Tribute to murdered MP

The event in Titchfield Park saw children from Holgate Primary and Nursery School help plant flower beds at the main entrance in memory of the MP.

A moving speech was heard from Friends of Titchfield Park’s Mary Butler and Betty Kujawinski at the well-attended ceremony, which saw former councillors turn up, alongside members of the public, the school children and Ashfield District Council workers who helped the kids to plant up the flower beds.

Councillor Lauren Mitchell, who represents Hucknall South, said: “I was there to support my local Great Get Together event in memory of Jo Cox MP who was murdered one year ago and in celebration of her belief that we have more in common than that which divides us.

“The children from Holgate behaved brilliantly and enjoyed planting and watering the flowers that will be in our park as a reminder of Jo’s life and her commitment to community.”

The event was one of 120,000 that took place across the country and was based on the message in Mrs Cox’s maiden speech in Parliament that “we have more in common than that which divides us”.

Husband Brendan Cox said: “She wanted to bring people together of different types and backgrounds and she would be incredibly humbled by the scale of the response.”

The events come as 78-year-old Bernard Kenny, who tried to stop Mrs Cox’s killer, was awarded the George Medal in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.

There were also awards for two PCs, who arrested the killer Thomas Mair, and Mrs Cox’s senior caseworker Sandra Major.

Mrs Cox was fatally shot and stabbed in Birstall in her Yorkshire constituency of Batley and Spen on June 16, 2016.

On Friday, her parents and sister attended a ceremony at Upper Batley High School, where the conference centre was renamed in honour of their daughter, and visited Birstall Market Place, close to the scene of the murder.

Kim Leadbeater, Jo’s sister, said: “We decided very early on that we would not remember how Jo died, we would focus on how Jo lived.”