It’s time to unite

We are living through very challenging times. As well as the recent terror attacks in London and Manchester, our country has had to deal with years of austerity – we have more than a million people using foodbanks – social and political divisions leaving the two-party political system creaking under the strain and an uncertain future ahead of us as we leave the European Union. It can all sound very depressing. Yet amid the gloom have been remarkable glimmers of hope.

Manchester showed wonderful tenacity and spirit in saying a resounding “NO” to the nihilism of the terrorist who blew himself up at the Ariana Grande concert.

The image of police officers dancing with crowds of young people at the memorial concert at Old Trafford is still etched in my memory.

After Jo Cox was so brutally murdered, her widower Brendan Cox stepped forward and added his name to ours in standing up for a better world where we have “more in common”.

Tens of thousands of Great Get Together events will take place across the country this weekend, celebrating the best of our communities.

Mike Haines, whose brother David was kidnapped and murdered on video by Islamic State, has also joined us and Brendan in offering a different vision of peace and dignity in the face of terror and hatred.

Meanwhile, after the London attacks more than 200 imams said they would deny the terrorists an Islamic funeral or prayers, a significant action given that the terrorists view their horrendous actions as divinely inspired. “Not in life, not in death,” they said. You cannot meet hate with hate. I have spent decades in the struggle against extremism and that much is very clear. Our communities need hope, a recognition that we’re all in this together, and that together we have a far better chance of building a better future than if we go it alone.

That doesn’t mean naivety, or not listening, or not being able to have difficult conversations around difficult topics.

It is only by talking with people we might disagree with that we can really hope to sort out our problems.

But driving division between our communities can and will never be the answer. Blaming one for the problems of all cannot lead to increased peace and security, nor deliver jobs and prosperity.

Coming out of a bruising and quite divisive general election, it is time for Britons to come together, unite and celebrate what we have in common. That is the British way.

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