EVENTS were held worldwide to celebrate Jo Cox’s life yesterday as her family, friends and famous supporters attended a memorial service on what would have been the MP’s 42nd birthday. Not because I’m ungrateful to the organisers and you all for coming, but because of course I’d rather be with Jo.
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Cox’s death has abruptly changed the tone of the final days of caustic campaign around a referendum on Britain’s European Union membership, which takes place on Thursday, prompting a groundswell of support for a more positive campaign.
“Reflecting on a hard time in university, she once said that it made her realize that it mattered where you were born, how you spoke and who you knew”. I am living proof that they can not win with bullets either.
The gatherings Wednesday marked what would have been Cox’s 42nd birthday and 42 white Yorkshire roses were laid in Trafalgar Square.
“She feared the consequences of Europe dividing again, hated the idea of building walls between us, and anxious about the dynamics that that could unleash”.
Bill Nighy was due to give a reading, while U2 had recorded a musical tribute in Los Angeles. “Jo meant so much to so many of us and so many people around the world”. As a mother, my heart breaks that they now have to grow up without her.
“She stood for the best in public life and she brought out the best in people, and I hope posthumously she will bring out the best in people in Ireland, the United Kingdom and the world”.
Tommy Mair, 52, has been charged with murdering Mrs Cox in a shooting and stabbing attack in Birstall on Thursday, and remains in custody.
Mr Cox and two young children joined friends, colleagues and high-profile campaigners in London, as others met in her home town of Batley in Yorkshire, and at global events.
He is accused of murder and other crimes related to the death of Cox, 41, and an elderly man who was seriously injured.
“That’s where her politics came from”, he told the crowds.
Cox is survived by her five-year-old son Cuillin and three-year-old daughter Lejla.
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The White Helmets are one of three causes that Cox’s friends and family have featured on a crowdfunding page that has raised more than £1.2m since last Friday.
