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There is a coarseness about politics at present that has filtered down to behaviour on the streets of Britain. A couple of incidents, caught on camera, have caught the public eye. Professor

Chris Whitty is roughed up by anti-lockdown activists in St James’s Park. Kim Leadbeater, the Labour candidate in Batley and Spen, is harassed by angry young Muslim men outside a mosque. In

another incident in the by-election campaign, canvassers with the former MP, now Crime Commissioner, Tracy Brabin, are ambushed. Are these instances of intimidation the tip of an iceberg?

Have the British people — once admired across the world for our good manners, patience and politeness — become a foul-mouthed, foam-flecked rabble of thugs and fanatics? Has the country that

created the theory and pioneered the practice of concepts such as toleration, freedom of speech and the rule of law lost our collective tempers and joined the ranks of those who prefer to

shout down or beat up those with whom they disagree? It was the now much despised Victorians who established the enviable reputation of the British for decency. While our neighbours on the

Continent rioted and slaughtered one another in civil wars, revolutions and counter-revolutions, our ancestors made themselves a model for civil society and reform. While democracy in

America has always been (and continues to be) marred by corruption, demagogy and violence, in Britain we contain our baser instincts to the weekly entertainment of PMQs and expect fair play,

not freak shows, from our politicians. When they let us down, we evict them unceremoniously from office — and we don’t indulge bad losers. Yet this image that we have of our better selves

has taken a battering in recent years. First there was Brexit, which left a lot of bad blood on both sides. Then there was the pandemic, which has embittered some and debilitated others. Now

some of us seem to be spoiling for a fight. The ugly mood into which a significant minority of the population has apparently sunk is out of all proportion to the actual grievances they

nurture. Yes: Brexit has had consequences, bad for some, better for others. A good example is Northern Ireland. There the EU-mandated enforcement of the Protocol has led to shortages in the

shops — the so-called sausage war. Do such hardships, however onerous, justify abandoning the peace process on which the fragile prosperity of the Province is based? Of course not — yet some

loyalists talk as if that catastrophe were the inevitable consequence. The obvious solution— a regulatory regime that protects the Single Market while allowing sensible compromises over

such issues as processed meats and prescriptions — is already emerging in talks with the EU, which has offered a three-month extension of the transition period. Unionists renounce the moral

high ground at their peril: Sinn Fein are bound to exploit any violence during next month’s marching season. A century after partition, the future of the Province is on the line. Never has a

part of the United Kingdom had better cause to demonstrate the virtues of keeping calm and carrying on than Northern Ireland does now. A similar case in point is the constituency of Batley

and Spen. Segregated communities, such as are all too common in regions such as West Yorkshire, provide the temptation for unscrupulous politicians to stir up sectarian or class animosities.

George Galloway is a past master at such incendiary tactics. His politicisation of Islam enabled him to take Bradford West from Labour in 2012. Now he is at it again, using Gaza and the

Palestinians to drive a wedge between Labour and the Muslim community — normally the latter’s party of choice. A Jewish Labour leader (Ed Miliband) was as irrelevant then as the present

leader’s Jewish wife is now. But it is all grist to the mill. This by-election is testing Keir Starmer’s determination to root out Corbynite anti-Semitism. If Galloway takes enough votes

from Labour to allow the Conservatives to take the seat, Starmer will come under fire from all sides. The stakes could scarcely be higher for him, but that does not justify Labour

weaponising Muslim anti-Hindu sentiment by publishing a leaflet showing Boris Johnson and Narendra Modi, with the caption: “Don’t risk a Tory MP who is not on your side.” Polarisation is the

prelude to prejudice and violence, as nobody in Batley and Spen should need reminding after the horrific murder five years ago of the former MP, Jo Cox, by a far-Right extremist. Her sister

Kim Leadbeater, now the Labour candidate, knows this better than anyone. Whoever wins this week must work to ensure that the ugly scenes outside Batley Grammar School earlier this year,

which led to a teacher and his family being sacked and forced to leave the area, are never repeated. The tribal tensions that have occasionally surfaced in this campaign have been held in

check — so far. But the release from restrictions we have been promised on July 19 may bring with it a summer of discontent. Last year it was BLM and Extinction Rebellion. They have not gone

away. Something else may erupt at any time to galvanise angry young men looking for trouble. Batley may not be Britain, but Britain is a bundle of Batleys. There are as many local

grievances as there are villages, urban as well as rural. We do not need to turn on one another to resolve our differences. Most of the time we must just learn to live with them — with

generosity and grace. A descent from decency to an uncivil society would more than a misfortune: it would be unworthy of our history and of our posterity. Britain is better than this. A

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