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Jo Cox

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Jo Cox
Member of Parliament
for Batley and Spen
In office
8 May 2015 – 16 June 2016
Preceded byMike Wood
Succeeded byVacant
Majority6,057 (12.00%)
Personal details
Born(1974-06-22)22 June 1974
Batley, England
Died16 June 2016(2016-06-16) (aged 41)
Leeds, England
Political partyLabour
SpouseBrendan Cox
Children2
Alma materPembroke College, Cambridge
WebsiteOfficial website

Helen Joanne "Jo" Cox[1] (22 June 1974 – 16 June 2016) was a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom. She was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Batley and Spen having retained the seat for Labour in the 2015 general election.[2]

On 16 June 2016, Cox was shot and stabbed multiple times during her lunch break in Birstall, West Yorkshire, where she had been holding a surgery with her constituents. She was left in a critical condition and subsequently died from her injuries in hospital. A 52-year-old suspect was arrested.[3]

Early life and education

Cox was born on 22 June 1974 in Batley, West Yorkshire, England. She was educated at Heckmondwike Grammar School, a state grammar school in Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire. She studied social and political studies[4] at Pembroke College, Cambridge, graduating in 1995.[5][6][7][8]

Career

Early career

She was head of policy for Oxfam and was an adviser to Sarah Brown and Baroness Kinnock.[9] She was national chair of Labour Women's Network and a senior adviser to the Freedom Fund, an anti-slavery charity.[6][7]

Political career

Cox was one of 36 Labour MPs to nominate Jeremy Corbyn as a candidate in the Labour leadership election of 2015.[10] However, in the election she voted for Liz Kendall,[11] and announced on 6 May 2016 after the local elections that she and fellow MP Neil Coyle regretted nominating Corbyn.[12]

In October 2015 she co-authored, with Conservative MP Andrew Mitchell, an article in The Observer arguing that British military forces could help achieve an ethical solution to the conflict in Syria.[13] During that month Cox launched the All Party Parliamentary Friends of Syria group, becoming its chair.[14][15] In the subsequent vote for UK military intervention in Syria she abstained, as she did not consider the intervention to be part of an effective comprehensive strategy to tackle the Syrian conflict including dealing with President Bashar al-Assad.[8][16] The Syrian Civil War was one of Cox's main campaigning issues.[8]

Cox supported the 'Remain' campaign during the 2016 referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union.[17] On the day of her death, campaigning in the EU referendum was suspended on both sides as a mark of respect.[18]

Death

The library in Birstall where Cox had been holding a constituency surgery before the attack.

On 16 June 2016, Cox was fatally shot and stabbed outside a library in Birstall, West Yorkshire, while at a constituent event.[18][19]

According to eye witnesses, she was shot three times – once near the head – and stabbed multiple times by a man who shouted "Britain First" as he carried out the attack.[18][19][20] It was possibly a reference to the far-right Britain First party;[19] however, the party issued a statement denying any involvement or encouragement in the attack and suggested that the phrase "could have been a slogan rather than a reference to our party".[21][22] The attack also left a 77-year-old man with a stab wound.[19][23]

A 52-year-old man, named locally as Thomas "Tommy" Mair, was arrested.[18][24]

Four hours after the incident, West Yorkshire Police announced that Cox had died at Leeds General Infirmary.[19][25]

Personal life

Cox was married to Brendan Cox.[26][27] Together, they had two children[6] who were aged three and five at the time of her death.[28] They lived on a converted barge moored near Tower Bridge.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ "No. 61230". The London Gazette. 18 May 2015.
  2. ^ "Batley & Spen Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  3. ^ "Jo Cox MP critically injured amid shooting reports". BBC News. 16 June 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  4. ^ "Obituary: Jo Cox MP". BBC News. 16 June 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  5. ^ ‘COX, Helen Joanne, (Jo)’, Who's Who 2016, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2016
  6. ^ a b c Martin Shaw (12 May 2014). "Women's campaigner Jo Cox chosen as Labour candidate to fight next General Election in Batley & Spen". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  7. ^ a b "Jo Cox". The Labour Party. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  8. ^ a b c d "'I've been in some horrific situations' – MP". Yorkshire Post. 26 December 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  9. ^ Hope, Christopher (10 June 2014). "Oxfam: MPs shocked by 'disgraceful' political campaigning". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  10. ^ "Who nominated who for the 2015 Labour leadership election?". New Statesman. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  11. ^ Andrew Grice; Oliver Wright (10 September 2015). "Labour moderates plot fightback aimed at regaining control of party in the event of Jeremy Corbyn victory". The Independent. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  12. ^ Jo Cox; Neil Coyle (6 May 2016). "We nominated Jeremy Corbyn for the leadership. Now we regret it". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  13. ^ Mitchell, Andrew; Cox, Jo (11 October 2015). "British forces could help achieve an ethical solution in Syria". The Observer. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  14. ^ Toby Helm; Daniel Boffey (10 October 2015). "More than 50 Labour MPs to defy Jeremy Corbyn in vote on Syria". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  15. ^ Kate Proctor (12 February 2016). "Jo Cox: Syrian ceasefire tipped in President Assad and Russia's favour". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  16. ^ Jo Cox (2 December 2015). "With Regret, I Feel I Have No Other Option But to Abstain on Syria". Huffington Post. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  17. ^ "EU vote: Where the cabinet and other MPs stand". BBC News. 14 June 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  18. ^ a b c d Danny Boyle (16 June 2016). "Labour MP Jo Cox dies after being shot and stabbed 'with foot-long knife' near Leeds by attacker who allegedly screamed 'Britain First'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  19. ^ a b c d e Robert Booth; Vikram Dodd; Nazia Parveen (16 June 2016). "Labour MP Jo Cox has died after being shot and stabbed". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  20. ^ Henry Mance (16 June 2016). "Labour MP Jo Cox shot". Financial Times. Retrieved 16 June 2016.(subscription required)
  21. ^ Richard Hartley-Parkinson (16 June 2016). "MP Jo Cox shot outside Birstall library by man shouting 'Britain First'". Metro. Retrieved 16 June 2016. Britain First obviously is NOT involved and would never encourage behaviour of this sort.
  22. ^ Danny Boyle (16 June 2016). "Britain First party leader 'just as shocked as everyone else'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 16 June 2016. Jo Cox is obviously an MP campaigning to keep Britain in the EU so if it was shouted by the attacker it could have been a slogan rather than a reference to our party - we just don't know.
  23. ^ Cowburn, Ashley (16 June 2016). "Jo Cox death: Man who shot and stabbed Labour MP shouted 'Britain First', says eyewitness". The Independent. Retrieved 16 June 2016. A man who I know as Bernard tried to get near but the man swung his knife around and caught him in the stomach.
  24. ^ Adam Withnall (16 June 2016). "Jo Cox shot: Man arrested after Labour MP shot and stabbed in Birstall, West Yorkshire - latest updates". Independent. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  25. ^ "Jo Cox MP dead after shooting attack". BBC News. 16 June 2016.
  26. ^ "Labour MP Jo Cox shot in West Yorkshire – latest updates". The Guardian. 16 June 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016. Brendan Cox, Jo's husband
  27. ^ "Husband posts picture on Twitter of MP wife outside their houseboat". The Daily Telegraph. 16 June 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  28. ^ @@MrBrendanCox (16 June 2016). "Think my 3 & 5 year old will remember #BattleOfTheThames for years to come" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Batley and Spen
2015–2016 		Vacant
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