‘No place in our societies’: UK political figures condemn Trump shooting

British political leaders such as Keir Starmer, Nigel Farage, and Boris Johnson have spoken out against the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. Many are concerned about the increase in political violence and hate speech.

Number 10 stated that Starmer was surprised by the events at the rally in Pennsylvania, where one person was killed and others were hurt as the ex-president was injured and quickly moved to safety. Trump later shared on social media that he was okay after being hit by a bullet that went through his right ear.

Starmer posted on Twitter expressing his support for Trump and sending well wishes. He emphasized that any form of political violence is unacceptable and his thoughts are with all those affected by the attack.

Nigel Farage, the head of Reform UK, has been to a lot of gatherings in the United States to back Trump. He mentioned that he would have gone to the gathering if he hadn't been chosen as a Member of Parliament for Clacton in the sudden election. Now, he intends to head to the Republican convention to express his support.

When questioned about his emotions, he expressed to BBC One's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: "I was extremely distressed and I continue to feel distressed. I'm happy that my friend Donald narrowly escaped consequences, but he did escape. The negative portrayal of Trump by his critics is harsh and off-putting, which may even fuel his actions."

Farage attributed the criticism he receives to the "mainstream media's portrayal" and "liberal narrow-mindedness", even though he acknowledged that there are instances of harsh language directed towards political adversaries. "I have been under constant attack for more than ten years simply because it's me, and nobody seems to care - in fact, some find it amusing."

Farage, who had beverages and construction material thrown at him during the election campaign, expressed that it was becoming more challenging for politicians to interact with voters. He raised the question: "How can we continue campaigning in these circumstances?"

Imagine John Major three decades ago, standing on a makeshift stage in town squares - that wouldn't happen now. This means our political leaders hardly ever interact with the people who vote for them or the general public. In my opinion, based on my knowledge of Trump, he will likely continue in the same manner.

Labour Member of Parliament Kim Leadbeater, whose sister Jo Cox was tragically killed by a far-right extremist during the EU referendum campaign, expressed her disappointment that instead of discussing the England football final, she once again had to address the issue of political violence.

"We're discussing once again the appearance of democracy and our political landscape," she said during an interview with the BBC. "We need to talk about what a civilized democracy should look like. Ever since Jo's death, I've been having these conversations. Sadly, I don't see much improvement happening in our country or others. It's important to continue discussing this."

Additional politicians shared their surprise and sympathy for the victims earlier in the day. The ex-prime minister and leader of the Conservative party, Rishi Sunak, expressed his dismay over the incident in Pennsylvania. He stated that he was deeply disturbed by the violence and emphasized that acts of intimidation should never be tolerated.

Johnson described it as "incredible that Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt", and mentioned that "we should be grateful for his safety, but also recognize the vulnerability of democracy when confronted with violence and irrationality."

Lucy Powell, the leader of the House of Commons, expressed her shock and sadness over the recent attack in an interview on Sky. She described it as terrible and horrifying. Powell also noted an increase in harassment and violence towards politicians or aspiring candidates during the UK general election.

She mentioned that some coworkers faced "serious challenges" during the campaign, noting that they experienced intimidation while campaigning in the streets and near polling stations. Additionally, fake videos were circulated online about people that were proven to be false, and misinformation was spread that encouraged hate and dehumanized individuals.