'The day our community lost a champion in MP Jo Cox - ten years on'
Ten years ago the national media circus descended on West Yorkshire after the tragic death of MP Jo Cox. YEP Editor in Chief Laura Collins reflects a decade later
Some stories stay with you long after the headlines fade.
And for me, June 16 2016 will always be a day forever etched in my mind.
A phone call from one of our reporters, who lived just yards from where Batley and Spen MP Jo Cox was tragically killed, changed everything. There are very few moments that a newsroom genuinely stops in its tracks – this was one of those days.
A sense of shock and sadness was palpable as the reporting teams for the Yorkshire Evening Post and sister title The Yorkshire Post struggled to comprehend just what had happened.
Those of us lucky to have spoken with Jo were dumbstruck as to how something like this could happen to such a wonderfully, caring community-minded champion.
She was killed serving the community and constituency she loved and cared for so deeply. Her bright light extinguished far too soon.
The outpouring of grief for our Yorkshire rose was unmistakeable - she wasn’t just an MP, she meant so much more to those that she pledged to dedicate her life to.
Within hours the national media circus soon descended on our quiet little corner of West Yorkshire.
But for our local newspapers there was a weight of responsibility that came with our reporting of the tragedy which had unfolded that day.
We wanted to make sure that we did right by our community, Jo’s loved ones and by Jo to honour her memory.
Our newspaper front page carried a very simple message. It was a tribute to “Our Jo”.
Once the national press cleared off from the streets of West Yorkshire, we continue to be there day in and day out.
A decade on it feels more apt than ever that Jo’s maiden words continue to reverberate loudly today.
It’s a lesson we should all remember: “We have more in common than that which divides us”.