MP Crawford Urges Political Leaders to be Mindful of Incendiary Comments

Member of Parliament for Manchester Central, Rhoda Crawford, says political leaders and aspirants need to be mindful that their utterances can stoke acts of violence and criminality.

She says some of her political rivals are to blame for the level of crime currently washing the central parish.

Daina Davy has our story.

The usually quiet parish of Manchester has seen a growing incidence of crime in recent months.

The police have reported that 43 people have been murdered there so far this year.

Speaking at the Jamaica Labour Party’s Manchester Southern constituency conference on Sunday night, MP Crawford said by virtue of their public utterances, political representatives are to shoulder some of the blame.

She named the PNP’s Peter Bunting – who she beat in the September 2020 general election and who is now the party’s standard bearer for South Manchester – as well as Mandeville Mayor Donovan Mitchell, who is set to challenge her for the Central Manchester seat in the upcoming election.

Miss Crawford says Bunting’s posture in the run-up to the 2007 general election could have incited violence.

She declared that she was not accusing Mr Bunting of personally carrying out illegal acts.

She says, however, that political representatives must be careful about how their utterances can influence supporters.

The Central Manchester MP also rapped Mayor Mitchell for comments that appear to be in support of illegal activity.

Miss Crawford also says Mitchell’s criticism of the Manchester police’s response to increasing acts of crime in the parish could be taken to be anti-law and order.