17th June 2016 Canberra, Australia
Jo Cox
It is 26 years since a British MP was murdered. Back in 1990, the victim was Ian Gow, a Conservative politician, murdered by the IRA. In those days, we had come to half-expect such terrible events to punctuate the rhythm of life in the UK.
But it was from an enemy we knew and recognised – and with whom we have since made our peace. Today’s enemy is different. It is diffuse and complex. It is fuelled by hatred and by extremism of various kinds. It is both global and local.
I thought of that today when I awoke to the news of the savage murder of Jo Cox, a local MP who cared about global issues. A woman at the start of her parliamentary career. And a Mum to two young kids who was no doubt trying, like the rest of us, to balance the needs of her job and her family.
Coming in a week of other awful events – most notably the terrorist attack on the LGBT community in Orlando – this news still affected me deeply. As I looked at my twitter feed, my inbox, my messages I realised that many other people felt the same way.
PM Malcolm Turnbull passed on Australia’s “condolences, prayers and solidarity” to the UK and Jo Cox’s family. A DFAT colleague emailed to say: “What a horrible act of senseless violence…We all need leaders like Jo who are willing to get in there and help where help is really needed”. And a close Sydney friend messaged to say, simply: “Waking to awful news out of UK. Thinking of you.”
So thank you to everyone in Australia who is joining us on a dark day for the UK, to mourn the passing of a bright star. Your sense of shared grief and solidarity means a lot at this time.
If we can take one thing from this tragedy, let that be a fresh determination to fight extremism in all its forms – or, as her husband put it: “to fight against the hate that killed Jo”.
And to say and say again to ourselves and to our kids:
Love Wins, because it must.
Born in Batley, West Yorkshire, and raised in nearby Heckmondwike, Cox graduated from the University of Cambridge in 1995 before working as a political assistant. She then joined the international humanitarian charity Oxfam, where she rose to become head of policy and advocacy at Oxfam GB. She was selected to contest the Batley and Spen constituency after the previous incumbent decided not to stand again in 2015. Having retained the seat for Labour, she became a campaigner on issues relating to the Syrian Civil War, and also founded and chaired the all-party parliamentary group Friends of Syria; she was described as “a tireless campaigner” for refugees.
I was saddened today to read of the death of Jo Cox and I understand some of the suffering that her family will endure, as some time ago, a similar tragedy occurred in our family. Jo was obviously a caring and compassionate individual,who was not afraid to stand up for the rights of those dispossessed and neglected.
I have a tear in my eye for her. Anthony F.
My deepest condolences for Ms. Jo Cox.