An election board belonging to Ayre & Michael candidate Stephen Broad has been found shot four times on the A10 Ballaugh–Jurby Road near The Cronk. The board, displaying Broad’s campaign photograph, had four distinct holes consistent with firearm discharge.
A second board was damaged earlier in the week, with the upper section removed, effectively ‘beheading’ the candidate’s image.
The incident comes against a wider backdrop of rising hostility toward political figures across the UK. In recent years, public life has been shaken by the murders of Jo Cox and Sir David Amess, both killed while carrying out constituency duties. And in July, Ann Widdecombe was brutally murdered in her Devon home. Their deaths prompted renewed scrutiny of candidate safety, intimidation, and the risks faced by those standing for elected office.
If people go to these lengths with a gun, how safe are the requisition meetings?
Stephen Broad, Election Candidate
Broad said the discovery of a board targeted with a firearm raises concerns about the safety of upcoming public meetings, stating: “If people go to these lengths with a gun, how safe are the requisition meetings?”
Other candidates across the island have reported damage to their campaign signs with their signage having been smashed or defaced. The use the use of a fire arm to target a sign on a main A-road, has taken this matter to a different level. It is an offence to tamper with election signs.
Broad is one of eight candidates contesting Ayre & Michael in the House of Keys election. The full list of declared candidates: Stephen Broad, Julia Bell, Phil Corkill, Alfred Cannan, Steve Curphey, Tim Johnston, Mary Phillips, Paul Weatherall.
Mr Broad appealed to anyone who witnessed suspicious activity on the A10 near The Cronk, to contact police.
