The Defuse Podcast – Being a 21st century Politician, Threats and Hopes with Kim Leadbeater MBE MP
Kim Leadbeater MBE MP is the Labour party MP for Batley and Spen.
It is the same constituency that he sister Jo Cox MP held when she was murdered in 2016.
Kim is a friend of mine, a hugely bubbly inspiring person who had her life changed by the awful events of her sister’s murder.
Kim is a hugely popular figure, and a very recognisable one. Her story is unique. She never wanted or expected to be a public figure. She never wanted to be an only child either.
In this podcast Kim talks honestly about her sister Jo. She shares an insight into their childhood and where their values came from.
She discusses the subject of identity and how being the sister of Jo Cox is something she is rightly proud of whilst carving out here own legacy in British politics.
Kim shares her views on the risks associated with being a modern politician in such a divided and hostile society, and how that has changed since her sister became an MP.
She talks about her own safety and how she follows the advice given to her, whilst she and her colleagues receive daily abuse and threats.
We discuss how some MPs still fail to take the security advice given to them and what she feels needs to change to improve the safety and security of MPs and how the issues discussed may deter good people from wanting to be an MP.
BIO - Kim Leadbeater MBE MP
The murder of Kim’s sister Jo in 2016, while she was working as MP for Batley and Spen, was utterly devastating and turned her life upside down, just as it did for her parents. Jo’s murder shook the world. And whatever you thought of her politics you could not meet a nicer person.
Many people were determined that some good should come out of Jo’s horrific death and, while Kim kept her business going, she threw much of her energy into The Jo Cox Foundation and the local ‘More In Common’ volunteer group. You can find out more about the work they did – and they are still doing – here. There is much to be very proud of.
In 2018 Kim was awarded the Prime Minister’s 1000th Points of Light Award in recognition of our work to build a positive legacy for Jo, and a Northern Power Women Award for being a ‘Person with Purpose’. In the 2021 New Year’s Honours List she received an MBE for services to social cohesion and combatting loneliness during the Covid-19 pandemic. Kim never thought about these awards being for her, but for the fantastic team working together to make a difference locally and nationally.
Kim has always been a very driven and determined person and it was her determination to make a difference that prompted her – after much soul-searching – to put herself forward for election as her local MP in the 2021 by-election. Kim took her sister’s former seat in Westminster on July 5th 2021.
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