What sets tragedies apart from almost every other aspect of life is their ability to unify on a mass scale, writes our Agenda Editor OliverPridmore
What sets tragedies apart from almost every other aspect of life is their ability to unify on a mass scale. Times of grief, such as the awful events we have seen in our city of Nottingham this week, bring us together in a way that even periods of mass celebration can often struggle to match.
Leave your messages of condolence for the three people who lost their lives in the tragic Nottingham attacks here. But given that this week also marks the anniversary of another national horror, the murder of the Batley and Spen MP Jo Cox in 2016, I wanted to take a moment to consider how this can be applied to the area of public life which can often be the source of the most hatred - politics. Politics in recent years has become increasingly toxic, but what we have seen from our politicians in the wake of this week's tragedy is the exact opposite.
Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith were among those making emotional contributions in the chamber later that day, with both men having been born in Nottinghamshire and both still being proud to call it their home. Nadia Whittome, Mark Spencer and Tom Randall are also among our MPs who were born here and continue to live here.
Ben Bradley spoke after the vigil about how becoming a parent means that he is now brought to tears by the "slightest mention of a hurt child" and as a former Nottingham Trent University student, he reflected on how this week's tragedy is one that could have so easily befallen his own family. Politics is a passionate business and the vastly different experiences on which our MPs and councillors draw means fierce disagreements are inevitable. Indeed, they are to be welcomed in a nation of free speech and democracy such as ours.
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