Patrick H. Hoy

Primary school teacher on #BBCQT "I think people are tired of it now.. We tend to follow the US.. I hope the rejection of Trump, and watching people like James Talarico and Abdul El-Sayed and the poise they carry themselves with, the respectability that they have, will filter over to here and then we will reject bullies like Nigel Farage" "I'm a primary school teacher and I have to talk to my children about British values" "And if we end up with a Reform UK government, or a government similar, what are those values?" "I can't hand on heart say these are the things British people do, when they're clearly not" Fiona Bruce, "We don't have Reform UK on the panel, but we do have them often" My view: Teachers can spend all week teaching children to treat others with respect, challenge prejudice and take responsibility for their actions. But those lessons become harder when children see adults rewarded with attention and political power for behaving in ways that would never be acceptable in a classroom. What does a child learn when cruelty gets a laugh, intimidation wins an argument, or blaming an entire community becomes a route to popularity? They learn from what we reward as well as what we teach. That is why decency in political leadership matters. We should expect leaders to disagree without dehumanising, persuade without scapegoating and accept scrutiny without bullying. If politicians want to lecture anyone about British values, they should start by demonstrating them.