Ms Cox was elected to the seat of Batley and Spen at the last general election in 2015.
She was a Remain supporter in the referendum and both official campaigns have suspended their operations as a mark of respect following the attack on her.
Jo Cox's husband Brendan: 'Jo believed in a better world and fought for it every day'
Brendan Cox, the MP’s husband, has issued a statement about her death. He says she would have wanted everyone to unite “to fight against the hatred that killed her”.
Today is the beginning of a new chapter in our lives. More difficult, more painful, less joyful, less full of love. I and Jo’s friends and family are going to work every moment of our lives to love and nurture our kids and to fight against the hate that killed Jo.
Jo believed in a better world and she fought for it every day of her life with an energy, and a zest for life that would exhaust most people.
She would have wanted two things above all else to happen now, one that our precious children are bathed in love and two, that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her. Hate doesn’t have a creed, race or religion, it is poisonous.
Jo would have no regrets about her life, she lived every day of it to the full.
Jo Cox
A tragic loss. RIP Jo Cox.
ReplyDeleteMost certainly is Sue.
DeleteHi Mel - I came back to hear of this news. Thanks for posting - I thought I might .. but believe I'll wait as I really need to get on re the move. It sounds like we could learn a great deal from her ... thank you so much - Hilary
ReplyDeleteHilary, I went into shock when I saw the news especially coming on the heel of Orlando... these terrible acts of barbarity suffered by the innocent.
DeleteA great tragedy for her family and the nation.
ReplyDeleteYes, John and I would include these islands and the EU as a whole, for Jo Cox worked for social inclusion and peace in countries way beyond these shores.
DeleteI also think that we have to admire what her husband Brendan said on receiving the news of her death, for there are only a few people who could be so succinct at such a time.
When I heard the news last night, my first thoughts were for her children and husband. The world has lost a truly good person xx
ReplyDeleteHello Teresa, it is an absolutely dreadful tragedy. I awoke early this morning thinking of her poor husband of how he will face the day and the coming months/years. I just don't know.
DeleteIt's a sad, scary world we're living in and I don't know the answer to how to change it. Here in this country we must keep Donald Trump out of office, but Hillary is so decisive that electing her is not going to make things better.
ReplyDeleteJanet to be honest with you I have no idea at all of how your U.S. political system works.
DeleteMel - I agree with every word you say. Of all the politicians I believe Jo Cox to be one who was in the job for all the right reasons - particularly because she felt she could do so much good. Well her life has been cut short, her children will grow up without their mother, her husband without his beloved wife. I too was moved by what her husband had to say in his statement, and also by your words.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comprehension Pat.
DeleteToday we have met lots of people here in Ireland with tears in their eyes. Some spoke to Mrs H about how shocked they were and of how that sadness is still lingering within them and in that I am including myself.
Sounds like she was an exceptional human being. May she continue to have an impact long into the future.
ReplyDeleteThank you Mitchell, all I can say is Amen too that.
DeleteSo, so sad. I think that Brendan's statement was an amazing tribute to his wife and very brave. Your lines are very moving.
ReplyDeleteThe referendum campaign has become vicious on both sides but it only reflects what is happening to politics over here. We have the most right wing media in Europe and that has served to stir up such hatred. I wish we could return to a more compassionate society and Jo's death may, just may, make the politicians and media reflect on their actions. She was a good, caring and honest person, rare in Westminster these days.
Thank you Fran for the excellent and succinct comment. You are right about the media and the trouble is that they are unwilling to take responsibility for their own behaviour in stirring up trouble. Yes, I too hope that her life and her death make a difference.
DeleteLovely poem - so kind. I am horrified by the recent murder of Jo Cox. Such a senseless and tragic loss.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteI can only echo what Fran has said, Mel. I no longer live in the UK but I was shocked rigid that such a thing could have happened there. But then it has happened here in NL too and as for Orlando, that was horrific. The media in the UK is terrible about whipping up fear and anger - it has long been so, but I also feel the Internet doesn't help. People feel so free to spread their hate, and they do so without thought. I sincerely hope that everyone will stop to think now...just a little more. Jo's death is a tragedy. I have dear friends living in the barge community where she lived and they are devastated.
ReplyDeleteThank you Val. I understand what you have said about the internet however, it is only a tool and like any sharp implement it can be used in a variety of ways some very negative and others to promote the very best of human ideals.
ReplyDeleteJo Cox was a Human Rights Activist who learnt and sharpened her tools in awareness raising, through development education and the promotion of equality for people who lived not just in her constituency also for people around the world who in their everyday lives face enormous challenges.
Thankfully Jo was not a sole voice, for there are many such people around the world working towards the same end. By giving us all hope and encouraging us - yes even this humble blogger who attempts to bring awareness raising to his readers.
I think that the greatest tribute we people can pay to her memory is to actively continue with her work and may each of you in your own style look outwards at what needs to be done to make a better and harmonious world.
George Brown said
“Only by tackling the prejudice and hate that killed her can we do justice to the meaning of Jo Cox’s life”
One final quote is from Jo herself.
ReplyDeleteJo’s legacy. "To focus on that which unites us and not which divides us.”
Yes, I agree, and I hope we can all do that.
DeleteI don't understand what has happened to the world. It has always been violent, but I almost feel like social media has made so many anti-social in ways that have desensitized and dehumanized them to larger degrees than they were previously. Perhaps this was always the case, and the quick, global access we have to news just makes it seem worse than it is, but I'm sorely tempted to just turn the world off now more often than I ever did before.
ReplyDeleteHer senseless death is uch a huge loss to her family and friends who loved her, and to the UK. Horrific isn't even a big enough word. :(
Those lines were so right, Mel. And they would fit in lots of cases. The tragedy in Orlando is beyond reasoning, something really is happening in the world, anger and hatred being triggered like never before.
ReplyDeleteSome years ago we had one of our young politicians murdered, Anna Lindh, in the middle of a shoppingcentre. We still talk about it, making it a milestone in political history just like the murder of our primeminister in 1986. Hopefully we will learn something about making important statements and taking fearless actions when needed, even if there is danger lurking. We mourn with Jo's family, but we can't back away from what needs to be done and said in humanitys name. That quote from Jo says it all.