Coronavirus crisis has shown the best of humanity, says Jo Cox's sister

This time of crisis has shown “the best of humanity” and offers great hope for future community cohesion, campaigner Kim Leadbeater has said.

The sister of murdered Batley MP Jo Cox told the Yorkshire Post that the strong sense of connection between neighbours and communities shown in response to the coronavirus crisis has been the embodiment of what her sister described in her maiden speech to Parliament as having “more in common than that which divides us”.

As an ambassador for the Jo Cox Foundation and director of the grassroots organisation More in Common Batley and Spen, Ms Leadbeater has been working on the frontline community response to pandemic, as a conduit to help Kirklees Council to connect those in need with voluntary sector support or help from the Covid-19 Aid groups and those who are “providing food parcels and picking up prescriptions”.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She said it has shown the “best of community and cross sector working” and that she hopes the response will lead to a new appreciation of the third sector.

Kim Leadbeater, the sister of murdered MP Jo Cox.Kim Leadbeater, the sister of murdered MP Jo Cox.
Kim Leadbeater, the sister of murdered MP Jo Cox.

“They were the first people that the council reached out to - the voluntary sector, who are on the ground, they know their communities and know where that need is,” Ms Leadbeater said.

She believes that the human response to the crisis has the potential to change society for the better.

Join our new coronavirus Facebook group for the latest confirmed news and advice as soon as we get it www.facebook.com/groups/yorkshirecoronavirus“This situation is a total leveller. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from, what colour you are - we are all vulnerable,” she said.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Everything has to be prefaced with the fact that first and foremost, this situation is a complete and utter human tragedy. It feels wrong almost to think about the positive stuff that is going on, but I think it is extremely important to do that as a way of getting through it.

Jo Cox, who was MP for Batley at the time of her deathJo Cox, who was MP for Batley at the time of her death
Jo Cox, who was MP for Batley at the time of her death

“It will change how we feel about our communities and our neighbourhoods. I hope it lasts.”

Last week it was announced that the Jo Cox Foundation had joined forces with charities, the Government and Facebook to launch the Connection Coalition dedicated to helping the nation form meaningful connections.

“There was a period, in the first few weeks, it felt like there were a lot of men in suits telling us on the TV what we couldn’t do,” Ms Leadbeater said. “And it was very scary. It was necessary but there wasn’t a lot of positivity there. It was very much what you can’t do.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“What we’ve said, is that you’ve got to flip that narrative and look at what we can do. And that’s what we’ve seen people embrace.

“We can Zoom call our families, we can put a rainbow picture in our windows, we can have a good old laugh when trying to homeschool our children and have no idea what a modal verb is.

“We have to hang on to those things and remember how important those connections can be.”

And those connections will be displayed once again this June to mark Mrs Cox’s birthday, as it has each year since her death, as the Great Get Together.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

While much has been postponed, it will still carry on, with plans to hold the annual Run For Jo virtually.

Ms Leadbeater said: “We are reframing it and having to be a lot more creative with it. By that stage, it will be more important than ever,

“We might not be able to get together, but we can still be together - whether its having a pizza party with your friends or a family Bake Off, quarantine cocktails - all done virtually. We can do all these things, they are just been doing a bit differently.

“The work we have done on the Great Get Together is all about bringing people together on a very human level and we’re seeing some of the best examples of that that you could possibly imagine in the last few weeks, and that gives us hope for the future.”

---------------------------------

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Editor’s note: first and foremost - and rarely have I written down these words with more sincerity - I hope this finds you well.

Almost certainly you are here because you value the quality and the integrity of the journalism produced by The Yorkshire Post’s journalists - almost all of which live alongside you in Yorkshire, spending the wages they earn with Yorkshire businesses - who last year took this title to the industry watchdog’s Most Trusted Newspaper in Britain accolade.

And that is why I must make an urgent request of you: as advertising revenue declines, your support becomes evermore crucial to the maintenance of the journalistic standards expected of The Yorkshire Post. If you can, safely, please buy a paper or take up a subscription. We want to continue to make you proud of Yorkshire’s National Newspaper but we are going to need your help.

Postal subscription copies can be ordered by calling 0330 4030066 or by emailing [email protected]. Vouchers, to be exchanged at retail sales outlets - our newsagents need you, too - can be subscribed to by contacting subscriptions on 0330 1235950 or by visiting www.localsubsplus.co.uk where you should select The Yorkshire Post from the list of titles available.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

If you want to help right now, download our tablet app from the App / Play Stores. Every contribution you make helps to provide this county with the best regional journalism in the country.

Sincerely. Thank you.

James Mitchinson

Editor