On the morning of October 2, 2025, worshippers gathered for Yom Kippur at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation in Crumpsall, Manchester, when a violent attack left two people dead and several others injured. Authorities say a man drove a car into pedestrians and then began stabbing people outside the synagogue before armed police shot him dead, in what has been declared a terrorist incident.
Eyewitnesses described scenes of chaos and bravery as the attacker — reportedly wearing an item resembling an explosive device — moved among worshippers and security personnel desperately tried to hold the line. Emergency services, including a bomb squad, were quickly deployed and two people were arrested in connection with the incident as police and community leaders scrambled to secure the area.
At the highest levels, Britain’s political leaders condemned the assault and vowed action, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer cutting short an overseas trip to chair an emergency meeting and calls for stepped-up protection at synagogues nationwide. The outrage was bipartisan and immediate, but words alone will not shield communities from recurring waves of violence that prosecutors and police must now confront head-on.
This attack did not happen in a vacuum; Jewish leaders and community groups have warned for months about a steep rise in antisemitic incidents across the UK, especially since the eruption of regional violence in 2023. Ordinary citizens and congregants have been saying for years what officials are only now admitting: when hatred becomes normalized in public discourse, the consequences are lethal.
Conservatives should be blunt: the first obligation of any government is to protect its citizens and their right to worship in safety. Vague condemnations, performative gestures, and bureaucratic investigations are not enough — we need real, practical measures: fortified security at vulnerable sites, faster counterterror responses, and uncompromising enforcement against those who plot or incite violence.
This moment also exposes a failure of culture and policy. When political classes downplay ideological drivers, tolerate radical speech, or prioritize optics over security, they invite tragedy. British authorities — and Western leaders broadly — must stop treating such attacks as isolated crimes and start treating them as part of a broader ideological campaign that demands a national security response.
To the Jewish families grieving today and to every worshipper who feared for their life on a sacred day, the conservative movement stands with you in sorrow and in righteous anger. We demand justice, swift legal consequences for perpetrators and accomplices, and a political will that restores safety so no congregation has to wonder whether they’ll return home from prayer.
This country must choose between the soft policies and moral relativism that leave citizens exposed, and a firm, principle-driven defense of life, faith, and community. We will hold leaders accountable, press for security reforms, and never stop insisting that Britain — and every Western nation — protect the inalienable right to worship without fear.
