Since losing my sister Jo Cox, I’ve spent 10 years in a blur

A decade after her sister was brutally murdered for her political views, Kim Leadbeater had hoped the country might have turned its back on the hatred and division[1] that took Jo Cox's life. Instead, the Labour MP says, it has only got worse. Ten years ago next week, on 16 June 2016, while Britain was locked in Brexit campaigning ahead of the referendum, Cox was shot and stabbed to death[2] in the West Yorkshire village of Birstall, five minutes' walk from where her younger sister still lives.

She was 41, a mother of two, and had been an MP for just over a year. Her killer, a 53-year-old with links to the National Front[3], shouted "Britain First" as he attacked her outside the library where she was about to hold a constituency surgery. She was the first sitting British MP to be killed in a quarter of a century.

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The price, size and variety of eggs differ

But which is the best valuefor money and taste? Food Editor Sophie Morristested 15 supermarket packs, scrambled and fried. Her findings?

The most expensive wasn't the best.

Supermarket eggs taste test

M&S Golden Yolk Eggs

These shells win the beauty contest and the yolk colour is amazing when scrambled.

4/5

Taste the Difference

These Sainsbury's eggs taste as good as they look with gorgeous orange middles and a rich flavour.

4/5

St Ewe Rich Yolk Eggs

These are "higher welfare" free-range eggs but the yolks taste no better than other high-end eggs, says Morris.

4/5

Supermarket eggs taste test

Aldi Golden Yolk Eggs

Winner! The Specially Selected eggs are a great price with a delicious yolk.

4/5

Savers Small Eggs

Morrisons Savers eggs are great for the price (GBP1.10) but not rich in flavour.

3/5

Burford Brown Eggs

They taste great, but not noticeably better than the other high-end eggs. The spend is more to do with branding.

4/5

Supermarket eggs taste test

• 7Tesco Finest Bluebell AruacanaThe pale blue shells won me over but the insides are just as rewarding with a rich flavour.4/5
• 8Waitrose Duchy Organic EggsTheir sunny yellow middle scrambles beautifully into light, fluffy folds.4/5
• 9Lidl Deluxe Golden Yolk EggsThey're a great deal and the yolk is a lovely bright orange and the taste is rich and eggy.3.5/5

Supermarket eggs taste test

M&S British Free Range Eggs

Large eggs with brown shells and a light orange yolk and they're a great price for high-welfare large eggs.

4/5

Ocado Large Free Range Eggs These are the best value large eggs that I try. The yolks are a dark yellow and the eggs turn out a lovely rich and fluffy scramble.

4/5

Supermarket eggs taste test

Packington British Free Range Eggs

Pretty white eggs with a yellow yolk that taste fine but, given the price, I expected a little more.

3.5/5

Supermarket eggs taste test

Waitrose No.1 Longstock Gold Eggs They are delicious: meltingly rich, they scramble into fat folds.

They have beautiful green shells, almost too pretty to eat.

4/5

Caption: Eggs are seen in a carton on Monday, April 13, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)Photographer: Jenny KaneProvider: APSource: APCaption: A detail of cracked egg falling into the pan as woman holds egg shells in both hands.Photographer: SimpleImagesProvider: Getty ImagesSource: Moment RF

Asda Organic Mixed Size Eggs The yolk is a pale yellow and when scrambled the result is an unappealing yellowish grey colour. These are the most bland-tasting of the lot.

2/5

Food inflation could reach as much as 10 per cent by the end of 2026

Why you should stockpile

The modern food system is incredibly efficient - but that efficiency depends on a constant flow and just-in-time delivery. Stockpiling, at its best, isn't panic buying. It's creating a small buffer between us and a system that was never designed to pause.

Seamus Higgins, author of Food and Us: The incredible story of how food shapes humanitySupermarkets will find ways of holding down the price of the basics, and try to make their money on the fancy lines (Photo: Roy James Shakespeare/Getty)

What you should consider buying

Tap water is generally safe to drink in Europe (Photo: Klaus Vedfelt/Getty)

Bottled water

While we are accustomed to free-flowing water, in recent years, supply has failed for a number of days in many areas of the UK.

Canned essentials

Morris keeps tomatoes, beans, pulses, chickpeas, lentils and fish in her cupboard.

Chickpeas are a great source of protein (Photo: Christian Mouysset)Many of us like to add milk to our tea, so you may be wondering whether that affects its benefits (Photo: Maca and Naca/Getty)

Tea and coffee

As prices vary, and are increasing, it's good to bulk buy if you can.

What you should stockpile

Dried goods

A base of dry goods, like rice, pasta, oats and flour, are the backbone of a reliable pantry. Make sure bags are stored correctly and replace them when they go out of date.

Caption: Asian girl grocery shopping in supermarket. She is choosing fresh fruit juice along the beverage aisle, reading the nutrition label and checking ingredients on the bottle.

Making a healthier food choice and balanced diet. Healthy eating lifestylePhotographer: d3signProvider: Getty ImagesSource: Moment RFCaption: Close up of a woman preparing a wholesome breakfast by pouring oats into a bowl from a plastic free jar with fresh berries.Photographer: Dougal WatersProvider: Getty ImagesSource: Digital VisionCopyright: Dougal Waters Photography Ltd

UHT drinks

UHT dairy, squash and long life milks and juices are worth keeping for emergencies.

What you should stockpile

A well-stocked freezer is also important, but it doesn't need to be a huge space. Focus on versatility and rotation in fruit, veg, fish and bread, and buy what you'll use.

Caption: Close-up of peanut butter on toasted bread on light gray plate.

Food background.Photographer: Yuliia ZaitsevaProvider: Getty Images/iStockphotoSource: iStockphoto

• Peanut butter, or a jarred treat like jam or Nutella, is also a good idea.
• Nut butters are a great source of protein, fibre, has a long shelf life and can be used on savoury and sweet foods.

Want to slow down brain ageing? Try a hobby

The hobbies that slow brain ageing

Practise a musical instrument

A study of 108 amateur musicians in the journal Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences found those with more musical experience had better attention control.

Caucasian mid adult patient writing a diary while recovering in the hospital ward - stock photo. (Photo: Getty)Caption: IVANO-FRANKIVSK, UKRAINE - NOVEMBER 13, 2022 - Musicians of the NAONI Orchestra (National Academic Orchestra of Folk Instruments of Ukraine) hold a concert at the Ivan Franko Academic Regional Ukrainian Music and Drama Theatre in Ivano-Frankivsk, western Ukraine. (Photo credit should read Yurii Rylchuk / Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)Photographer: Future PublishingProvider: Future Publishing via Getty ImagSource: Future Publishing

Journal in the evening before bed Reflecting on your day supports your memory as you're rehearsing the things you've done, especially if you do it with pen and paper, says Prof Catherine Loveday, author of The Secret World of the Brain.

The hobbies that slow brain ageing

The flowering gardens at Cawdor Castle (Photo: Dennis Barnes/Getty/Stockbyte Unreleased)

Garden for 20 minutes

Connecting with nature replenishes cognitive resources and boosts vitamin D levels, says Loveday.

Join a knitting group

Knitting improves coordination and working memory - your brain's ability to store and use information according to the British Journal of Occupational Therapy.

Senior female friends spending leisure time knitting while sitting at table in retirement home - stock photo. (Photo: Getty)As society sees the largest ever intergenerational shift of assets, younger clients will need people they can relate to, instead of relying on AI and social media for financial advice (Photo: Getty)

Learn a language

Learning a second language helps improve our ability to retrieve words.

The hobbies that slowbrain ageing

• Games, like Minecraft, helps improve spatial representation, speed and reaction times.
• Reading fiction twice a week stimulates the language partsof the brain, says Loveday.
• One study also found that chess players had better cognitive reflection and greater focus.

LIFESTYLE

5 min read

Why crossing your legs could be bad your health...

It's one of those every day moves that we rarely think twice about - especially when sitting for longer periods - but it could be inadvertently contributing to your back pain, high blood pressure or even issues like infertility.

Why you shouldn't cross your legs

The fact it's comfortable doesn't mean it's good for us

62%

of people prefer to cross their right over their left leg. While 26 per cent cross their left over the right and 12 per cent have no preference.

S shape The natural shape of the spine when stood up is an S-shaped curve.

But when we sit in a chair with our feet flat on the ground our pelvis is rocked backwards creating a C shape.

In some people, blood pressure stays high despite medication, and hormones may be the reason (Photo: Tatiana Maksimova/Getty Images/Moment RF)

How does it impact blood pressure?

We're restricting venous return of blood from peripheral tissues like the foot going back to the heart. Says Adam Taylor, Professor and Director of the Clinical Anatomy Learning Centre, at Lancaster University. Although your blood pressure should drop once you move from the position, it can have longer term impacts if you have pre-existing conditions like diabetes.

How it can impact the nervous system

In extreme it canlead to a phenomenoncalled foot drop.

Senior woman on sofa feeling and suffering from back pain. - stock photo. (Photo: Getty)

Over the short term crossing can give you pins and needles. If you leave it there for half an hour, an hour, or longer, you can actually interfere with the muscular function of the muscles, says Taylor.

LIFESTYLE

5 min read

How it impacts posture

(Photo: Justin Paget/ Getty).

Sam Bhide, advanced physiotherapy practitioner, believes the main impact of sitting cross-legged is gluteal tendonitis, resulting in moderate to severe hip pain. One study[4] found that sitting cross-legged leads to a bent and asymmetrical posture and other research shows it increasing the misalignment of the hips.

How it impacts fertility

We know that crossing your legs warms up the groin area by somewhere in the remit of three degrees. If you are a man who sits with your legs crossed for a prolonged period of time, that is not good for sperm production.

ADAM TAYLOR, PROFESSOR AND DIRECTOR OF THE CLINICAL ANATOMY LEARNING CENTRE(Photo: Andrew Matthews/PA).

How to fix it

Caption: Incorrect seated posture.Photographer: Science Photo LibraryProvider: Getty Images/Science Photo LibraSource: Science Photo Library RF

Get out of the habit

If crossing our legs is the cause, then the obvious solution is to do it less.

Microbreaks

Take time off from sitting, and put your musculoskeletal system through a normal range of motion.

There are many ways to improve your finances this Easter (Amr Bo Shanab/Getty Images/fStop)(Photo: Justin Paget/Getty).

Focus on symmetry

If you're a right over left leg crosser, try crossing the other way, so those forces are at least going through the body equally.

The foods the experts always have in the cupboard

Foods to keep in the cupboard

Caption: John West tuna chunks in brine, ??1.50/125gCopyright: John West

Tinned fish

These are a great way to get Omega-3 fats and fish with soft bones are a great source of calcium, says dietician Emma Shafqat.

Ready whole grains

Dietitian Lucy Upton recommends brown rice, quinoa and barley which are low in salt.

Rice cooked - stock photo. (Photo: Getty)Photographer: HakanEliacik / 500pxProvider: Getty Images/500px PrimeSource: 500px PrimeCopyright: Hakan Eliacik - 05062142485

Olive oil

Cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil has polyphenols and antioxidants, says Dr Frankie Phillips.

Foods to keep in the cupboard

Nuts and seeds They boast unsaturated fats, fibre, plant protein, vitamins and minerals. Raw or dry roasted should have no additives, like salt.

Dr Shafqat recommends brands like Meridian, Pip & Nut and Whole Earth.

Dried fruit(Photo: Wirestock/Getty/iStockphoto/Juergen Wiesler)

Dried fruit If you're mindful of the addd sugar, they can be great for fibre as part of a meal.

Dr Phillips recommends dried apricots as they're verstaile and add iron to the diet.

Dark chocolate

It surprises many people that dark chocolate contains fibre. It counts as a health food thanks to its high polyphenol count. To really optimise the health benefits, choose chocolate that is 70 per cent cocoa as it has fewer ingredients and a higher polyphenol content.

Lindt 70 to 85 per cent, Green & Black's, Divine Fairtrade, Aldi's Moser Roth (70 per cent) and Lidl's own brand (85 per cent) are great, accessible options.

Foods to keep in the cupboard

Oats

Plain oats are a cheap, accessible and nutritious food that provide beta-glucan, a type of soluble fibre which helps to manage cholesterol levels.

Packing out your curry with pulses (Photo: Michelle Garrett/Getty)Caption: Close up of a woman preparing a wholesome breakfast by pouring oats into a bowl from a plastic free jar with fresh berries.Photographer: Dougal WatersProvider: Getty ImagesSource: Digital VisionCopyright: Dougal Waters Photography Ltd

Pulses

Dr Phillips keeps canned cannellini beans, kidney beans, chickpeas and red lentils in the cupboard, and adds them to soups, stews and savoury mince dishes.

The UK's mild climate may be destroyed

While much of the world is set to grow hotter as a result of the climate crisis, the UK could soon face a different fate. Climate scientists fear a 'cold blob' in the Atlantic Ocean may bring Arctic conditions instead of a tropical future.

Bill McGuire, a professor of geophysical and climate hazards at University College London (UCL), is one of them. Here he shares why cold temperatures could be our reality in a few decades.

Why this could happen

At the moment, global heating is making the UK hotter. This warmth is thanks to the presence of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), a system of currents over the Atlantic.

• Without these currents, our climate would be more akin to the much colder weather in north-eastern Canada.
• And the AMOC might be set to U-turn.
• One study suggests that the AMOC has weakened by 15 per cent since the mid-20th century.
• There is not much we can do to stopthis decline.

  Emissions would need tobe cut in half within five years to haveany chance of dodging a permanent global temperature change.

How to prepare for a change

"All countries need to ensure that infrastructure, food security, servicesand public engagement are robust,"says Professor McGuire.

Caption: Snow falls over in Middleton-in-Teesdale, County Durham.

Storm Chandra brought travel disruption and flooding as strong winds and heavy rain hit much of the UK. Picture date: Tuesday January 27, 2026. PA Photo.

Photo credit should read: Owen Humphreys/PA WirePhotographer: Owen HumphreysProvider: Owen Humphreys/PA WireSource: PACopyright: PA WireA train arrives into the station in the town of Glossop in the snowy weather last week. New rail projects planned for the North of England are 'really exciting,' the Transport Secretary has said (Photo: Oli SCARFF / AFP via Getty Images)

One paper estimated that only seven per cent of UK land would be suitable forarable farming in the new climate,compared with the current 32 per cent. "Managing this looks like rationing and restricted civil liberties," he claims.

The global impact

Smoke billows from a fire in an area of the Amazon rainforest near Porto Velho, Rondonia State, Brazil (Photo: Bruno Kelly/Reuters)

• It could cause the weakening of the African and Asian monsoons, resulting in famine.
• Increased warming of the southern hemisphere could further dry out the Amazon.
• Increase melting across Antarctica would accelerate sea level rise.

LIFESTYLE

5 min read

What we need to do

This is entirely the result of global heating caused by human activities. It is critical that monitoring of the AMOC is maintained, even increased. European governments really need to be planning for a future that could well bemuch colder.

AUTHOR OF THE FATE OF THE WORLD: HOW OUR FUTURE IS WRITTEN IN THE PASTSnow covering Arlington Row in the Cotswolds village of Bibury. - stock photo. (Photo: Getty)

Our shared ownership home is a disaster

Paul Afshar is struggling to sell his shared ownership flat in Hackney Wick (Photo: Charlie Forgham-Bailey)

Paul Afshar felt a sense of pride whenhe purchased 25 per cent of a new home in East London - as a way to get on the property ladder without huge financial backing. But years on, Afshar has discovered the drawbacks of the scheme, including the rising costs and difficulty moving on.

The background

A 25 per cent of a one-bedroom flat in London.

• In 2007 Afshar put a five per cent deposit (GBP2,500) on his share of the flat and entered a 35-year mortgage on a standard variable rate.
• Although he only owns a quarter of his flat in Hackney but is eligible for 100 per cent of the maintenance costs.
• Between 2007 and 2024 his mortgage rose 48 per cent from GBP268.65 to GBP400.28.

  He also pays GBP865.48 on rent (shared ownership requires paying rent to the organisation who owns the rest) and a service charge.

• Fixing unsafe cladding on his block of will also cost in excessof GBP50,000, as it isn't eligible for government funding.

The impact on residents

It has definitely triggered a deep sense of anxiety in me that affected my mental health. It's this constant heavy, nervous feeling in my stomach.

AFSHAR, 41Caption: Paul Afshar, campaigner for End Our Cladding Scandal (EOCS). who???s flat in Hackney Wick has been affected by unsafe cladding which means that he is unable to sell the property.

Photographed leaving his flat.Photographer: Charlie Forgham-BaileyProvider: Charlie Forgham-BaileySource: Charlie Forgham-Bailey

Shared ownership in the UK

Caption: BRENTFORD, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 19: A general view of some of the student accommodation blocks within the Paragon Residential development which have been placed on a mandatory evacuation order, on October 19, 2020 in Brentford, England.

Paragon is a development of six apartment blocks owned by one of London's largest housing associations, Notting Hill Genesis. A recent investigation into the exterior cladding coupled with structural and fire safety issues has led to the association asking residents of the 1059 flats to evacuate while further investigations are made. The estate was developed by Berkeley First, part of The Berkeley Group plc. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Myra ButterworthPhotographer: Leon NealProvider: Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images EuropeCopyright: GETTY IMAGES

• In 2024, 200,000 households were shared ownership properties.
• In 2021-22 there were 19,386 new shared ownership properties.
• Fewer than 2,000 shared ownership households managed to staircase from part to full ownership in 2022.

Big Read

9 min read

Selling up

Afshar couldn't sell his flat but didn't feel safe to live in it - because of the cladding. So he lived with his partner for three years, still paying the mortgage and charges.

Caption: Paul Afshar, campaigner for End Our Cladding Scandal (EOCS). who???s flat in Hackney Wick has been affected by unsafe cladding which means that he is unable to sell the property.

General view of the unsafe timber cladding.Photographer: Charlie Forgham-BaileyProvider: Charlie Forgham-BaileySource: Charlie Forgham-Bailey

Caption: Paul Afshar, campaigner for End Our Cladding Scandal (EOCS). who???s flat in Hackney Wick has been affected by unsafe cladding which means that he is unable to sell the property.

Photographed inside his flat.Photographer: Charlie Forgham-BaileyProvider: Charlie Forgham-BaileySource: Charlie Forgham-Bailey Property expert Crystal Olenbush says selling is the biggest issue. "You've got to figure out how to divvy any equity, then you need to find someone to take over the side of the seller's portion of the mortgage.

There's a whole legal process to transfer that shared ownership stake. If anyone tries to skip steps, it creates huge problems."

Paul Afshar is struggling to sell his shared ownership flat in Hackney Wick(Photo: Charlie Forgham-Bailey)

The takeaway

I got into something I didn't fully understand.

I was sold a dream of homeownership and it's come back to bite me years later. It's heartbreaking. Looking back Afshar wishes he'd have looked into the service charge, mortgage rate and selling protocols sooner.

Thinking of gettinga divorce?

It's not always the solution, says psychotherapist and author Philippa Perry, who has been married for 32 years.

Here are the five things she recommends asking yourself before dishingout the divorce papers.

The questions you should ask

Is it a you problem?

Couple, talk and arguing with fight at house for disagreement, conflict and divorce discussion. Woman, explain and bored man for conversation, toxic relationship and drama and marriage fail in lounge - stock photo. (Photo: Getty)

It's not a good idea to get divorced when you're just depressed and stressed.

You're naturally irritated by everything and everybody. It's too easy to take that out on your partner and think they're the problem.

OPINION

2 min read

(Photo: Kawee Srital-on/Getty).

Are you tellingyourself a story?

We cherry-pick the evidence against our partner until we're so set on them being the enemy... It feels almost like tying up loose ends. But it won't really solve the problem.

It just makes it much worse. It's okay to be wrong. Good relationships are full of ruptures and repairs.

The questions you should ask

It is a mixmatch ofconflict styles?

• When we're under stress, we have our preferred way of coping.
• You want a partner who's on the same page as you, so that you have moments of connection.
• Some people think a lot, other people want to go straight to action.
• If you're a thinker, and you're married to a do-er, it's important to remind them that they don't have to fix every problem. If you are a doer, you have to say something like, explain your process and thoughts a little more.

Do you believe thegrass is greener?

If this is you, do some serious therapy on yourself. What gets in the way of a good relationship is thinking that the grass is greener and therefore having a lack of commitment.

This is why we have marriage because you make a commitment.

PHILIPPA PERRY, AUTHOR OF BEST-SELLING BOOKS ON PARENTING AND RELATIONSHIPS

Do you have momentsof inclusion?

Son't assume your partner knows how you think (Photo: ljubaphoto/Getty/E+)

• Moments of inclusion are the ones when you both feel like you've both clicked, and really get on.
• If these moments are missing, we need to leave more space for them.
• Also treat love as an action, not a feeling. Ask yourself, what can I do for my partner today?

LIFESTYLE

5 min read

Leadbeater, 50, was a sports teacher and personal trainer when her sister was killed. Despite previously having no interest in standing for public office, she won the Batley and Spen by-election in 202[5]1 and now represents Spen Valley following boundary changes.

She speaks movingly of her sister's murder and how her world has never been the same. Leadbeater had taken her car in for an MOT and was running to collect it - trying to be healthy - when the call came from her sister's husband, Brendan. All she knew was that Cox had been attacked.

'You put the grief and trauma together'

"I just started shaking.

And I said to the mechanic, 'Oh, God, something's happened to my sister.'" She "just knew" instinctively that "things were not good". What followed was mostly a blur. "I probably don't remember a great deal of the next six months, even 12 months, because... your body and your brain find a way of coping. And all I knew was I had to get through this for my mum and dad and for Jo's kids...

And I probably did that for, like, six months, or a year. And to be honest, maybe I've been doing that ever since."

Jo Cox pictured in 2015 (Photo: Yui Mok/PA)

She is candid that the 10th anniversary frightens her for exactly this reason. "I'm a little bit nervous about because I kind of think, well, if this is the moment when I crash and have some sort of meltdown, breakdown, whatever, well, then I'm gonna have to deal with that."

Around the loss were "many different layers" - the global media attention, the trial, the fact that it was "a politically motivated murder by a fascist", the two small children left behind, the fact that it happened minutes from her front door. She has had counselling, and cries, but only occasionally. "I've never been a big crier," she adds. "You put the grief and the trauma together and that is not a healthy cocktail for coping." Leadbeater pointedly never names her sister's killer, refusing to draw attention to him as an individual.

But she will, this year, name what he was. "Jo was murdered because of her political views. This wasn't a random act.

This was a politically motivated murder by a neo-Nazi, right-wing fascist... That's hard for me to say... it's one of the things that I sort of push down inside, so I don't have to deal with it. But it's true."

She draws a parallel with David Amess, the Tory MP, murdered by an Islamist extremist in 2021: "We have to call it out for what it is," she insists.

'I'm still saying the same things 10 years down the line'

Why does naming it matter so much this year? Because, she argues, you cannot address extremism without being honest that it exists - and without confronting the conditions that feed it. If people don't have "a sense of identity and belonging... part of the danger is that they are drawn towards the extremes.

So, we have to own that conversation." She also knocks down a persistent myth, too: that her sister's killer was mentally ill rather than driven by ideology. "People say that and that is not true," she says. The Labour MP and her family have tried to channel their grief into transforming British politics, seizing on Cox's maiden-speech words - "We are far more united and have far more in common than that which divides us" - as a mantra to encourage people to reject hatred and division. Yet when we meet in her Westminster office in the wake of the furore over the Henry Nowak murder, Leadbeater admits they have yet to "extinguish this flame".

"What I feel really depressed and upset about is that I've been giving the same interview for 10 years[6]," she says - the same message about uniting the country, bringing communities together and doing politics differently. "I just feel frustrated, upset, angry that I'm still saying those things 10 years down the line." She says there have been "brief glimmers of hope" - such as after the murder of Amess - when the country recoiled and said "this isn't right, this isn't our country, this isn't who we are". But each time, she says, it proved "short-lived" and "we seem to go back to the division and the anger and, if anything, it gets worse".

Why worse? She is honest about the genuine grievances underneath the anger. The Covid pandemic, the wars in Ukraine and Iran, things "over which we have no control" that make life harder and leave people looking for someone to blame.

'We blame the politicians, the people who don't look like us'

"Therefore, we blame the politicians, we blame people who don't look like us," she says. "Some people in politics who intentionally... try and stoke that division because it's in their interest to do so[7]," and "that is just a pressure cooker... waiting to explode."

But she refuses to let that be the whole story. Alongside it, she insists, "is a country full of amazing people doing brilliant things day in and day out" - the volunteers running scout groups, libraries and litter-picking groups, the people she watched cross the line at the London Marathon weeks ago. "That is what humanity looks like. The best of this country," she says.

Kim Leadbeater in her office at the Houses of Parliament (Photo: Stefan Rousseau/PA)

The same divisiveness, she suggests, is what makes her wary of any move to revisit the Brexit referendum. Leadbeater, whose only sibling was killed the week before the 2016 vote, is unequivocal that the country should not be asked the question again. "No...

I don't think that would be helpful," she says. "We need to have a strong relationship with Europe... Given the state of the world at the moment, I think that's more important than ever. But do I think it would be helpful to rerun the referendum?

No. I don't." Her objection is less about the result than the "divisive" mechanism, and the damage it caused.

A decision of that enormity, she says, should never have been put to people with no real chance to engage with the detail. "People should be empowered to make decisions... but to make informed decisions," she says. "A decision of that magnitude shouldn't have been taken in a context where people have got busy lives... I didn't have a chance to engage with the detail of what I was being asked to vote on.

You ended up picking a side without necessarily knowing quite why you'd pick that side... and once you picked that side, it was almost like there wasn't any room for nuance any more. You were part of a tribe." As ministers talk of resetting relations with Brussels and senior figures face questions over rejoining the bloc, Leadbeater, whose "instinct was to Remain", fears the wounds have not yet healed.

The impact was "heartbreaking" and felt "within communities" and "within families". "People stopped speaking to their loved ones and family members because they had a different view on this issue," she says. "And that's just really sad. I think some of those divisions probably still haven't been rebuilt."

It is a heartfelt reflection from a woman who, by her own admission, has never really recovered from what that referendum campaign cost her family.

'Everybody who goes to work should feel safe'

It is impossible to talk to Leadbeater about division without talking about safety; she is, after all, evidence of where such discord can lead. "In terms of safety and security, it's on pretty much every MP's mind every day," she says. When she was elected in 2021, she was shocked by how openly colleagues - particularly female MPs - spoke about death threats, rape threats, abuse and intimidation[8]. It had become "normalised," she says.

Nor is it just politics: she points to the signs in hospitals now asking people not to abuse staff - signs that didn't exist when she was growing up - and to supermarket staff wearing body cameras. "Why are you all wearing body cameras?" she asked. Because people come in and are abusive, violent. "This is a supermarket where people just want to go and buy their spuds."

She understands the inequality and desperation underneath some of it. "But whatever else is going on in life... everybody should be able to go to work and feel safe." Does she feel safe? "I do feel safe most of the time," she says, taking on board all the advice from police and security services. But she resents how much time and energy it consumes. "I want to focus on doing my job" - and one of the best parts of it is being out in public, meeting people, hearing views unlike her own.

"I don't want us to be a country where elected people can't do that," she says, pointing to places where representatives stay behind closed doors with security guards. Responsibility for changing it lies with everyone "including elected people themselves," she insists. When MPs and councillors are aggressive, abusive and divisive "it's not surprising when other people follow suit".

Leadbeater helps tie ribbons onto a piece of netting during a 'Great Get Together' community service and picnic in memory of Jo Cox at All Saints Church in Batley in 2017 - marking the first anniversary since her sister's death (Photo: Oli Scarff/AFP)

"I really struggle with the concept of being too nice," she says. "It is perfectly possible to be extremely compassionate and be very strong as well. We spent a lot of time talking about how lovely Jo was... but she was bloody tough and she was strong and she could handle herself."

The real problem, she suggests, is the public's only weekly glimpse of politics, Prime Minister's Questions[9]. "The chamber is not Parliament," she says. PMQs is "not only the most antagonistic part of the week" but "pretty much a bit of a waste of time because nothing's actually achieved". But she concedes the danger: if the only time you see an MP is "shouting at somebody else", why would anyone respect politics - or want to go into it?

Hence her passion for political education and a curriculum that teaches what an MP can and cannot do. "I honestly don't think things will change until we are teaching people about politics."

Jo's legacy

Her last memory of her sister is her own 40th birthday party, six weeks before, at a "big house" up in Richmond, North Yorkshire, with 25 friends who had been cynical about whether an MP with two small children would actually turn up. Cox made it. "And she was just on absolute top form... she wasn't an MP, she wasn't a mum, she wasn't a wife... She was just Jo, my sister." There was cheesy karaoke, 80s aerobics, fancy dress and a great deal of drink. "We had an absolute blast."

When Leadbeater turned 50 earlier this year, she gathered many of the same friends - but at a hotel in Harrogate, "because... trying to recreate the 40th... would be too painful." Leadbeater says her family is doing better than anyone could expect. Her parents, nearly 80, are "just the nicest people you could hope to meet" and support her going into the job despite everything they have lost.

Cox's children, now 13 and 15, are "annoyingly good at everything" - sporty, musical, academic and humble. "When they come to Yorkshire, we try and find something for them to be rubbish at and we're failing miserably." Cox's legacy is enormous and tangible: The Jo Cox Foundation;[10] the world's first government strategy on loneliness; the Great Get Together every June, which celebrates community life; community woods, birthing units and school awards bearing her name; the cross-party commission on abuse and intimidation in public life. Leadbeater is asking the Government to refresh the loneliness strategy[11] for this anniversary.

"We might put a nice frame around it," she says. "But... there is a very serious agenda underpinning [it]... if people don't feel that they belong and they don't have that sense of identity. Where are we sending them?" This year's Great Get Together will take place from 19 to 21 June.

For more information visit The Jo Cox Foundation here[12].

References

1. ^ hatred and division (inews.co.uk)
2. ^ Cox was shot and stabbed to death (inews.co.uk)
3. ^ National Front (inews.co.uk)
4. ^ One study (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
5. ^ she won the Batley and Spen by-election in 202 (inews.co.uk)
6. ^ giving the same interview for 10 years (inews.co.uk)
7. ^ try and stoke that division because it's in their interest to do so (inews.co.uk)
8. ^ death threats, rape threats, abuse and intimidation (inews.co.uk)
9. ^ Prime Minister's Questions (inews.co.uk)
10. ^ The Jo Cox Foundation; (www.jocoxfoundation.org)
11. ^ loneliness strategy (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)
12. ^ here (www.jocoxfoundation.org)