As a slightly left of centre voter, but more than that, a cynic about most things, I’m surprised by how angry I am about the revelations of the WhatsApp group that our local M.P., Andrew Gwynne, actively participated in — or even led.
When my wife and I moved to Dane Bank in 2019 I had a brief online exchange where he welcomed us to the area, and I’ve followed some of his social media accounts where a hobby of vintage computers (specifically the VIC-20) helped him seem like a decent chap. There was always a degree of self-promotion that I thought was a bit excessive, and some juvenile digs at the opposition that I didn’t think were constructive, but I put that down to me being an old codger (though less than a handful of years older than the MP) and this coming with the territory these days.
I’ve recently read “How Westminster Works … and Why It Doesn’t” by Ian Dunt and I’d thought of engaging with Andrew Gwynne to try to understand if the Labour government was considering any of the suggestions made in that book to make UK government work better, but I was already getting disillusioned by the new government’s stances and progress.
Am I angry because it shows that I can totally misjudge someone? Perhaps, though I’ve never met the chap, so I was only judging based on a public facade.
More so, I’m angry because the sanctimonious and condescending way our MP, and his wife and colleagues on the council side of things, refers to their constituents is worse than shameful. I’m angry not just because of what it shows about them, but — perhaps even more so — angry because it is likely to let a right-of-centre politician in next who will not be any more caring about their constituents, but will capitalise on their predecessor’s failings to promote a generally less inclusive and less caring society. How can you be so stupid to let that happen? To believe it won’t get leaked and we’ll all be worse off as a result?
It’s not even self-serving, because what do the participants think is next?
Nobody is perfect, and I don’t expect our MPs to be, but I do at least hope they are decent human beings. Like many of us I’ve done a reply-all that included people that shouldn’t have seen my response, but at no point did I cruelly and dehumanisingly wish that they were dead.
I can’t imagine what it’s like in their home over the last few days. That sick-to-your-stomach feeling when you know that you’ve erred so badly that you can’t see your next step. At least, I hope that’s the realisation and not “we’ll ride this out.”
It pains me to say this, but Gwynne and anybody associated with that group must step down now. It may mean someone I disagree with in the short term, but I have to believe that in the longer term we will choose a better representative, and that only happens if the process starts today.
‘Vile’ Labour WhatsApp group exposes toxic divisions in Andrew Gwynne’s power base
Labour was told about ‘vile’ WhatsApp group more than a year ago, says councillor.
