GP Taylor: Jo Cox and why it is time to quell this ugly tide of anger in society

A few hundred yards later I pulled into a garage and saw I had been followed by the car that was travelling behind me. The driver got out – a man in his early 20s and left his female companion and child in the car. It was then that his anger erupted like a spitting volcano.

Within a few poorly constructed sentences, I was told that I couldn’t drive, didn’t have a father and that there was no need to give fat men on bikes a wide birth.

He didn’t want to hear my side of the story. All he wanted to do was rant and rave about my bad driving. He was just another angry man upset that a middle aged bloke in a car was in his way and driving at the speed limit.

On my travels, I am seeing a growing number of angry people. It is as if as our island gets more and more crowded people can no longer take the pressure and erupt.

It is not just road rage or queuing anger in supermarkets, but a discontent and deep frustration that is in all aspects of society.

There is anger in the classroom, with children attacking teachers. Anger at football matches with riots in the street. Aggression is becoming endemic in our society.

In the political arena, the anger is most prevalent. The events of last Thursday are still very fresh in my mind and I am deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Jo Cox, such a faithful public servant.

Over the last few years, the manner in which politics is conducted is becoming very grubby. Shouting and anger have taken over from reasoned debate. Petrol bombs, guns and violence are slowly replacing democratic principles. Politicians try to make political capital out of everything. They even see tragedy as an ideal opportunity to score points against rivals.

In the House of Commons, our politicians behave like angry children. They shout and scream and then condemn as boring the only party leader who stands at the dispatch box and gives reasoned replies without descending to the bickering of a public school common room.

Their behaviour does not set a good example to the public. Shouting down opponents becomes a credible political tool. He who has the loudest voice wins, according to some. It is not good for public debate and is the language of the bully.

There is a growing ugliness in British society. People are angry and that anger sometimes explodes into violence. It is as if the whole political system is slowly being poisoned by bigotry and hate.

Peaceful protest seems to be a thing of the past as balaclava-clad thuggery takes over. Politics is being taken over by the loud and the shouty.

This is not helped by the fact that we are bombarded by rolling news. It comes at us through the TV, radio and internet. There is no escape. Our young people are being de sensitised to the calamities of the world. On any day and reported in graphic detail is murder, rape and terrorist atrocities.

All this fuels the poison and for some, allows them to take their twisted ideologies and go out to commit atrocities.

Now is the time to take the hate out of politics. That will only happen when people feel they are being listened to and the political elite take the voters seriously.

It has to start with the example set to us by our politicians. They have to be truthful when asked questions and stop scoring needless political points at the expense of others. Journalists have to take more responsibility about what they write. Headlines and sales have to come after their collective responsibility for reporting news and not peddling fear.

Society has to change and we have to recover our liberal and tolerant approach to those who disagree with us. Now is not the time to shout, scream and bully. It is a time for stepping back, listening to those who do not share our views and finding a common ground to go forward in peace and mutual respect.

Recent events should set our minds to a new way of living, where intolerance and bigotry is confronted with reasoned debate and the mandate of the majority who want to live in a peaceful society.

It is up to our politicians to change their ways and become examples of moderation and tolerance, and not point-scoring bullies.

GP Taylor is a writer and broadcaster and can be followed @GPTaylorauthor.