Brexit: dark forces have been unleashed, and we are scared

The diary of a British Labour MP who voted Remain but holds a Leave-voting seat and wants to remain anonymous.

A pro-EU protester shouts at the Houses of Parliament in London on Wednesday. Picture: AP

It’s a big day in parliament. Key votes are coming but as we sit here and wait I’ve a genuine fear that the increasing level of Brexit threats and intimidation faced by MPs has the potential to impact how some of my colleagues vote.

They howl at us outside parliament. They scream abuse on social media. We’re liars and crooks, a bunch of self-serving, money-grabbing traitors.

I understand people’s anger about this miserable process; I’m angry about Brexit myself but — believe it or not — inside the Common­s today are 650 public servants. I agree with some and disagree vehemently with others but each of us is, in our own way, trying to do our job. Some female colleagues are increasingly concerned for their safety and with good reason. If external bullying leads to MPs limiting what they feel they can and can’t say about the Brexit deal, it has serious implic­ations for our democracy.

We’re all self-employed. The parties have scant regard to our safety. Parliament believes it has a duty of care while you’re within the estate, but the second you step outside you’re just another self-employed worker. The police are fantastic, but security is effectively our responsibility and that’s quite chilling. The aggression we face here finally got some attention when Anna Soubry was grossly intimidat­ed as she was walking to parliament. Some of us have changed our behaviour, entering and leaving by different entrances.

Last night, I walked past the new memorial to PC Keith Palmer outside the Carriage Gates. He was murdered in 2017 when he heroicall­y stepped forward to stop a terrorist from entering the Commons­. A year earlier, a few days before the EU referendum, my Labour colleague Jo Cox was shot and stabbed to death in West Yorkshire.

Dark forces have been unleashed in this country. There are some people out there who look at MPs and genuinely don’t seem to regard us as human beings. It all started after the expenses scandal. The Scottish independence referendum was very aggressive, then came the way UKIP conducted itself­ in the run-up to the 2015 general election. That’s when things got really nasty and personal. With Brexit, it became open season. When the front pages of national newspapers are calling us liars and traitors and scum, it’s hardly a surprise some of the public felt emboldened to follow suit.

And it’s not just MPs. A lot of staff here are feeling hemmed in and increasingly vulnerable. Many MPs use their staff to mon­itor social media and emails. You might ask your intern to check Twitter for you. Why should they have to wade through a daily ­tsunami of vile abuse and threats? It’s truly awful.

Back to today’s business. The Speaker has this afternoon chosen eight of the indicative options for us to vote on. As always, Labour’s position is ridiculously nuanced. We try to somehow please everyone, with the danger of satisfying no one. The only thing most people­ in Britain really care about is whether we support Leave or Remain. Our 2017 manifesto said we would honour the result of the 2016 referendum. Conference last year agreed but added that we’d prefer a general election or, failing that, a People’s Vote. Today, our frontbench spokesman said we’d have a free vote and we’re a Leave party, but this afternoon I’m being whipped to vote for a second referendum on any deal. Go figure.

The Times