I hope this doesn't seem arrogant but I wondered if I could just clarify a few things about Jo's murder as some American media seem to have gotten confused about who she was, what happened, and about the political factions in the UK.
Also, gossip is so unhelpful when these dreadful things occur and I have seen SO many errors in the US media about what happened and about Jo already that I really do want to try to set the record straight in order that we can mourn the actuality rather than the myth-information. I hope no one minds. :-)
Firstly, Jo was a newly elected member of Parliament, elected last year in 2015. She was a Labour MP (left of center party). She had previously worked for Oxfam (which was how I came into contact with her) and various other NGO's and charitable org's and her work focussed primarily on Syria and Palestine (and other areas of the Middle East).
When she became an MP, she advocated loudly in Parliament for better assistance for refugees, more humanitarian food drops in Syria and regularly raised the issues of the Assad regime starving out the local population. She was well-known for reaching out to her Conservative counterpart and going to meet with the Russian Ambassador to make representations and object to the Russian air strikes which were helping only Assad.
She also worked tirelessly for anti-slavery causes and poverty issues in the UK.
Britain First is a radical right wing organization which has no political legitimacy and no councillors or MPs. They grew out of the former British National Party (The British Fascist Party) and many of their top people were also part of the British National Party (which no longer exists). Britain First have regularly been called out for lying and simply inventing stories to incite hatred against many people but, in particular, Muslims. They use stock photos of actors who have played roles where they are beaten up, and use these photos as examples of British (white!) people being attacked by Muslims. They are horrific people.
UKIP (The United Kingdom Independence Party) is right wing for sure, but NOT Britain First. UKIP wants Britain to withdraw from the EU and that was why it was set up. It is absolutely true to say that UKIP has had significant issues with radical, right wingers, entering its midst and they certainly do have some very offensive views but they are NOT Britain First. UKIP does have representation in the British political system, both locally and nationally. UKIP is run by Nigel Farage who was previously an investment banker.
Personally, I detest BOTH organizations but I think it is important to separate the two as they are different and lumping them all together is both wrong and unhelpful. I can't stand either of them to be clear!
The man who attacked Jo, Tommy Mair, is reasonably well known to the Police as a radical right winger who had belonged to several seriously horrible fascist groups. I do not know if he was a member of Britain First but it would not surprize me to learn that he was.
It is reported that he shouted 'Britain First' as he shot and stabbed Jo and then kicked her in the head as she lay bleeding on the ground. Bearing in mind his known far right wing links, it seems entirely possible that he DID shout this. Two people reported that he said these words, not just one person as has been said in various places.
The current EU referendum in the UK is undoubtedly causing tensions to run high with about half the country wishing to leave the EU and half wishing to remain. The referendum vote is due to take place next Thursday on June 23rd, 2016. At this time, both sides have suspended their campaigns. It remains to be seen what will happen.
Jo was a wonderful person, an inspirational woman with an infectious zest for life and for her campaigning. She had integrity, something far too often missing from politics these days, and she was a real rising star in the UK political world. She regularly spoke in Parliament holding the serving Government to account about the intake of refugees (she thought we should do more) and aid to Syria.
She was born and brought up in her constituency. She went to Cambridge University and was the first member of her family to go to University. She always said she had the 'wrong accent' for Cambridge! But she always returned to her roots, to the part of the country which she loved.
She also had a beautiful house boat on the River Thames in London and often offered the space for friends to have parties and suchlike. She was married to a wonderful man called Brendan and had two small children who I think should remain as anonymous as possible in order to allow them to deal with the enormity of losing their mother.
I should say, on a personal level, I will miss Jo enormously. She was a thoroughly good person who the world needed. We will all be less well off with her passing. She brought integrity, honesty and enthusiasm to all the things she worked on and to all those whom she touched.
Brendan’s Twitter account can be found at @MrBrendanCox .
Whatever the final truth of what happened here, it is imperative that we remember that stirring up hatred always has unexpected consequences, or perhaps they are not so unexpected. Trump does it in America, and Farage does it in the UK. You cannot light a touch paper and then walk away and act surprized when the bomb goes off. Hatred is never the answer. Love will always win out over hate as the thousands of tributes to Jo, from across the world and across the political spectrum, have shown. Whatever occured yesterday, the one thing I DO know is that Jo will be remembered as having been a woman of substance, a woman of integrity and a woman who stood up for what she believed in and we need far more politicians of her ilk.
If you want to understand more about Britain First and UKIP, here is what Wiki has to say:
Britain First
UKIP