Who is Jo Cox’s sister Kim Leadbeater?
LABOUR MP Jo Cox was killed by a "Nazi" extremist as she visited her constituency of Batley and Spen in West Yorkshire.
Jo's sister, Kim Leadbeater, has become the constituency's MP following a by-election in the Yorkshire seat.
Who is Kim Leadbeater?
Kim Leadbeater, 44, is the sister of Jo Cox, a Labour MP who was murdered on June 16, 2016.
The younger sibling grew up with her family in Heckmondwike before becoming a lecturer.
The pair were close and spent a lot of time together doing various activities.
They were a part of Brownies and would often go cycling in the area they lived.
Kim said her sister was shyer than herself and worked hard to improve on her public speaking.
Since Jo's death she has thrown herself into continuing her work and encouraging others to come together.
Leadbeater was Labour's candidate in the Batley and Spen by-election which was held on July 1, 2021.
She won with a narrow majority of 323, picking up 13,296 votes with the Conservative candidate Ryan Stephenson coming second with 12,973.
George Galloway, for the Workers Party, came third with 8,264 votes.
Labour's majority has been slashed from 3,500 held by the previous MP Tracy Brabin who stood down after being elected mayor of West Yorkshire.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer hailed the win as a "fantastic result".
The new MP was emotional as she made a passionate vow to do her sister "proud".
In a heartfelt statement, she said: “I’m absolutely delighted that the people of Batley and Spen have rejected division and they’ve voted for hope."
She added: “It has been a very emotional campaign and today is very emotional for me for lots of reasons.
“But if I can be half the MP Jo was, I know I will do her proud and I’ll do her family proud. Fingers crossed I’ll do a fantastic job, just as she did.”
What did she say about her sister Jo's death?
Kim spoke to Fabulous Magazine and said: “In the weeks and months after, I don’t know how I coped. Your brain just chooses to push those painful memories to the back of your mind, leaving you to deal with it when you can.
“People ask if I think about Mair, but I never have. The one thing in this whole sad situation that I have control of is how I feel and how I react. My choice right now is to not be beaten by him.”
She has described the feeling of losing her sister in such a horrific manner as a "whole new reality we have to adjust to".
What is moreincommon?
Moreincommon is a movement started by Jo Cox's family after her death.
It is a campaign to draw communities together and celebrate the best in each community in the UK.
It was inspired by a section of her inaugural Parliamentary speech which said "we are far more united and have far more in common than that which divides us".
The campaign celebrates life together and especially celebrates the life of Jo Cox.
How did Jo Cox die?
The popular MP was stabbed and shot on June 16, 2016, as she made her way to a constituency meeting.
At her killer Thomas Mair‘s trial, Prosecutor Richard Whittam QC said: “She was brutally murdered by one of her constituents.
"It was a cowardly attack by a man armed with a firearm and a knife.”
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She suffered knife wounds to her heart, lungs, stomach and liver before being blasted three times through her hands with a sawn-off gun as she tried to protect her head.
Heroic Jo warned her two aides to stay back and told them “let him hurt me, don’t let him hurt you” as she was murdered.
Sandra Major and Fazila Aswat screamed and rushed to help and one aide swung her handbag to fight the killer off – but the stricken MP urged them to flee to safety, jurors were told.