Reading this article made you wish you had known him:
"The mood in Leigh-on-Sea tonight is sombre as people express their sadness and bewilderment at the fatal stabbing of their MP. Sir David Amess's constituents speak warmly of a man who dedicated his life to serving them. Prime Minister Boris Johnson calls Sir David one of the 'kindest, nicest, most gentle people in politics'. And deputy PM Dominic Rabb says he was 'a formidable campaigner with a big heart, and tremendous generosity of spirit - including towards those he disagreed with'. A fixture in the House of Commons chamber for nearly 40 years he was known as one of Parliament's characters: fun, friendly, unconventional and outspoken. He always took his work seriously, but himself rarely."
In an op-ed, Rafael Behr says "The veteran Conservative’s killing is a human tragedy and a chilling assault on British democracy." "In reality, most MPs are more closely connected, more palpably in touch with the electorate than their many critics appreciate. David Amess was making contact with his constituents – physically present, personally attentive, intimately available – when he was killed in his Essex constituency on Friday afternoon. Whatever the identity and motives of the killer – facts that will emerge in due course – the act is felt as an assault on democracy, as well as a cruel human tragedy. The MPs’ constituency surgery is one of the least examined institutions of British politics partly because so much of what happens there is confidential. Anyone who has had the privilege of sitting in on a session will know how intensely private and often harrowing the stories can be of vulnerable people, anxious, adrift in chaotic lives or hostages to dysfunctional bureaucracy, turning to their elected representative for advice – or sanctuary."
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