Legacy of Jo Cox

Debate between Catherine Fookes and Rushanara Ali

Thursday 11th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Rushanara Ali]

What my hon. Friend says highlights the fact that when some of us entered politics—I did so in 2010—we were outliers in the hostility and harassment that parliamentarians and candidates experienced. Sadly, that is becoming increasingly mainstream. My hon. Friend has also experienced threats and intimidation. It is staggering that our system is still not fit enough to deal with those threats systematically.

One of my greatest fears is that, despite the tragedy of what has happened, lessons have not been learnt fast enough. If they had, perhaps we would not have seen further fatalities and the loss of another dear colleague, Sir David Amess. I, and I know others, do not want to see the day when yet another elected representative—a Member serving our public—finds themselves under attack. Too many have been under attack.

We must redouble our efforts to protect our democracy, and that means protecting those who stand for public office. Too many are being put off. Too many—particularly women and particularly those of colour—are being targeted and being driven from the public square and out of frontline politics because the price paid for being in politics has become increasingly difficult and costly. It is costly when it takes the form of losing our colleagues. Frankly, in the 21st century, in this democracy, I never thought that would happen.

I never thought that, and I do not think any others who came into politics at that time could have imagined a situation where our politics could have descended into the spectre of losing a dear colleague from our party and then, again, another colleague from the Conservative party. And we must not forget the far-right extremist, radicalised on the internet, who attacked my right hon. Friend the Member for East Ham (Sir Stephen Timms) in 2010. Thankfully, he survived and is providing a great service to our nation as a Minister, but that should have raised the alarm bells then, because a number of us were on that person’s target list.

As the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield (Sir Andrew Mitchell) mentioned, in the past we have seen assassinations in our country. Now, however, the online space is creating an even greater threat. That is why we must ensure that Members of Parliament do not have to live with the fear of threats against their families, those who are close to them and their staff. Too many mistakes have been made, and we must ensure that we really do learn from them if we are to protect our democracy.

[Catherine Fookes]

I thank my hon. Friend for her incredibly moving speech. Does she agree that we must dial down the rhetoric in this place? Only last week, a male colleague of ours was punched in the face out on the street. I believe that is directly as a result of people using inflammatory language and being incredibly toxic.

In this place we do not work in the cross-party way that I think we should. Last week I visited the Swedish Parliament, which has a semi-circular chamber in which the members sit by region rather than by party. They were saying how that makes a big difference, and I was thinking, as I sit here listening to all the incredible speeches about the wonderful Jo Cox, that would it not be an incredible legacy if we did politics in a much more consensual and cross-party way?

[Rushanara Ali]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. She highlights the importance of the way we work together and conduct ourselves in politics, and we have heard that in other speeches today. Sadly, that is not happening and more is required to bring parties together on as much as we can possibly agree on—to reduce the hostilities, the anger and the often-manufactured outrage online and offline, which is creating hate and hostility on our streets.

The level of threat in our politics has to be addressed. No Member should have to step out of their home wondering whether they are watching their last ever sunrise, whether the person staring at them is intent on harming them, whether they will make it home again, and whether it is their last day in this world. Too many colleagues whom I have spoken to, too often, fear for their lives. That cannot be right. That is not healthy for our democracy. That is why I am proud that this Government are working to tackle harassment and intimidation.

As a Minister, I worked on the election strategy and on the Bill that is now going through Parliament, but the situation is moving very fast. We need to redouble our efforts to tackle online hate and hostility. Incitement to violence online has to be tackled. I therefore welcome the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology’s commitment to taking action. We have to take action fast, before there are further fatalities. We see how that is spreading in the form of riots on our streets, and we see how hate and racism are spreading like wildfire, and not only against elected representatives but in wider society. We have to act quickly. We have to act together. We have to be united.

We need stronger action to ensure that we work together, as we have heard, and on civility. We need to make sure that our political discourse is about a unified country, about taking action against hostility and hatred together, and about collective action. We all have a responsibility, as citizens and as representatives, to come together to tackle hatred and the rhetoric of racism and intolerance. We need police and security services with the resources to tackle far-right extremism and terrorism, as well as other forms of extremism.

We need to ensure that we celebrate goodness and the things that bring us together. We have heard so much about the work of the Jo Cox Foundation. The annual Great Get Together reminds us of the wonderful things that we have in our country and the ability for communities from all backgrounds to come together. In my constituency, where Jo and her family have a special place in our hearts, I see the way in which diverse communities come together. We all have a responsibility to do everything we can to bring communities together.

I finish by saying how inspiring it is to see the work of my hon. Friend the Member for Spen Valley, and of course the work of her wonderful family—Jo’s children, her husband, and my hon. Friend and Jo’s parents—and all their friends. We are so inspired by all that they do for our country—for all the diverse communities that make up our great country. Jo will always live in our hearts. She will always inspire us, both in life and in death. Jo means the world to so many of us, and I will think about her in the work that I do, whether here or elsewhere.