THE Green Party Councillor, Norman Kay (13.7.16) conflates an alleged rise in racist incidents with the Brexit result and bemoans: “A minority of despicable people bringing their nastiness into the open” in consequence.

This unsubstantiated and highly partial claim bears examination.

Interviewed on the Radio 4 Today programme, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Alison Saunders, was asked: “Has there been a spike in the recording of hate crime post-referendum?”.

She replied: “It’s too early to say whether that spike has yet happened”.

And one last unavailing stab which demanded: “Increases to come?” was met with: “I don’t know”.

This was a robust rebuttal of ‘the spike’ by the one Government officer who could be expected to have a full appreciation of the facts of the matter.

Maybe our constabulary can furnish our local figures?

I would welcome them.

The countrywide ‘nastiness’ to which Mr Kay alludes might however have had a catalyst different to that ascribed to Brexit.

The behaviour of Labour Party members during their recent leadership omni-shambles might act as an unfortunate and continuing template for ‘nastiness’.

A contender in that contest has had a brick thrown through her constituency office window.

An assistant to the late Jo Cox MP this week called on Labour to stand up to the ‘baseless, nasty and intimidating abuse of MPs now rampant among members.

How quickly the vows made by some of those wishing to create a lasting memorial to Ms Cox have been forgotten.

Interviewed on BBC TV this week, a Labour Party NEC member, Johanna Baxter, was in tears (yes, in tears!) as she recounted the open, personal aggression and threats she was subjected to by fellow members at a Labour leadership meeting.

The Shadow Chancellor was later filmed uttering obscenities against Mr Corbyn’s rivals at a public gathering.

In Whitehall this week unsavoury, masked anti-Brexit demonstrators offered personal violence to pro-Brexiteers in the shadow of the Cenotaph.

No, Mr Kay, ‘Brexit’ never caused such contemptible ‘nastiness’.

As a UKIP member I will willingly defend ‘Brexit’.

I campaigned for it in Gloucester city centre with enthusiastic, like-minded folk operating from shop premises which we had been loaned and where local people accepted our invitation to enquire about the referendum; the team which met them was as diverse as anyone could wish for.

In addition to the inevitable ‘male, pale and stale’ members (more abuse?), our ‘meeter and greeter’ to the shop was an elderly, disabled German lady whose Hungarian husband was a leafleteer, as was a gentleman awaiting gender reassignment.

Our electrician (for mikes/speakers) was a 25 year old black guy who augmented those duties by fixing Leave boards in the suburbs until the early hours.

Additionally, a Scotsman generously donated a 15 year old bottle of malt to our hoped-for celebrations (win or lose).

It might surprise Mr Kay to learn that we all rubbed along magnificently in a respectful spirit of friendship.

Rough Gough

Minchinhampton