A chorus of condemnation rang out across the political world following the attempted assassination of the son of Mary Anne Macleod from the Isle of Lewis just under a fortnight ago.

Predictably the coarseness of political discourse and the dangerous democratic environment it creates were front and centre of the commentary. MPs and MSPs were united as they were quick to remind us of the fragility of a way of life they take for granted - as us mere plebeians in the general public are an afterthought in their own self-preservation.

The trouble with this is the only time politics seems to really care about violence is when it's directed towards those in elected office. The reality of violence surrounds thousands of other workers every single day and beyond words, when you scratch the surface, most politicians don’t really care.

There is no real political appetite to tackle the violence in our classrooms or that faced by shop workers for if there was, there wouldn’t be any. There is absolutely no political appetite to tackle violence faced by health workers, and zero appetite to tackle violence faced by police officers. No righteous words on posters stating that violence will not be tolerated can hide the fact that it definitely is. Violence faced by others is something to be talked about in serious terms rather than actually being taken seriously.

READ MORE BY CALUM STEELE

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The new clearances........

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