MPs’ safety not being taken seriously enough, says Kim Leadbeater

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Westminster is failing to take MPs’ safety seriously enough despite public anger over the coronavirus pandemic, lockdowns and Brexit, according to Kim Leadbeater, the sister of Jo Cox.

The Labour MP for Batley and Spen believes not enough has changed to protect parliamentarians since Cox was murdered while representing the West Yorkshire constituency in 2016. In October, Sir David Amess, the MP for Southend West, was stabbed to death while he held a constituency surgery.

Leadbeater, whose lengthiest Commons speeches since she was elected in July have been tributes to her sister and Amess, said that while new measures had come in since Cox’s death, safety had not remained a priority despite the polarising issues of Brexit and Covid lockdowns having “facilitated a lot of anger” in society.

“Not enough has changed. And I don’t think we take the issue of safety and security quite seriously enough, and I include some MPs in that,” she said. While acknowledging that some “particular people [who] have done this job for a long time and haven’t been directly impacted by any issues around safety and security” wish to remain accessible to constituents, she believes politicians now face “a different climate”.

“For whatever reason … there are people who would wish us harm and we have to be realistic about that. We’ve seen the evidence of that. I think things have changed a little bit [since Cox was killed], but ultimately we’ve still got another [killed] MP and we need to look at why that is the case.”

Since her election, Leadbeater, 45, carries three panic alarms with her wherever she goes and said that support from police and enhanced security for her office helped staff feel safe.

“I do feel safe, but to be fair I am very cautious. And I am extremely well looked after by West Yorkshire police,” she said. “But I am still carrying around three alarms. That’s not the best situation.”

Leadbeater said that after the investigation into Amess’s killing was concluded, parliamentary authorities needed to have “serious conversations” about what needs to change, while maintaining “the very important balance between protecting MPs and protecting democracy”.

“The main thing for me is that his family are given as much support as they possibly can, to help them get through it, because there are horrific months and years to come for them. And it’ll never end – that’s the reality,” she said.

The MP called for online anonymity to become “the exception, rather than the rule” to combat a culture where abuse, particularly towards female MPs, has “become normalised”. In the short period since her election she had had “lots of conversations” with colleagues who regularly received “vile abuse online” and threatening emails. “We need to change that culture so that is not acceptable,” she said.

Echoing recommendations of the Intimidation in Public Life report published in 2017 as a result of Cox’s murder, many of which have not been implemented, Leadbeater said MPs should “make sure that we are conducting ourselves to a high standard”. She believes the confrontational exchanges at prime minister’s questions fuel aggressive attitudes towards politicians, and would prefer the media showcased more cross-party work rather than focusing on “subjects that fuel anger”.

“Sometimes [PMQs] gets very heated. And I think the danger is then that people will say, ‘Look at how you behave, why should we behave any differently?'”

Leadbeater, who trained as a wellbeing coach and personal trainer, said she was fascinated by the level of anger in society. “I always think, I’ve got as much right as anybody to be angry about what’s happened to us, and now my life has been totally ripped apart. But I’ve never given in to that.

“Two big factors which have facilitated a lot of anger are Brexit, and the pandemic and lockdown. You’ve got two very divisive subjects, which really do polarise people, which everyone’s got an opinion on and that doesn’t happen that often in life,” she said.

Leadbeater believes the “more in common” approach that she promoted through the Jo Cox Foundation after her sister’s death is key to tackling divisive topics, and can be more successful in changing people’s minds or behaviour than an anti-racism framing. “There’s a great quote that says ‘you’ve never made anyone be less racist by calling him a racist’,” she said.

Citing a woman who she said had greeted her and a colleague with: “Oh, I never liked that Jo Cox anyway, she let them all in, didn’t she?” Leadbeater asked why she thought that. “Actually, I’d rather speak to her than somebody who agrees with me on everything. Because perhaps then we can have a really powerful conversation.”

She also hopes to find common ground in polarised debates on sex and gender. “It’s about human rights,” she said. “We’ve got to have those conversations, but ultimately, for me, it’s very, very feasible to be an advocate for trans rights and to be a really strong, powerful feminist. They’re not mutually exclusive.”

This approach has not always been successful, however. Leadbeater reveals she “naively” suggested approaching George Galloway, the independent candidate, to ask him not to stand in the Batley and Spen byelection to help avoid what became a contest mired in accusations of intimidatory tactics. A spokesperson for Galloway has previously said he condemns all forms of physical intimidation.

“I said, do you think it’s worth us reaching out to him and asking him if he would mind not standing because it’s probably not what our constituents or our community needs? We need someone who brings people together, not pulls them apart. And everybody just went: ‘no,'” she laughed.