Home
/
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
/
The political murder of Sir David Amess shines a light on the virtues of public service
The political murder of Sir David Amess shines a light on the virtues of public service
Apr 4, 2025 1:42 PM

The stabbing death of Sir David Amess as he met with constituents is both an occasion of mourning and horror but also a time to consider the animating principles of the best of our public servants, and the price they sometimes pay for mitment to the public good.

Read More…

The name of Sir David Amess, a Conservative member of the British Parliament for 39 years, was little known in the U.K., and almost certainly not at all known in the United States. On Oct. 15, 2021, shortly after midday, he was murdered while meeting constituents in Belfairs Methodist Church, in his electoral district. He was stabbed multiple times. Police and paramedics fought for two hours to save him, but he died at the scene. The shock across the nation was palpable.

For the second time in five years, an elected politician had been murdered while carrying out their job—the first occasion was the Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox, in 2016. The arrested suspect in the case of David Amess, Ali Harbi Ali, had been previously reported to the government’s anti-terrorist program.

David was a devout Roman Catholic, a social conservative on moral issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage, a libertarian on matters of COVID-19 restrictions and lockdown, and a proponent of Brexit—a mix of views and opinions far more representative of much of the British public than that represented by the mainstream media, not least the BBC. Sir David’s parliamentary district, Southend West, in the county of Essex, lies only 50 miles to the east of London, an approximately one-hour drive away. Yet in terms of outlook and political leanings, the area could not be further removed from the London metropolitan elite. In the 2019 general election, the Conservative Party won all 18 districts in Essex, polling around 65% of the vote. And the elected members are, for the most part, genuine conservatives like Sir David. Faith, patriotism, and concerns around immigration, alongside a resistance to socialism and a passion munity, characterize these districts.

The pictures of the vigils held for David and the shock across munity illustrate that here was an elected official who, contrary to the way politicians are often represented by the media, was genuinely loved in and by munity. Somewhat sadder was the refusal of the police to admit to the scene his Roman Catholic priest and friend, Fr. Jeffrey Woolnough, so that he could administer the Last Rites. Fr. Woolnough prayed outside instead.

It should be remembered that just three weeks earlier, the Labour Party’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner, had described her Conservative political opponents as “a bunch of scum, homophobic, racist, misogynist, absolute vile.” She remains in office.

A politician motivated by passion, generosity, kindness, and a lack of ambition for high office, who simply wanted to serve his constituents—this is the picture of Sir David that has emerged in tributes from across the political spectrum, illustrating how he had shown kindness to those he disagreed with politically, repeatedly resisting pressure from his own party to “toe the line” while remaining steadfast to his principles.

Here are some examples of those principles from his life and service:

Sir David’s robust kindness came from his deep-rooted Roman Catholic faith. The central importance of Christian faith needs to be allowed to shine forth again as a primary principle of public service. Faith underpins not only a determination to stand for what is right but also a character-forming and shaping spirituality that recognizes the dignity of all human beings. This is bination that motivated David Amess.One Labour MP, Ian Byrne, representing a safe socialist district in Liverpool, revealed that after his own maiden speech in Parliament, Sir David had written to him privately saying he had enjoyed his speech and wishing him a long and happy career in Parliament. A second principle of public service is surely seeing the best in others, recognizing that those called into public service enter the political arena with the highest of motives, to serve the nation and the people of munities.Another principle exemplified by Sir David was that of tenacity. For example, he campaigned for a memorial statue to Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat who saved thousands of Jews in Nazi-occupied Hungary during the Second World War. He failed to secure the structure in 1990 but kept on fighting; a statue was eventually unveiled by Her Majesty the Queen in 1997.He understood the importance of civil society and its institutions. Sir David campaigned for the disabled, particularly supporting the Music Man Project, which helps the disabled and those with learning disabilities play musical instruments. He even played a key role in organizing a concert at one of London’s premier concert venues, the Royal Albert Hall. He said, “It is through active citizenship, through many voluntary organisations … that we demonstrate every day, week and month that we are a truly caring society.”Sir David was willing to embrace unpopular positions. He had passions that took him away from normal party-political campaigns and embraced concerns as wide-ranging as fuel poverty and animal welfare. In other words, he thought for himself and about where he could make a difference.His principles could not be bought. On one occasion a call was received into the office suggesting that if Sir David voted the “right way” on a particular piece of legislation, he could be considered for ministerial office. He did not return the call. In fact, his former office manager Ed Holmes reported that he once spent a whole afternoon with the Member of Parliament searching his office for a lost invitation to a constituency charity event. Nothing was more important than that.

What does all this tell us about the principles of public service that underpinned the life and career of a little-known British politician? Well, we can learn about kindness and respect for others, the nature of the call to political service, a passion to make a difference and to serve people. We can learn about the honorable and selfless nature of public service. We can see why the vitriolic language that plagues our political discourse needs to be set aside. We learn of faith, those animating principles of life that have guided thousands of men and women into public service. And we can thank those men and women, pray for them, and affirm what ordinary politicians do on behalf of the people they serve.

There is no better way to end than by sharing part of the statement released by Sir David’s family the day after his murder, describing their pain and how their hearts were shattered. But they also wanted to emphasize that:

Strong and courageous is an appropriate way to describe David. He was a patriot and a man of peace. So, we ask people to set aside their differences and show kindness and love to all.

Sir David Amess (1952–2021), Member of Parliament for Basildon (1983–1997) and Southend West (1997–2021), married to Julia, with whom he had five children. A man of faith and service. Rest in peace.

Comments
Welcome to mreligion comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
Chinese Government Destroys Church; Denies Persecution
Wenzhou, China, is known as the “Jerusalem of the East” because of its large Christian population, a population that had, until recently, enjoyed the Sanjiang Church for worship. A massive structure, Sanjiang Church took over 12 years to build and was a site of pilgrimage for Chinese Catholics. Last week, however, the Chinese government (which had previously lauded the structure’s architecture) deemed the structure “illegal” and destroyed the entire building, bricking off massive statues to hide them from sight. The...
Explainer: Boko Haram and the Kidnapped Christian Girls
What is going on with the mass kidnappings of children in Nigeria? During the night of April 16, dozens of armed men from the terrorist group Boko Haram captured over 300 Christian girls aged 12 to 15 who were sleeping in dormitories at Chibok Government Girls Secondary School in northeast Nigeria. About 50 students managed to escape, but 276 were still being held according to Nigerian state police. The group has since captured 8 more girls. The kidnappers took the...
The Bible and the Principle of Moral Proximity
“The Bible does say a lot of justice and the poor,” notes Kevin DeYoung, “but if we are to be convicted and motivated by truth, we must pay more careful attention to what the Bible actually does and does not say.” An example is a concept that DeYoung says can be derived from the Bible, the principle of moral proximity: The principle is pretty straightforward, but it is often overlooked: the closer the moral proximity of the poor the greater...
Now Available: ‘On Exchange and Usury’ by Thomas Cajetan
Christian’s Library Press has released a new translation of two treatises on exchange and usury by Thomas Cajetan (1469-1534), a Dominican theologian, philosopher, and cardinal. Although best known for mentaries on the Summa of Thomas Aquinas, Cajetan also wrote dozens of other works, including short treatises on socioeconomic problems. Published under the name On Exchange and Usury, these treatises reflect on the banking industry of the early modern era in the context of the Church’s usury doctrine, examining which transactions...
‘Destitute And Dying:’ A Human Trafficking Survivor’s Story
Rani Hong was a very young girl in rural India when her life was snatched away from her by human trafficking. In desperation, her mother allowed her to be taken away by a woman she thought she could trust, a woman who promised to care for Rami. And she did, for a while. However, the lure of money was too great and Rami was sold into human trafficking at age seven. I was taken to an area where I did...
Is Mass Incarceration the New Eugenics?
“Has the War on Drugs revived the 19th Century progressive crusade against ‘degenerates’?” asks Anthony Bradley in the second of this week’s Acton Commentary. The United States currently has over 2.3 million prisoners incarcerated in federal, state, and local jails around the country. According to an April report by the Sentencing Project, that number presents a 500 percent increase in incarcerations over the past 40 years. This increase produces “prison overcrowding and fiscal burdens on states to modate a rapidly...
Amnesty International: Release Nigerian Schoolgirls But Legalize Prostitution
Yesterday, Joe Carter wrote about Boko Haram, the terrorist group that has kidnapped hundreds of girls in Nigeria from the Christian school, and is now threatening to sell them into the sex trafficking trade. Salil Shetty, Secretary General of the human rights organization Amnesty International, is calling upon the Nigerian government to initiate a transparent investigation of the girls’ kidnapping and an immediate release of the girls. The horrific abduction shows the serious nature of violations of international humanitarian and...
Explainer: The Supreme Court’s Ruling on Government Prayer
What was the Greece vs. Galloway case about? The short answer: The constitutionality of saying religiously specific prayers (e.g., praying in Jesus name) at government meetings and functions. The (slightly) longer answer: In the town of Greece, located in upstate New York, the Town Board sessions were opened by a prayer from local clergy, mostly leaders of Christian congregations although in a few instances members of other faith traditions offered the invocation (a Jewish man, a Baha’i leader, and a...
Why McDonald’s Has Become a School for Remedial Work Skills
“Clean up your own mess. Your mother doesn’t work here.” That was a sign, printed on dot matrix printer paper, which hung in the breakroom of the McDonald’s where I worked. While that was nearly thirty years ago, I suspect that same sign is still there (though probably reprinted on a laser printer). But the idea behind it has changed. Your mother may not work at McDonalds, but pany—and others that hire low-skilled employees—are increasingly taking on the role of...
Poverty, Justice, and Christian Love
“We have replaced charity with humanitarianism, says Michael Matheson Miller in the first of this week’s Acton Commentary, “a hollowed-out secular and materialist vision of Christian love.” Concern for the poor is at the heart of Christianity. Saint John Paul II called poverty one of the greatest moral challenges of our time, and to ignore the plight of the poor has consequences for our eternal souls. Pope Francis addressed poverty in Evangelii Gaudium: “Almost without being aware of it, we...
Related Classification
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.mreligion.com All Rights Reserved