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| It can be hard, being an MP’s child – even without getting abuse on your doorstep | It can be hard, being an MP’s child – even without getting abuse on your doorstep |
| (4 days later) | |
| On Tuesday evening, activists targeted the Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, his wife, four of his young children and the family’s nanny outside their London home. “Your daddy is a horrible person,” a protester told the kids. | On Tuesday evening, activists targeted the Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, his wife, four of his young children and the family’s nanny outside their London home. “Your daddy is a horrible person,” a protester told the kids. |
| A few weeks ago, Emily Benn faced intensely personal abuse for voicing her opinions about antisemitism in the Labour party – much of it invoking the legacy of her late grandfather, the Labour MP Tony Benn. | A few weeks ago, Emily Benn faced intensely personal abuse for voicing her opinions about antisemitism in the Labour party – much of it invoking the legacy of her late grandfather, the Labour MP Tony Benn. |
| After these incidents, I was asked to share a few thoughts from the perspective of a politician’s son – my late father was the Labour MP Paul Goggins. Naturally, I had some reticence, not least because of the dissonance in using a platform I was offered because Dad was an MP to appeal for politicians’ families to be left alone. | After these incidents, I was asked to share a few thoughts from the perspective of a politician’s son – my late father was the Labour MP Paul Goggins. Naturally, I had some reticence, not least because of the dissonance in using a platform I was offered because Dad was an MP to appeal for politicians’ families to be left alone. |
| You don’t need me to condemn Tuesday’s incident; pretty much the entire political system has taken care of that, and anyone who has seen the video footage knows it was wrong. (It has also spectacularly backfired on the people involved, but that’s another story.) | You don’t need me to condemn Tuesday’s incident; pretty much the entire political system has taken care of that, and anyone who has seen the video footage knows it was wrong. (It has also spectacularly backfired on the people involved, but that’s another story.) |
| The Rees-Mogg children are all under the age of 12: they’re old enough to have been scared and to remember this forever, but probably too young to understand what was happening. I don’t know Ms Benn, but I admire the grace with which she has handled attacks on her: these incidents are specifically designed to be hurtful. | The Rees-Mogg children are all under the age of 12: they’re old enough to have been scared and to remember this forever, but probably too young to understand what was happening. I don’t know Ms Benn, but I admire the grace with which she has handled attacks on her: these incidents are specifically designed to be hurtful. |
| Being the child of a politician can be challenging. There is a lot of time apart and incredibly long hours. There can be hostility from otherwise reasonable people, and your life is filled with (bad) assumptions about privileged access – especially if you’re interested in public policy. Heaven forbid MPs bring up children who end up curious about public service. | Being the child of a politician can be challenging. There is a lot of time apart and incredibly long hours. There can be hostility from otherwise reasonable people, and your life is filled with (bad) assumptions about privileged access – especially if you’re interested in public policy. Heaven forbid MPs bring up children who end up curious about public service. |
| But you get used to all that. On the whole, for my family it was a positive thing. We had some great experiences and met some inspirational people because of Dad’s job. He also had a mercifully low public profile – certainly lower than Jacob Rees-Mogg or the Benns. He barely made the news until he died. We’ve been very lucky, and we’re very grateful for it. | But you get used to all that. On the whole, for my family it was a positive thing. We had some great experiences and met some inspirational people because of Dad’s job. He also had a mercifully low public profile – certainly lower than Jacob Rees-Mogg or the Benns. He barely made the news until he died. We’ve been very lucky, and we’re very grateful for it. |
| In isolation, situations such as those involving the Rees-Moggs and Emily Benn are widely condemned but, taken together, they reflect a big increase in the amount of hatred in politics. | In isolation, situations such as those involving the Rees-Moggs and Emily Benn are widely condemned but, taken together, they reflect a big increase in the amount of hatred in politics. |
| Dad died four and a half years ago, and I don’t think he would recognise today’s political dialogue. Progress in his constituency of Wythenshawe and Sale East, in the Home Office and especially in Northern Ireland, was achieved quietly, the product of two-way conversations. He was a decent man who listened more than he talked, and cared deeply about peace, justice and people in poverty. Put all that together and bridges get built. | Dad died four and a half years ago, and I don’t think he would recognise today’s political dialogue. Progress in his constituency of Wythenshawe and Sale East, in the Home Office and especially in Northern Ireland, was achieved quietly, the product of two-way conversations. He was a decent man who listened more than he talked, and cared deeply about peace, justice and people in poverty. Put all that together and bridges get built. |
| Self-styled “activists” shouting at children; abusing the memory of someone’s dead relative just to hurt her; Boris Johnson picking on marginalised groups for his own political ends; the inability of the Labour party to have a grownup conversation about something as important as racism – they all reflect a tangible increase in hostility that has infected politics. Some might think it’s because we’re “snowflakes”, but over time this invective threatens to profoundly change us and the way we do things. We have fallen a long way in a short time. | Self-styled “activists” shouting at children; abusing the memory of someone’s dead relative just to hurt her; Boris Johnson picking on marginalised groups for his own political ends; the inability of the Labour party to have a grownup conversation about something as important as racism – they all reflect a tangible increase in hostility that has infected politics. Some might think it’s because we’re “snowflakes”, but over time this invective threatens to profoundly change us and the way we do things. We have fallen a long way in a short time. |
| Burn all your bridges and you end up trapped; the only place to go is further out towards the edge. Extremes of any form are bad news – a cursory glance at 20th century history tells us that. | Burn all your bridges and you end up trapped; the only place to go is further out towards the edge. Extremes of any form are bad news – a cursory glance at 20th century history tells us that. |
| Dad’s approach was that, despite our differences, we’re all ultimately on the same team; that people in Wythenshawe are connected to people in Wembley; that if people in Belfast are struggling, it matters to people in Burnley. | Dad’s approach was that, despite our differences, we’re all ultimately on the same team; that people in Wythenshawe are connected to people in Wembley; that if people in Belfast are struggling, it matters to people in Burnley. |
| The viciousness with which some people are approaching politics now undermines the team spirit that has served our country well whenever we’ve been tested. | The viciousness with which some people are approaching politics now undermines the team spirit that has served our country well whenever we’ve been tested. |
| I have maximum solidarity with the Rees-Moggs’ children – they should absolutely be left alone. And I hope this incident hasn’t upset them too much. I hope by the time they’re all teenagers, our national conversation will have grown up too. | I have maximum solidarity with the Rees-Moggs’ children – they should absolutely be left alone. And I hope this incident hasn’t upset them too much. I hope by the time they’re all teenagers, our national conversation will have grown up too. |
| I hope that years from now, when their dad sits them down to talk about his decades as a politician, they hear a story of how his ideas on how to deal with the biggest challenge our country has faced for 70 years – whether trade, regulation or the Irish border – were debated, and ultimately defeated, in parliament. Not outside their house. | I hope that years from now, when their dad sits them down to talk about his decades as a politician, they hear a story of how his ideas on how to deal with the biggest challenge our country has faced for 70 years – whether trade, regulation or the Irish border – were debated, and ultimately defeated, in parliament. Not outside their house. |
| • Dom Goggins is a consultant in environmental policy and a member of the Labour party. He is the youngest son of Paul Goggins MP (1953-2014) | • Dom Goggins is a consultant in environmental policy and a member of the Labour party. He is the youngest son of Paul Goggins MP (1953-2014) |
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