Watch: Jo Cox's 'more in common' speech in Parliament in full
One year before her murder, Jo Cox gave her maiden speech in Parliament saying: “We are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us.”
On June 3 2015, just under a month after being elected, Jo Cox made her maiden speech in the House of Commons as the new MP for Batley and Spen.
In it, she uttered the immortal words: “What surprises me time and time again as I travel around the constituency is that we are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us.”
This message, which has since travelled far and wide, made Ms Cox’s maiden speech one of the most famous in the history of Parliament.
And in her first year as an MP she accomplished more than many do in an entire Parliamentary term.
She established a cross-party Commission on Loneliness, which led to the UK producing the first government strategy on loneliness and appointing the world’s first minister for loneliness.
She also set up the All Party Parliamentary Group on Syria, which was in the midst of a gruesome civil war.
After her murder in 2016, Ms Cox’s words appeared more important than ever.
Her legacy is continued by the Jo Cox Foundation, which continues to promote her message that “have far more in common with each other than things that divide us”.