‘PASSER-BY SAID I SHOULD BE SHOT’
WELSH Education Secretary Kirsty Williams was told she deserved to be shot by a man who then mimed firing a gun before driving off.
The Liberal Democrat AM was campaigning in her Brecon and Radnorshire constituency when she, volunteers, and Westminster candidate James Gibson-Watt were harassed in this way.
Ms Williams said another volunteer had been “racially abused” while delivering leaflets.
Describing the incident in Presteigne on Friday, she said: “We were just out and about, myself and the candidate and a couple of volunteers, and the candidate had stopped to talk to somebody on a street corner and this man wound down his window of his vehicle as he was going past.
“He stuck his hand out of the vehicle in a mock gun, and said, ‘You Liberals, you all deserve to be shot,’ and made a gun sound as if he was shooting us and then he drove off.”
Ms Williams described it as a “sign of the times”, saying: “All these issues about online trolling, abuse online... It puts people off from wanting to take part in our political process and that’s a real shame.
“I just think it’s just a sign of how things are at the moment in politics but, yes, it can be wearing.”
The former Welsh Lib Dem leader said that since the Brexit vote there was a greater divisiveness in politics than she had ever seen before and she was worried abuse will stop people from getting involved.
In contrast with anonymous online attacks, this was “a real-life person in a real-life vehicle”.
It comes at a time of high concern about the security of people in the political process.
Ms Williams said the tone of politics has changed in the wake of Brexit. She said: “Unfortunately it just seems that this kind of discourse is becoming the norm. We’ve had a volunteer racially abused this week.
“She feels that she can’t go and deliver any leaflets because she was racially abused while just out delivering leaflets.”
The volunteer was someone who wanted to “do her bit in support of the values she believed in and unfortunately feels she won’t be able to do that again”.
The AM fears such experiences will stop people from getting involved in politics.
“That’s the issue, isn’t it,” she said. “Why would people want to put themselves and potentially their families through this?
“This happens to many of my colleagues across the political spectrum and it’s just a real shame.”
Describing the change she has seen since the EU referendum, she said: “I think ever since the Brexit vote politics has become very divisive in a way I haven’t witnessed in all these years and I think in some ways that has unleashed something where the country is very, very, very divided and that’s to be regretted.
“Unfortunately I don’t see how that divide is going to be healed.”
Acknowledging the responsibility of politicians to take care in the language they use, she said: “I think all politicians at all times need to be mindful about how they express their arguments.
“There are legitimate arguments to be expressed but words are powerful and the influence politicians have is powerful and therefore there is a responsibility on all of us to be very mindful about how we conduct ourselves and the language we use.”
Describing how politicians found the resilience they needed to keep going in this climate, she said: “I think what drives all politicians is a strong belief in the values they are fighting for and it’s important when times are like this to be standing up and standing up for what you believe in. That’s what I’m sure keeps people going.”
Ms Williams found that a Conservative poster had been planted in her hedge.
She said on Twitter: “Having people hang around our home is just what we need in the week when I was told I deserved to be shot for my political views.”
She noted: “Generally, they do have to ask permission of owners, but I’m sure somebody thought it was highly amusing.”