‘Threat to kill was ‘water off duck’s back’ for UUP candidate

ONE of the most horrifying moments of Jay Basra’s recent general election campaign was the online threat to cut his head off.

However, despite the obvious fear associated with such threats, Jay remained undeterred, driven by a passion for politics and a desire to serve his community.

In an exclusive interview with the Tyrone Herald this week, Jay – who was the youngest candidate running in the election at age 19 – has opened up about his journey into politics, the challenges he faced, and his hopes for the future.

Growing up in Cookstown, Jay always had a keen interest in politics. Currently studying History and Politics at Queens University in Belfast, his passion was sparked early on by his love for history.

“I never considered a career in politics until about three years ago,” he explained.

“I always had a passion for history, so through that I naturally developed an interest in politics and would follow local elections and local representatives.

“Having always voted Ulster Unionist, it was when Doug Beattie became leader that I decided to join the party.”

During his first year with the UUP, Jay explained that he did a ‘small bit of campaigning’ with his colleague Meta Graham when she ran for Mid Ulster in the 2022 NI Assembly Election.

“Around that time, I was in my final year at high school and did some work experience with Tom Elliott and Robbie Butler.

“Through this, I got to do a lot of work with the Young Unionists and made a video with Robbie about my experiences as a young person in politics.”

After leaving school, and ahead of attending Queens University, Jay started working with veteran politician, Tom Elliott.

“Working with Tom, I gained a lot of experience dealing with the ‘bread and butter’ stuff, such as road repairs, helping people with application forms, and general things like that.”

Jay, who describes himself Punjabi-British, is a member of the Queens Debating Society, and is also the vice chair of the Young Unionists Society.

Upon deciding to run in this year’s general election, he campaigned alongside his election agent Trevor Wilson, and was met with a range of both positive and negative experiences in the process.

“Shortly after I announced that I was running as a candidate, I started receiving threats and racist abuse online,” he explained.

“I again experienced similar issues when I shared a picture on social media of myself celebrating on the Twelfth just recently.”

One screenshot of a message that the young politician shared during the election campaign included a threat to cut his head off.

Whilst Mr Basra has previously described such threats as ‘water off a duck’s back’, he worries that it may deter young people from considering a career in politics.

“People can hide behind social media,” he said.

“But my concern here is that personally, I know quite a few young people who have considered a career in politics but are still somewhat ‘on the fence’ about it.

“Seeing and hearing about things like this could easily put them off which would be a shame.”

Recalling some of the more positive experiences throughout his campaign, Jay said, “It was a pleasure to get out and about in the community, meet people, and do what I could in helping to resolve a range of issues, showing that there is more to the job than having your poster on a lamp post.”

Looking to the future, Jay said that he fully intends to ‘stick at it’.

“I plan to finish studying and hopefully raise a bit of awareness to help inspire younger people to get into politics.

“I have no intentions of giving up so soon.

“Despite not getting the seat in the election, I feel that we put up a good campaign and that I can truly be there for those who need me in the community.”