Sister of Jo Cox urges 'common ground' 10 years after her murder

ShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleGemma DillonYorkshire political editor, in BirstallFamily handoutKim Leadbeater (l) has been speaking to the BBC to mark 10 years since her sister Jo Cox (r) was murdered on the streets of BirstallWhen I arrive in Kim Leadbeater's office, she is - as ever - fizzing with energy. The Spen Valley Labour MP has just treated her staff to fish and chips, and her desk is overflowing with paperwork. And yet Kim describes her parliamentary role as a "job I didn't want". Her sister Jo Cox was murdered outside her constituency surgery in Birstall 10 years ago today, in the run-up to the EU referendum. It was a horrific attack which shocked the nation and the world. A few years later when the seat of Batley and Spen became available, Kim remembered her big sister's words "politics needs good people to stand up" and felt compelled to keep her legacy alive. The day Jo was murdered began in a "normal" way for Kim, although she remembers it in a bit of a "fog". She had taken her car in for an MOT, before heading out for a run. "I got the phone call to say what happened and I don't remember a great deal after that, other than I started shaking," Kim says. "If I'm quite honest probably the next six months, maybe 12 months, after that is something of a blur because I went into autopilot. "I knew I had to look after my mum and dad. "I knew I had to be strong for Jo's children and for the whole family. "And I knew because of the public nature of Jo's murder, there was a huge amount of coverage of that. "I also think that's a way of coping because your brain's very clever and it shuts things down. And I've never really dealt with a lot of that. "I've just kind of gone at 100 miles an hour since, trying to do good things and create a positive legacy for Jo." At the time it felt like Jo's constituents in Birstall and Batley put their arms around her family and shared in their grief. "In the face of the very worst of humanity was the very best of humanity and people locally, nationally and from around the world got in touch with us, shared their sympathy, shared their love and often told us stories about Jo," Kim says. "That was like a comfort blanket that kept us going and has kept us going for 10 years, and I'm sure my parents would say the same." For people living and working in Birstall, it was a tragic event that will forever be remembered in the town. Ian Thompson worked at paints firm PPG and remembers the day because England were playing Wales in the Euros. "I finished work at 12 and we got told we had to stay behind because there's been a murder in Birstall and we all thought, 'what? Birstall?'" He made it to the pub to watch England and was shocked when the news emerged. "It was a sad day for the area, she is remembered fondly though." Julie Lockwood, 63, has picked up her grand-daughter from school, and is waiting for a bus opposite the library to take them home to Batley. She says: "It was brutal. I think she wanted people to come together. "She wanted mixed races, communities, all to pull together. "I feel like the communities have divided more than anything. I don't feel like they've pulled together." Also waiting for a bus in the town centre is Tom Sothard, 62, who was away on holiday when he heard the news but remembers being "shocked" and described it as a "tragic thing". He believes the community is still as "strong as it has ever been. It's a nice area, I think it always will be". That she is remembered for wanting to "bring communities together" has its roots in her maiden speech in the House of Commons. She used the phrase "we have far more in common than that which divides us". During our interview, Kim reflects on those words and says there are "amazing positive" things happening - nowhere more than in Yorkshire - and those voices "need to be the loudest". She says: "Because of some of the challenges that we face, unfortunately there are people who are trying to sow division. "But we've got to work together to address those challenges rather than try and pit people against each other and create a sense of division. "We've got to make sure that the voices of positivity and perseverance and resilience are the ones that are amplified and not the voices of people who don't show who we actually are as a country." In the weeks and months following the murder, politicians from across the spectrum sat in our TV and radio studios saying political discourse had to improve. They told us it was too "toxic" and "divisive" in the wake of the EU referendum. And 10 years after her sister's murder, Kim finds it "quite depressing" that things have not changed and political discourse remains divided. "The fact that a young woman, a mum of two small children, who'd stood up to be a public servant, to be our MP for Batley & Spen, could be murdered in the street, people said, 'hang on a minute, this isn't what our society should look like, this isn't the atmo

Sister of Jo Cox urges 'common ground' 10 years after her murder

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