The torchbearer: Jo Cox Foundation CEO Su Moore on civility and making a difference

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In June, it will be eight years since Jo Cox, Labour MP for Batley and Spen, was murdered by a far-right extremist outside Birstall library in West Yorkshire, where she was due to meet constituents. She had been a member of parliament for just over a year, but her insistence – in her powerful maiden speech – that “we have far more in common than that which divides us” remains a clarion call for unity and tolerance in British life.

Cox’s parliamentary career was cut tragically short, but her energy and determination to tackle the causes of prejudice and discrimination resonated (and continue to resonate) across political divides: by 20 June 2016, just four days after she died, a fund established by her friends in her memory had raised £1m, to be distributed among causes close to her heart.

Incredibly, what was intended to be a ‘spend out’ organisation – it wouldn’t exist in the long term – continues ...