UMVA has learned that the lead-up to the anniversary of Jo Cox's death has been marred by two disturbing incidents that threaten to further tear the UK's social fabric apart.
The sentencing of Henry Nowak's killer sparked violent protests in Southampton, while a horrifying knife attack in Belfast prompted riots earlier this week, in which residents of the Northern Irish capital were targeted in their homes based on their race.
Both incidents were fueled by hatred and thuggery, embodied by Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, a man who represents everything Jo Cox opposed in her fight for unity and compassion.
However, in the face of such darkness, there were flashes of Cox's spirit where it mattered most. After meeting with Henry Nowak's family, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch wrote: 'They are a family who have friends across faith and race, and so did Henry. His family want his memory to help bring our society together.'
The family of Belfast stabbing victim Stephen Ogilvie also sent a powerful message, stating: 'We have many migrants who make a deeply valuable contribution to our country, including in our healthcare system and hospitality sector, and we depend on them to make our country work. We do not want this terrible tragedy to be used to divide people or fuel hostility.'
Two families facing unimaginable pain, yet both with the same message: people need to come together. As Jo Cox said in her first Parliament speech in 2015, we have more in common than that which divides us.
