Britons need to keep calm and carry on

During the dark days of World War II, when Britain stood almost alone against Adolf Hitler and his fascist Nazi government and military, the propaganda ministry here came up with a poster appealing to the innate British sense of stoicism in the face of adversity. Keep Calm and Carry On, it said.

If ever there was a time when it was needed again, that time is now.

Jo Cox, as a recently elected member of parliament, represented everything we Britons like to think we stand for - fair play, inclusiveness, care for those worse off than we are, and a defender of democratic institutions.

That came under a brutal attack on Thursday when a man wielding a gun and a knife confronted her in the street while she was preparing to meet with her constituents in Birstall near Leeds in northern England, where she routinely listened to her constituents, giving advice and promising to help where she could. In other words, just what a good, conscientious member of parliament should do.

She was shot three times and then stabbed, her attacker kicking her repeatedly as horrified onlookers tried to intervene. The 41-year-old member of parliament, who was married with two children, died of her injuries despite the efforts of paramedics and a doctor to save her.

British politics isn't supposed to be like that. Aggressive, yes, rowdy, yes. Divisive and passionate, yes. But certainly not bloody and murderous.

What's brought this awful affair into even sharper focus is the fact that onlookers said her killer apparently shouted "Britain First" several times as he attacked her.

Britain First is the slogan of an extreme far-right group with the same name, which calls itself "a patriotic political party and street defence organization" and which immediately disowned the attacker.

In a sense, whether or not the assailant had links to a far-right group is not the primary issue. This brutal attack strikes right at the heart of the British democratic system, where members of the public routinely have access to their elected members of parliament, either by appointment at the House of Commons, or at the consultation offices in their constituencies.

There have, sadly, been several attacks in recent years, though mainly by people with mental health issues. What is different here is that it may well be tied into the current campaigning for a referendum, scheduled for June 23, on whether or not Britain should leave the European Union.

The words the attacker used are being held up by the media as proof that the man, however deranged, was an ardent nationalist wanting Britain to leave the EU. Cox had been campaigning for Britain to stay in the EU along with other legislators, and it's fair to say the campaigning had become increasingly bitter.

But not this bitter.

Both Prime Minister David Cameron and those leading politicians heading the "Leave" group immediately called a halt to the campaign, at least until Saturday. Politicians of all hues and on all sides were fulsome and heartfelt in their tributes to Cox, and it will not be an exaggeration to say the campaign on the EU will now be fairly muted and much less aggressive.

Will it have an effect? Hard to say. But I think many who were undecided may well have decided now, because deep down inside the British psyche hates extremism, and hates violence.

In other words, it's very much a case of "Keep Calm and Carry On". And I sincerely hope so.

The author is managing Editor Europe, for China Daily. chris@mail.chinadailyuk.com

(China Daily 06/18/2016 page5)