Jo Cox MP has been murdered.

[Lisa O`Brien]

Can't quite believe what I am hearing on the TV and reading from Twitter. A young Labour Party MP, who only became an MP a year ago has been murdered. How utterly sad and tragic. I had never heard of her, but this is just awful. RIP.

[taxi4ballet]

Just dreadful.

[Fiz]

I am so close to tears right now. Apparently the man responsible yelled something about Britain First when he carried out this monstrous act. Anyone who promotes this evil gospel needs sectioning.

[Lehcar28]

Dreadful news Rest in peace Jo Cox

[Lisa O`Brien]

People are cynical about politicians, and i'm sure there are some of them who are in it for themselves. But I do believe the vast majority of them, from whichever party, go in to politics to serve the public to the best of their abilities. I'm really really upset about this and can't stop crying. Her poor husband and children.

[Fiz]

Apparently Britain First held a training camp in Wales recently teaching people how to use knives. Jo Cox was stabbed as well as shot. How can this group not be condemned as terrorists now?

[Kate]

Scary scary times. What a horrible week. Seems like the House of Commons has lost a remarkable young woman and Yorkshire a dedicated MP, but as all the tributes say its her husband and children whose loss is immeasurable.

[Colman]

As I understand, and I'm no friend of theirs, the Britain First report is not well sourced at the moment: it seems to be one (possibly secondhand) report amplified by being reported again and again. I don't think I'm going to say anything else here: I'm very angry (and sadly neither surprised or shocked) and I'm only slightly British. 

Edited June 16, 2016 by Colman

[Fonty]

Totally shocked.  I just couldn't believe it when it flashed up on my screen.

[LinMM]

So very sad for anyone to be killed in that way but in her case magnified by her youth and wonderful contribution to Society a genuinely caring MP ....such a talent ...a high flier within the Labour Party absolutely no doubt.

How awful for her husband and two little children. Thoughts with them

[aileen]

Such an appalling thing to happen. It's been a horrible week with Orlando, then the police offer and his wife murdered in cold blood in Paris and now this. MPs at their surgeries are quite vulnerable. There was a serious attack on another MP a few years ago but, fortunately, s/he was not killed.

[Anna C]

Unbelievably tragic and shocking. Poor lady. I feel desperately sad for her family, friends and colleagues.

 

It appears now that the perpetrator shouted "Put Britain first" so he may not have been claiming affiliation with the organisation. According to Channel 4 news which I'm just watching, there is some doubt as to whether Jo Cox intervened in an affray between the suspect and another man - or whether the third man intervened in the attack on Jo Cox. So she may or may not have been the initial target.

 

Regardless though, the end result is a dreadful and shocking murder of a compassionate humanitarian MP, a wife and a young Mum. Absolutely tragic.

[2dancersmum]

Horrific news and may she RIP. Her poor family and I thought it pretty poor taste to show images of her on the news lying on the street.  The truth of what really happened will no doubt emerge other the next few days. The news report I saw said her attacker was waiting for her when she and her PA came outside. that he stabbed her and a man in the dry cleaners saw and came out and tackled him, at which point he pulled out a gun and shot her as she lay on the ground.

All in all a pretty senseless killing - another one to add to the innocent lives lost in the past few weeks.

[Bruce Wall]

Suddenly our world - yet again - is a very different place.  I don't envy the world Jo Cox's children's children will inherit.  I have a feeling it will be frightening in the extreme ... and one where they will experience a poverty unknown even to my parents who where both raised during the Great Depression.  The ground beneath my own feet today somehow felt very unsettled.  May Ms. Cox rest in the peace she so richly and rightfully deserves

Edited June 16, 2016 by Bruce Wall

[alison]

*Did* they show pictures of her?  I only saw pictures of them arresting the perpetrator.

 

I've just watched the tributes to her on the news.  If only more politicians were like her: she really seems to have gone into the job with the aim to serve her constituents, which is not something you can always say.  The greatest legacy she could leave, I think, would be to inspire others to do likewise. 

 

Her poor family and friends

[Terpsichore]

I know her constituency well as it lies in Kirklees where I also live. Occasionally I have canvassed in her constituency though not for her party.

 

Politics is neither pretty nor polite here but I have never heard an unkind word spoken about her.   She was respected greatly by her opponents and genuinely liked by her constituents whether they voted for her or not.   The same cannot be said of every other MP.

 

Although I never met her I feel diminished by her death in the way that I would at the loss of a close friend or relation.

[Melody]

This is really shocking news - I'm not getting a clear idea from newspaper reports whether the suspect had serious mental health problems or whether the issue had to do with his membership of an extremist political organisation. I suppose we'll get more clarification over the coming weeks. We don't hear a lot about the EU vote over here although I'm trying to follow it on online news sources, but I gather the campaign has been contentious verging on the downright nasty (rather like the campaign for mayor of London), and sometimes that environment does make people with fragile mental health snap. I know it would be hard because of freedom-of-speech concerns, but I wish something could be done about the tone of some of the TV and newspaper reporting of these political issues.

Edited June 17, 2016 by Melody

[alison]

So do I, Melody.  If you were over here and went into a newsagent regularly, you'd note that probably two days out of three the front pages of a couple of the right-wing tabloids would be taken up entirely with anti-immigration/anti-EU articles.  It's difficult for that sort of saturation coverage *not* to affect people's thinking, it seems to me, even if they do look into the wider issues.  I do hope this murder was in no way linked to the referendum, but am not sure.

 

The Scottish referendum equally became "downright nasty", BTW 

[Terpsichore]

Melody, if there is to be a fair trial the less speculation about the accused, his politics or mental health the better.

Speaking generally about the state of politics here I would agree with you.  I have lived through the CND, Vietnam and anti-apartheid marches of the 1950s and 1960s, the three day week, three miners' strikes, riots in Brixton, Moss Side, St Paul's and Liverpool in the early 1980s, cruise missile and poll tax protests, the Northern Irish and related troubles, the 11 Sept outrages in the USA and 7 July bombings in London, Iraq, the worst economic downturn for decades and austerity but I have never known a more bad tempered time in British politics than the present.   

 

I was active in the 1975 referendum campaign as I am now.  Even though the in-campaigners were far more passionate than the remain camp now and there was a federalist constituency in British politics the campaign was much less bitter.

Edited June 17, 2016 by terpsichore

[Lisa O`Brien]

I don't know if anyone else has sensed or picked up vibes in the last few months and years but even though I do not live in mainland UK I get the impression the country is becoming increasingly polarised. It feels as though there is a major battle between Left and Right going on. Not just politicians but among ordinary people. Get the impression the same thing is happening all over Europe. Over here to an extent we haven't experienced it. Our two sides of politics, thank God, now co-exist peacefully. The very next village to me, three miles down the road, Bessbrook, is a mixed, Catholic and Protestant area. Both communities live happily and peacefully together. It wasn't always the case. Stephen Restorick, the last British soldier to be murdered,was shot dead there. At the time I was back in England. But he was shot one minute from where I used to live with Sean's dad. If God forbid,the Troubles ever started up again,Bessbrook, being mixed,would be one of the first areas to ignite. But people here were thoroughly sick to death of over thirty years of suffering. But you just have to read people's comments and reactions online on news articles to know that both sides seem further apart like never before. I just hope that in the UK at least, things will calm down after this bloody Referendum. Beginning to think maybe the whole notion of it was a bad idea.

[Melody]

I suppose in a way it's everyone's fault, because presumably the media wouldn't be like this if it didn't sell (sort of like what happened when Princess Diana died and everyone was blaming the photographers, ignoring the fact that the photographers were only chasing her to get photos because of public demand). Having said that, I do realise that the owners of the media outlets have their own reasons for the opinions expressed in their papers and TV stations, but still they must be seeing a market for all this poisonous aggression that they're producing.

 

If it's any consolation, which I'm sure it isn't, the same thing is going on over here in spades during this presidential election. People seem to be afraid and aggressive and are seeking comfort in the company of their political or religious "tribe," with the result that everyone is talking (actually, shouting) past everyone else and nobody's really listening. I don't know if it's the result of all the anonymity of the internet or the different specialised news channels that let people stay in their own comfort zones while demonising' all the other points of view or what's going on, but it's getting very worrying.

Edited June 17, 2016 by Melody

[MAB]

I very much doubt the murder had anything to do with politics in the conventional sense, with the perpetrator being described as a 'loner' I've a feeling psychopathy may well be involved, certainly that was being discussed by a psychiatrist on the radio this morning.  Also there are people out there with a loathing for what they call 'the system' which translates into a hatred and contempt for authority.  The first time I encountered one of these individuals was during jury service when a fellow juror refused to engage with the case (a particularly nasty GBH) because he despised the notion of justice.

 

Ms Cox had been receiving death threats from the far left apparently because of her voting patterns,  Ironic if her killer does turn out to be from the right.  Stephen Timms was attacked and injured in his constituency office a short while back and a Lib Dem's aide was killed in an earlier incident.  I think it indicates that we a living in an increasingly volatile society.

[Anna C]

There was a very informative post on Twitter this morning, explaining triggers and the possible reasons why the increasingly awful referendum campaign may have far reaching and disastrous effects on some individuals suffering from certain MH conditions, especially where paranoia is a symptom.

 

The dreadful truth is of course that regardless of the motive, an innocent woman has lost her life.

[Lisa O`Brien]

My sister and her husband in Manchester have between them, never been anywhere near a computer screen. I sometimes tell them things around the world that have or are happening that I know they would otherwise have absolutely no knowledge of. They never even watch the news on TV so kind of live their lives oblivious to the outside world. Kind of sad,really, but that's their choice. I have always been a bit of a news addict. I love it. On TV, in newspapers and online. I don't like to just listen to one side though. For instance I read Tweets from The Guardian and The Telegraph, among others. Just for a bit of balance,really. But sometimes I do think I read/consume TOO much news and information.There have actually been times at night when I have read something earlier in the day and I have not been able to sleep,as it has been going around and around my head. I think I could do with a couple of days every so often where I cut myself off from all media formats. I used to walk to the top of Camlough Mountain,which is virtually on my doorstep. You can see my house quite clearly from the top. Standing at the top of it looking down at the village, it gives you a great sense of perspective about what is really important to you,while also allowing yourself a feeling of being distanced from stress,worry and problems in the world.

[LinMM]

I think there has been more polarisation just recently but this was certainly around in Margaret Thatchers era too.

 

I wonder if one of the reasons people are getting more entrenched in their 'tribes' ( as described in Melody's post above) is the situation that has developed in the Middle East and that both Russia and Turkey seem to possibly be taking backward steps. All of this has created a lot of uncertainty in the World and people do tend to seek solace in the known when this happens.

 

I think we all have to make greater than usual efforts at the moment not to demonise "the other"....whoever that is for people .....

 

As a rule I think there is more love than hate in the world. So try to remain optimistic. But sometimes hate wins out as in this murder.

 

I think the words of Jo Cox's husband are very very apt.

[isadora]

i just want to thank lisa for starting this thread. I've found it very comforting to read these very humane sentiments, i expect mostly if not all from women. i am so used to reading aggressive posts in news blogs, more about point scoring than fair discussion. its nice to know that the people on this forum are not "just" obsessing over ballet matters, but really care about the most important things in life. love to everyone. 

[Colman]

I'm afraid, LinMM, that this probably isn't the place for discussion, but I think our media environment makes politics that justifies our basest instincts much easier to sell than politics that appeals to our better angels. The first fit better into sound bites than the second.

[MAB]

Just thought I'd point out that now someone has been charged with her murder, the case is considered as being sub judice.  That means discussion of the actual events or motives becomes an offence in law.

[aileen]

I think that this thread should be locked now.

[Anna C]

Thank you MAB. Aileen, I agree that for safety the thread should be locked just now. It may be unlocked again but for now, many thanks to everyone for posting condolences and kind thoughts towards Ms Cox's family.