Extremist politics must be tackled

Democrats across the UK must work together to combat ‘the drift to the extremes’ in British politics, Labour MEP Catherine Stihler will say today.

She will warn that intolerance is blighting British politics, with a growing lack of respect for opponents’ views, as she speaks in the John P Mackintosh memorial debate in the Scottish Parliament.

Amid the rise of the hard left in the Labour Party and the hard right in the Tory Party, Ms Stihler – an MEP for Scotland since 1999 – will call for a cross-party defence of the “liberal centre”, insisting the foundations of tolerance, facts and ideas must be “resuscitated”.

“Many no longer respect their opponents’ views, and an ‘I am right, you are wrong’ mentality has seeped through political life,” she will say.

“Social media allows for connection, but then we have algorithms driving what you see and hear; extreme views can be normalised in an environment of destructive exchanges.”

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the death of the leading academic, politician, writer and political thinker John P Mackintosh. Today’s debate will feature former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell and former SNP deputy leader Angus Robertson.