The abuse of politics

Almost 6,000 people have been reported to Labour’s National Executive Committee as part of an initiative to crack down on abuse and anti-Semitism. Of course, not all will be guilty, but this astonishing figure reflects the painful divisions within the party’s ranks. Trust has broken down totally between Jeremy Corbyn and his fellow MPs. Activists in local parties complain of intimidation. And Labour has been infiltrated by radicals who refused to support it when it was last in government – although, to be fair, many of them were not old enough to vote in 2010.

This problem is not limited to Labour. Accusations of extremism in Ukip and online assaults upon representatives of all parties suggest that the internet has not been wholly positive for political discourse. Of course, it is wonderful that ideas can be more widely disseminated than ever before and that voters can speak more directly to politicians. But civility has often gone out of the window, the very worst opinions have been granted a friendly audience, and bullying has become a daily feature of some activists’ lives.

Individuals have to take responsibility for their behaviour; the law is there to protect people from harassment. But politicians must take a lead, too. Mr Corbyn has been too soft on this issue and once said: “The best way of dealing with abuse is [to] ignore it.” Now he is trying to strike a more concerned tone, even though his own style of politics does not help. His association with extremists, from Trotskyists to the IRA, is allied to a moralising world view that casts his Labour opponents as Red Tories and his Tory opponents as haters of the poor. Mr Corbyn is part of the problem.