How the murder of my sister, Jo Cox, changed Britain

<p><strong>It’s a decade since the MP for Batley and Spen was killed by a far-right extremist. Her sister Kim Leadbeater, who took over her parliamentary seat, explains what lessons are still to be learned.</strong></p><p></p><p>Jo Cox was a Labour MP for Batley and Spen, the place where she had grown up and had known her whole life. She was firmly pro-Europe, a passionate campaigner for social justice - and the mother of two young children, five and three years old. On 16 June 2016, at the height of a toxic <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/eu-referendum">Brexit</a> campaign, Jo was murdered by a far-right extremist. He shot and stabbed her several times outside Birstall library in West Yorkshire, shouting “This is for Britain.” She was 41 years old.</p><p></p><p>Her sister Kim Leadbeater and her family set up the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/jo-cox">Jo Cox</a> Foundation in her honour, and took on her former constituency. But a decade later, with far-right ideas increasingly mainstream and far-right violence more common, Leadbeater tells <strong>Nosheen Iqbal</strong> what lessons we can all learn from the tragedy.</p><p></p><p>Thumbnail image credit:</p><p>James Manning/PA Wire<br>Jo Cox Foundation/PA Wire</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/video/2026/jun/16/how-the-of-my-sister-jo-cox-changed-britain">Continue reading...</a>