York politicians pay tribute to Jo Cox 10 years after murder

Ms Cox, who was shot and stabbed by neo-Nazi Thomas Mair in her Batley and Spen constituency on June 16, 2016, days before the EU referendum, had famously spoken against division in her maiden speech in parliament a year earlier.

Cllr Anna Baxter, Hull Road ward councillor, said she was 13 when Ms Cox was murdered, but “knew something was deeply wrong”.

“A woman had been killed while carrying out her duties as an MP. It felt impossible to understand,” said the Labour councillor, writing in The Press.

Cllr Anna Baxter (Image: Supplied)

Cllr Baxter said she never met Ms Cox but continues to “feel her legacy every day … Ten years later, I still find myself thinking about what she stood for.”

The former City of York Council executive member, who is part of the Jo Cox Women in Leadership programme, said the “spirit of supporting one another” is “very true to Jo’s legacy”.

She called for unity on the anniversary, echoing the words from Ms Cox’s maiden speech in the commons that “we are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us”.

“I don’t think we have any grand answers to the problems facing the world. I just think we’d all be better off if we spent a little less time assuming the worst of each other,” Cllr Baxter said.

“Disagree by all means. Argue your corner. Stand up for what you believe in.

“But remember there’s another human being on the other side of that conversation.”

“Today is first and foremost a day to remember Jo, and to think of the family, friends and colleagues who lost someone they loved,” Cllr Baxter added.

“And when I look around Yorkshire, at the people who quietly support one another day in, day out, I still believe her message matters.

“At a time when it can feel easier to retreat into our own corners, we need to keep finding ways to support one another, listen to one another and pull together as communities.”

Rachael Maskell, MP for York Central (Image: UK Parliament/PA Wire)

Meanwhile, York Central MP Rachael Maskell, who was friends with Ms Cox, said the country “reeled with shock and the deepest sadness as Jo Cox MP’s life was taken”.

“For someone so full of life, it is her spirit that has brought people together again today with hope that ‘we are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us,” Ms Maskell said.

York Outer MP Luke Charters described Ms Cox as a “woman of extraordinary kindness, compassion and humanity” who was an “inspiration to so many”.

Luke Charters, MP for York Outer (Image: Supplied)

“Whether fighting for her constituents or speaking up for the vulnerable, Jo was always guided by a sense of profound service,” he said.

“A decade on, she will never be forgotten.”

Keir Mather, MP for Selby (Image: Supplied)

Selby MP Keir Mather said his “thoughts are with Jo’s family and friends, and with everyone who continues to work for a more compassionate politics, inspired by the legacy she created”.

Scarborough and Whitby MP Alison Hume said Ms Cox was an “inspiration to me and so many others”.

Alison Hume, MP for Scarborough and Whitby (Image: Nikki Hirst)

“On the 10th anniversary of her death, we remember Jo as a mother, sister, daughter, wife, friend and campaigner. My thoughts are with all of her loved ones,” Ms Hume said.

“Not only is this a day of reflection, it is also one to reconnect with the principles which drove her to enter parliament and humbly serve the people she was elected to represent.”