A UNIFIED House of Commons in the wake of Sir David Amess’ death - and his legacy - were the topics raised by columnists in the newspapers.
The Daily Mail
Henry Deedes watched Parliament pay tribute to Sir David Amess following his tragic death last week.
“Gone were the usual playground punch ups and unseemly squabbles we’re used to seeing,” he said. “In fact, after the hubbub of the past few years, I can honestly say I have never seen the House quite so unified and consensual. The atmosphere was funereal.”
He said Boris Johnson arrived without fuss or fanfare.
“He brought both a sense of composure and headmasterly warmth to the proceedings. Last Friday’s horrific attack had robbed Parliament of one of the ‘nicest, kindest most gentle individuals to have graced these benches,’ the Prime Minister said. Amess had been the victim of a ‘contemptible act of violence’.”
He said it was touching to see how well attended Labour’s benches were.
“So often it is in response to senseless acts of barbarity that Parliament shows itself at its best, at its kindest. It certainly felt that way yesterday.”
The Daily Express
The newspaper’s leader column said one of the most powerful responses to Sir David’s death would be to ensure that [constituency] meetings do still happen.
“It is what Sir David would want. It would mark a significant victory for democracy and stand as one of his greatest legacies,” it said. “Indeed, the response to Sir David’s fatal stabbing has already served as a tribute to the MP’s life in politics.
“Those at opposing ends of the political spectrum have come together and reminded us that, despite the frenzied and often hate-filled environment that taints modern society, there is still far more that unites us in Britain than divides us.
“Sir David Amess was proud of British democracy - and central to that pride was, as he put it, that MPs “regularly make themselves available for constituents to meet them face to face at their surgeries”.
The Guardian
Simon Jenkins said Sir David did all he could to make himself a man of Southend rather than simply Westminster.
“He was not a star of the parliamentary firmament, but rather that paragon: a “good constituency MP”,” he said. “The solemn minute’s silence held in the House of Commons and the tributes to Amess from MPs testified to a profession under collective threat.
“The praise heaped on Amess was precisely for this commitment to his constituency, Southend West. He sought no ministerial office. He made no attempts at headline-grabbing within his party or in government.
“Amess would drop everything to help [local] people.”
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