Tributes: '˜We're here because Jo proved her worth'

Friends and dignitaries paid moving tributes to their MP shortly before hundreds applauded her funeral cortege in Batley's Market Place.
A #LoveLikeJo poster in Batley town centre. Picture by Simon HulmeA #LoveLikeJo poster in Batley town centre. Picture by Simon Hulme
A #LoveLikeJo poster in Batley town centre. Picture by Simon Hulme

Community leader Malcolm Haigh, 79, of Soothill, said: “We’re here because Jo proved her worth and did so much in such a short time.

“I have never known a reaction in this town of this kind of size and it showed that she certainly touched people in a way – it was novel in Batley.

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“It’s unprecedented. It just shows how much the people of Batley felt for this young woman who had been the MP for only 12 months.”

Two schoolchildren with white roses in memory of MP Jo Cox .Picture by Simon HulmeTwo schoolchildren with white roses in memory of MP Jo Cox .Picture by Simon Hulme
Two schoolchildren with white roses in memory of MP Jo Cox .Picture by Simon Hulme

Mrs Cox’s friends, Batley West councillors Gwen Lowe and Shabir Pandor, stood by as the cortege filed through the heart of the town.

The Mayor of Kirklees, councillor Jim Dodds, said: “She was a lovely lady and we cannot let evil triumph over anything. We’ve got to remember the good people and support their families.”

Sian Makepeace, 49, got to know Mrs Cox when she owned the former Reunion Café in Batley. She said: “A few weeks before Jo died, she phoned me completely out of the blue.

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“She had heard that the cafe had closed down and wanted to see how I was. She said ‘we must meet up for coffee’. And, of course, we never got round to having that coffee.

“I’m going to have one today with my friend and remember her for the wonderful, warm, friendly and truly amazing woman that she was.”

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