The sister of murdered MP Jo Cox told the House of Commons in her maiden speech that she would ‘give literally anything not to be standing’ in her place.
Kim Leadbeater, who won the Batley and Spen seat in July, rose to her feet with a ‘huge feeling of pride and a significant amount of nervousness’ as she made her maiden speech in the chamber during a debate to celebrate Mrs Cox’s legacy.
She paid tribute to the ‘best big sister anybody could ask for’, who represented the same seat until her death in 2016, and drew upon words from her maiden speech.
Mrs Cox said in June 2015 that ‘We are far more united and have far more in common than that which divides’, with Ms Leadbeater insisting: ‘Those words are as true today as when she said them. Perhaps even more so.’
Standing close to the spot where her sister previously sat in the House, Ms Leadbeater said the past 10 weeks since her election to represent the West Yorkshire constituency have been a ‘blur’ and compared Parliament to Hogwarts from the Harry Potter stories.
She joked: ‘Nobody gave me a book of spells or taught me how to play Quidditch, but here I am.’
She added: ‘I am sure every new MP experiences the same mixture of pride and responsibility that I’m feeling right now.
‘But, as the House does my family the great honour of paying tribute to my sister, I hope members will understand that I mean no disrespect to this place when I say that I’d give literally anything not to be standing here today in her place.’
In an emotional speech in which he took a number of pauses to compose himself, Labour MP Stephen Kinnock paid tribute to Ms Cox as someone who ‘spoke truth to power’ and ‘believed passionately in standing up for what was right’.
The MP for Aberavon said he had known Ms Cox for around 20 years and shared an office with her for a year in Parliament.
He said: ‘She was relentlessly committed to unity over division, as encapsulated perfectly by her famous comment that we have far more in common than that which divides us. But she also believed passionately in standing up for what was right. And she always spoke truth to power.
‘She encapsulated, I believe, what an MP should be, viewing our opposite numbers as opponents not as enemies. Never afraid to take on an argument, but always willing to work cross-party if there was an issue where progress could be better achieved by working together in the national interest.’
He added: ‘Out of the deep darkness of Jo’s death must now come the shining light of her legacy. So let us build a politics of hope not fear, of respect not hate, of unity not division.
‘But whilst we will all cherish Jo’s public legacy, I will also always cherish the private Jo. I will miss her counsel, her companionship and above all her friendship. She was a relentlessly positive person who could lift my spirits after the toughest of days, a true friend who I miss every day that I walk through that office door.’
Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat spoke about a policy paper he wrote with Ms Cox called the Cost of Doing Nothing, on military and aid intervention abroad.
But he said she died shortly before it was published, adding: ‘It was a terrible moment I am sure for everybody and my memory of it was phoning her number many times and sadly like everyone else getting no answer.’
Intervening in his speech, Labour MP Jess Phillips (Birmingham Yardley) said: ‘I wouldn’t ever wish to speak for Jo or ever claim that I could, but I know what she would think at the moment in the last few weeks.
‘She would be heaping praise on you for the interventions that you have made and if she and her legacy give you any courage in what you are doing to know that she is in my eye and my mind standing shoulder to shoulder with you.’
Mr Tugendhat said: ‘It has been in thinking of the work that we did together that I have been motivated and given strength to speak out in recent weeks because I know that these are not political issues in the narrow sense, these are issues that I think unite the core of our country.’
Ms Leadbeater said her sister made an ‘extraordinary’ contribution to politics during her ‘tragically short time’ in the Commons.
She went on: ‘Others are better qualified to reflect on her talents as a parliamentarian and for me she’ll always be many other things before an MP.
‘A compassionate and caring humanitarian, a proud Yorkshire lass, a friend to many, including a significant number of those who are sat today, a loving daughter – and I’m delighted that our parents, Jean and Gordon, are here today – a fantastic sister-in-law and wife, an outstanding mum to Cuillin and Lejla, who remain full of Jo’s energy, optimism and spirit, and the best big sister anybody could ask for.
‘Jo’s murder ripped the heart out of our family.
‘I’ve spoken on many occasions about my ongoing disbelief and devastation following her death – and it still doesn’t feel real, today more than ever.
‘And it was devastating for the people of Batley and Spen too because so many of them had also taken her to their hearts.’
Concluding, Ms Leadbeater said: ‘If I can be half the MP my sister was, then it will be a huge privilege to get on with the job of representing the wonderful people of Batley and Spen.’
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said: ‘Can I just say we are all moved. We will always think of your sister, and I know that you are going to be a great member of Parliament.’
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