POLITICS at times can be a brutal, unforgiving and divisive part of our national life but in other moments it can also be uplifting, compassionate and unifying.
Those latter qualities, which so exemplified the life and work of Jo Cox, were powerfully and emotionally on display in the House of Commons.
MPs from all sides came together, as Speaker John Bercow put it, to express their "heartbreaking sadness" and "heartfelt solidarity" in tribute to their colleague from Batley and Spen, who was elected just 13 short months ago.
Up in the public gallery, Jo’s family peered down as moving tribute after moving tribute was paid to their daughter, sister, wife and mother. It was a collective message of respect and love.
READ MORE: Jo Cox's sister pays tribute to 'utterly amazing woman'
To underline that Jo was, first and foremost, a devoted mum and wife, as sombre and profound words were spoken Lejla, her three-year-old daughter, sat fidgeting restlessly on her father Brendan's lap, while son Cuillin, five, snuggled silently up to his grandmother Jean.
As emotional memories about Jo flowed several MPs - many clothed in black but all wearing the white rose of Yorkshire as a mark of respect to a proud Yorkshire lass – openly wept.
Jeremy Corbyn described his colleague's life as a “demonstration against despair” while David Cameron said Jo epitomised the "best of humanity".
One of the most moving tributes came from Labour’s Rachel Reeves, who described her friend as someone who appealed to people’s better instincts; a sense “that what we have in common is greater than what divides us”.
READ MORE: Husband of murdered MP Jo Cox urges people to 'fight against the hatred that killed her'
There were lighter moments. The Yorkshire MP recalled how, having dinner on Jo’s London riverboat, she worried that she might have drunk too much wine too early in the evening, only to realise “it was the boat that was swaying and not me”.
But at the end of her moving tribute, Ms Reeves was unable to contain her emotions and broke down when she told colleagues that Batley and Spen would go on to elect another MP but no one could replace a mother. Backbencher Wes Streeting consoled his colleague, putting his arm around her as she wept.
Eilidh Whiteford for the SNP, who like Jo worked for Oxfam before entering parliament, spoke of her friend’s talent, positivity and bravery.
She recounted how she last saw her two weeks ago at a charity tug-of-war match.
MPs laughed as the Banff and Buchan MP noted: “Conventional wisdom is that height and weight are distinct advantages in a tug of war. Jo had neither of those attributes…nevertheless, there she was, pulling for the women’s team with every ounce of her strength, every fibre of her being with sheer dogged determination.”
Ms Whiteford stressed this was how she wanted people to remember Jo as a strong, brave, determined woman, giving her all with absolute commitment. “I want to remember Jo Cox how she lived, not how she died...a symbol of the politics of hope, not the politics of fear.”
But arguably the most powerful contribution came from Jo’s friend of 20 years Stephen Kinnock. He told MPs how Jo, who exemplified the best of Labour and British values – compassion, community, solidarity and internationalism – would have reacted to the Ukip immigration poster, which had “demonised” Syrian refugees, fleeing the terror of IS and Russian bombs.
“She would have responded with outrage and with a robust rejection of the calculated cynicism, division and despair that it represents because Jo understood that rhetoric has consequences. When insecurity, fear and anger are used to light a fuse, then an explosion is inevitable.”
To hear, hears, Mr Kinnock declared: “It is the politics of division and fear, the harking back to incendiary slogans and the rhetoric of Britain First that twists patriotism from love of country into an ugly loathing of others.”
The backbencher stressed how the country could not allow Jo’s murder to intimidate Britain’s democracy but it was necessary to honour the legacy of someone who had dedicated her life "to the common good".
He added: “Jo Cox, we love you, we salute and we shall never forget you.”
READ MORE: Jo Cox murder accused makes first appearance at the Old Bailey
After 63 minutes’ of tribute, the Speaker asked MPs to voice their support for the motion, saying he hoped it would “attract the loudest unified response in the history of this house”. MPs responded with an ear-cracking “Aye!”
Then as the Serjeant at Arms removed the gilded mace and led the way for a memorial service at nearby St Margaret’s Church the unusual parliamentary sound of spontaneous applause broke out; it was directed not just at Jo but also at her bereaved family, who have to bear their loss.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel