The politician was stabbed “multiple times” by a young man, who has already been arrested, when he was meeting in a church with his voters
Conservative MP David Amess has been stabbed to death by a man who has been arrested. Married and father of five children, he received neighbors in his constituency, in the county of Essex, east of London. The crime has caused consternation in British politics, both because of the personality of the deceased and because of the increasing frequency of attacks of this type.
Sir David Amess’s most notable political feat was his 1992 victory in the Basildon constituency, which was quite a signal during the recount of the highly contested 1992 elections that John Major won. He was 69 years old and had been a parliamentarian for four decades. Catholic, supporter of ‘Brexit’ and the death penalty, opposed to abortion and fox hunting, Amess was the typical constituency politician.
On his website he announced, as other deputies do, at what time and where he would receive residents of Leigh-on-Sea. It was this Friday, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., in the Belfairs Methodist Church, embedded between the houses of a placid and residential neighborhood. At 12:05 p.m., according to Essex Police, a man stabbed him in the presence of numerous witnesses.
Police have reported that the 25-year-old alleged murderer has been arrested and that they are not looking for other suspects. This formula usually indicates that the security forces do not believe that the crime is the product of a group conspiracy, but the work of an individual. All the political leaders are adding expressions of consternation at what happened and of sympathy towards his family.
Preceding attacks
The murder shows the vulnerability of the deputies who on a weekly or biweekly basis receive, in the office they maintain in the constituency where they have been elected, neighbors who want to inform them of a problem. Labor Jo Cox was assassinated in 2016 by a man deranged with far-right ideas, as she walked into a library to meet with neighbors, in Birstall, in the north of England.
Liberal Democrat MP Neil Jones received multiple injuries and his aide was killed when a deranged attacked them with a samurai sword in 2000 in his office in Cheltenham, south-west England. In East Ham, East London, Labor Stephen Timms survived a 2010 stab attack by a young woman who had converted to radical Islam and visited him at his local office.
The British political system is based on the election of deputies by voters in constituencies of some 70,000 inhabitants. The principle of representation of local interests is relevant to the collective formulation of policies, and also essential for deputies to be re-elected, especially in areas where the difference between parties is small.
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