AIBU to be shocked at the violence towards women at the Reform conference?

They will tie themselves in knots to try and claim it is fake news, or that it doesn't represent Reform supporters, or that it didn't happen, or that it's AI, or that she deserved it, or that "socialists are worse because of x, y and z"....anything. Anything at all.

They have chosen their entrenched position and they are staying there, because admitting they might have been misled or mistaken or just plain wrong is worse than anything, in their world. It shows weakness.

What happened? It's not clear what is going on?

And Nigel was on the stage absolutely loving it…

I don't think anyone is surprised that the neo fascists are violent thugs.

Awful. I remember that poor 82 year old man manhandled out of a Labour Party conference a couple of years ago. There absolutely is no need to treat people like that. It's a Party Conference fgs.

Completely agree, OP.

The scenes should shock and appall anyone with any respect for British values, or for the traditions of our democracy. The freedom to protest is a cornerstone of our society.

There is no reason for the crowd not to have simply stood back and allowed security to remove the heckler.

If those people who laid hands on a peaceful protestor aren’t banned from all future Reform events, then it’ll show exactly how much they as a party care about violence against women and girls and exactly how little respect they have for the traditions and customs of our democracy.

The fascist woman who infiltrated the conference needs a hobby, as do so many others.

Do you mean the activist who heckled Jack Straw in 2005? You’re right - the heavy handed way that security manhandled him out was shocking. At least the Labour leadership had the decency to issue a formal apology. Let’s see if Reform have the decency to do the same.

Quite.

This is the reality of a lot of thugs, unfortunately.

All the 'protect women' stuff is nonsense. They're not interested in protecting women. Its just a convenient vehicle for more racism.

Just look at the woman who talked about her experience of being a victim of a grooming gang. All in support of her until she revealed the men were white then she had her microphone pulled from her and was forcibly removed from the stage.

Be shocked at violence against women, yes, but I'm not shocked that these were the people committing it.

I actually think security manhandling people out isn't necessarily an issue. It's legitimate for attendees at a political conference to want to gather and get on with party business. If the women had just been removed by professional security without being attacked by attendees, Reform wouldn't have half so much of a problem.

It looks bad but we need a bit more context as to what was going on. Was the woman trying to run on to the stage? I imagine security is ramped up after the Anne Widdicombe murder.

I think you need to familiarise yourself with the history and traditions of our country. From the suffragettes to the chartists, heckling politicians has been a longstanding form of legitimate, peaceful protest.

When Keir Starmer was heckled and showered in glitter, he reacted with calm composure. When a protestor got close enough to Theresa May to hand her a P45 she kept going with dignity. No one assaulted the protestors - and only Farage looked desperate and rattled.

That is an irrelevant little detail. A Reform associate has been brutally murdered, but that won't stop fascists with their heckling thinking everyone else wants to hear them. I have absolutely no sympathy. I only blame Reform for allowing her to have done this twice, as she's caught on camera bragging.

A fascist wants to control thought - she is a fascist who didn't belong but wanted to cause trouble. She certainly found it. No gaslighting here.

Everyone at a political party conference needs a hobby, let's be honest. But the violence, the thing this thread is about, went one way only. Which is why Reform now have a problem.

This isn't "security" doing their job, it's a violent mob taking matters into their own hands.

If that was the case the security should have dealt with it. There was no need for delegates to attack her.
That is what should happen in any situation like this.

I have listened to the woman. I don't need anything else to form my opinion.

We don’t really need any more context at all.

I’m sure the Labour Party were fearful after Jo Cox was murdered. I’m sure the Conservative Party were fearful after David Amess was murdered. I empathise with that. But that is what security are there for. It wasn’t security who grabbed at this woman, pulling her hair, it was party delegates. Whatever the context, they should have stood back and let security do their job.

There is absolutely no excuse for physical violence against a peaceful protestor, and if Reform had any respect for our democracy, they’d make that clear and condemn this.