Cllr Caroline Russell

• LAST Thursday at the Town Hall, I joined fellow councillors, other candidates and members of the public for a minute’s silence to show that we stand with Manchester.

The atrocity on May 22 killed and injured members of the public enjoying a night out. As we support the wounded and mourn and remember the dead, we also have to think about how we can stop this from happening again.

We owe it to the victims and their families to include the subject – with restraint and sensitivity – in the national debate around the general election.

Responsibility for the attack, of course, rests squarely with the bomber and his associates. Nevertheless, years of government austerity programmes have reduced police capacity to engage with the community and gather vital information, even if the specific budget for counter-terrorism has been ring-fenced.

The government’s Prevent Strategy is not only significantly mistrusted by some of the communities it most needs to engage with, but is also under-resourced, such that schools, for example, may lack the capacity to implement it effectively at grassroots level.

Our strongest response to hatred and terrorism is to stand together as a community. Investment in our schools and police is necessary not just for the specifics of counter-terrorism but also to ensure a caring, cohesive society where seeds of violence and terrorism will not take root and grow.

CLLR CAROLINE RUSSELL
Green Party parliamentary candidate, Islington North