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Helen Houghten
Conservative Party leader
We recently issued a statement regarding the tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk. I chose to wait until the immediate wave of social media reactions had settled before addressing it further. Unfortunately, only a few days later, the party and I received online death threats ourselves.
Let me be clear: regardless of political belief or personal conviction, violence against those who differ from us must always be condemned.
Resolving differences does not mean silencing others. It means defending their right to speak and engaging in debate on the issues. We may not come to agreement, and we may even strongly oppose one another, but we must never allow violence to replace dialogue.
Conservative values are moral values. We will not stop speaking about them, and we will not stop standing for them.
These values are not about left or right. They are the principles most people hold quietly: respect, responsibility, family, community and order. It may appear that they are held by only a minority, because conservatives do not shout others down, they do not demand constant affirmation and they do not create public drama to enforce their views.
Our values are not radical or new. They are the foundations that keep society stable, fair and moving forward.
If someone does not share these values, that is their right. But it is not their right to dictate how I live my beliefs, nor to threaten or intimidate me into silence.
When people try to suppress others instead of listening, they do not reduce extremism – they create it. A healthy democracy depends on the marketplace of ideas, where debate is open, arguments are tested and truth is allowed to rise without fear, threats or violence.
That is the standard we must uphold if we want a free and stable society.
I will soon update everyone on the media’s response and the ongoing police investigation.
