from his accomplishments as a politician or as a human being because Sir David was a patriot who believed passionately in this country, in its people, in its future.
“He was also one of the nicest, kindest, and most gentle individuals ever to grace these benches.”
Mr Johnson paid tribute to the MP’s “outstanding record” of campaigning and his “determination to make this country a better place”.
The PM said: “Behind the famous and irresistible beam lay a seasoned campaigner of verve and grit.”
Turning to the West Southend MP’s relentless efforts to turn the Essex town into a city, the Prime Minister said: “He never once witnessed any achievement by any resident of Southend that could not, somehow, be cited in his bid to secure city status for that distinguished town.
“Highlights of that bulging folder included a world record for the most triangles being played at once; a group of stilt-walkers travelling non-stop from the Essex coast to Downing Street; and a visiting foreign dignitary allegedly flouting protocol by saying he liked Southend more than Cleethorpes.”
He added to applause: “I am happy to announce that Her Majesty has agreed that Southend will be accorded the city status it so clearly deserves.”
Leading Labour tributes, Sir Keir Starmer said: “Sir David was a dedicated parliamentarian and his loss is felt profoundly across this House. We are united in our grief at this terrible time.”
He recalled the grief felt when Labour MP Jo Cox was murdered by an extremist in 2016, saying: “On behalf of the entire Labour Party, I want to reach across the aisle and acknowledge just how deeply the pain is felt on the benches opposite.
“Of course our differences matter, after all, that’s what democracy is about.
“But today we are reminded that what we have in common matters
far more.” The Labour leader added: “A cowardly attack on a public servant doing their job, is an attack on our country and our way of life, a way of life that prizes tolerance, democracy and respect.”
Trauma
Kim Leadbeater, Jo Cox’s sister and Labour MP for her former constituency, Batley and Spen, said: “It breaks my heart to think that another family has had to experience that phone call, and the nightmare which follows.
“It’s a rollercoaster of deep trauma that no one should have to experience.”
Backbench tributes included one from Tory MP Mark Francois, a good friend of Sir David. Iain Duncan Smith also paid tribute.
At the beginning of yesterday’s Commons sitting, MPs observed a minute’s silence.
The Speaker’s chaplain, Tricia Hillas, led prayers in the chamber.
And, poignantly, MPs left Sir David’s marked place on the green benches empty.
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said: “The circumstances of Sir David’s death are despicable and raise the most fundamental issues about how members of this House are able to perform their vital democratic responsibilities safely and securely.
“I will not say more about the events, but I give the House my undertaking I will do everything in my power to ensure that these issues are treated with urgency and with the sense of priority that they deserve.”
At the close of parliamentary business, Mr Johnson, Mr Starmer, members of the Cabinet, MPs and peers all processed from the Palace of Westminster to St Margaret’s Church at Westminster Abbey for a Service of Prayer and Remembrance for Sir David.
The service was conducted by the Rector of St Margaret’s, the Reverend Anthony Ball, and an address was given by Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury.
After the service the bells of St Margaret’s were rung half-muffled.
WHERE there is usually division, there was only unity yesterday as members of the House of Commons came together from across the political spectrum to pay their tributes to Sir David Amess.
For the cruelly murdered veteran MP, who loathed rancour and brought smiles to the faces of all he met, it was a fitting legacy, showing off Parliament at its very best.
Party politics was put aside as parliamentarian after parliamentarian stood to recognise the shared desire to serve constituents that Sir David so epitomised.
He had been a wonderful example to any and all of them about how to do their jobs as MPs, and they were right to say it.
“Laughter, service, compassion” were the three words that summed him up, said former prime minister Theresa May whose assertion that every MP had lost a friend was readily acknowledged on all sides.
“Potentially the best Father of the House we will now never have,” said his best friend Mark Francois, paying his own emotional tribute.
It truly was Sir David’s Day. A day when his long campaign to have Southend named a city was finally realised, in his honour… a city born of grief, love and respect.
But his legacy did not, and must not, end there.
Sir David was appalled by the misogyny and threats that female MPs have increasingly faced from a vicious minority, and despaired generally of the incivility that today poisons so much political debate.
In his memory, we must drive the hatred out of politics and out of wider society.
Mr Francois hit the nail on the head when he told cross-party colleagues: “We may disagree, sometimes passionately, about how best to help people. But surely we can agree that we came here to try, for which we are now vilified, day to day.”
He was right to urge MPs to come together and legislate against the hatred that now infects our world, much of it enabled by social media giants who provide the platforms for faceless, cowardly keyboard warriors to spout their bile.
If the social media giants won’t take responsibility, as they should, then they must be subject to much stricter laws forcing them to bring to account those who use their platforms for hate.
They cannot continue to allow the open incitement of violence and conflict, or the anonymous torrents of abuse, that make the cyber world so anti-social.
For Sir David and for his family’s sake, and for the good of the nation, those who have hatred in their hearts must be made to think otherwise.
What better legacy could there be for such a selfless, dedicated and friendly man as Sir David Amess than to bring smiles where once there was the ugliness of strife?