It's so sad 8 years after Jo's death still face personal attacks politicians

IT was eight years ago today that Kim Leadbeater heard the most awful news - that her older sister, the MP Jo Cox, had been murdered outside her constituency surgery.

- LUCY THORNTON

Understandably, Kim still feels "a lot of anger" about what happened, but she has tried to turn that anger into something positive.

And that is why the 48-year-old - who took over Jo's parliamentary seat in Batley and Spen, West Yorks - is so concerned politicians are still being attacked."

ASSAULTS

Condemning the recent assaults on Reform leader Nigel Farage, who had drinks and cups hurled at him on the campaign trail in Barnsley, South Yorks, and Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, Kim says: "There should never be a place for violence, personal insults and abuse.

"And it makes me really sad that eight years on from Jo's murder, we're still seeing some of that totally unacceptable behaviour.

"There's absolutely no place for violence, threats, intimidation and abuse in public life.

"Politics should be a place where we can have robust, passionate debates and discussions on the issues that matter." Jo's killing in Birstall, West Yorks, in the run-up to the 2016 Brexit referendum rocked the nation. The 41-year-old mum-of-two was shot three times and stabbed 15 times.

Later that year, a reclusive neoNazi was jailed for life for her murder. At his trial, the jury were told two extremes of humanity came face to face that day - the killer's hatred and the goodness of Jo and those who tried to help her.

It's clear that goodness lives on in Kim, who won the Batley and Spen seat for Labour in 2021 and, was also made an MBE for services to social cohesion.

She says: "There is a lot of anger in society; a lot of frustration. People are struggling in lots of different ways.