Yorkshire Post Political Correspondent: Jo Cox Has Been an Inspiration to Me

Yorkshire Post political correspondent Kate Proctor has paid tribute to Jo Cox, describing the MP for Batley and Spen as “an inspiration” when she began working in the parliamentary press gallery in Westminster.   

In a piece for the paper paying tribute to Jo last week, Kate wrote: “Her friend and colleague, Holly Lynch MP, described her as an inspiration, and for a young female journalist starting off in the lobby she has been an inspiration to me too.

“We bonded over our Northern-ness, I related to that feeling of being a bit out of place, and we talked politics and international relations over cups of tea. She made me think I could achieve whatever I wanted to. There are very few MPs like Jo. Yorkshire was very lucky to have her.”

Kate wrote: “I have met Jo many times, but an interview just before Christmas in the House of Commons stands out. I couldn’t help but be impressed by her journey from Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, to Cambridge University, the charity sector then to the House of Commons. I was met with a hug – most rare in Parliament I can assure you – and we chatted for an hour about her life over a cup of tea.

“I think it might have been one of the first times she had sat and taken stock of what she had achieved. Anyone who knew Jo knows she was a tiny woman, absolutely petite, with a blunt brown bob, with a love of bright scarves that always made her stand out in Parliament.

“You weren’t to be fooled by that diminutive stature though. Sarah Champion MP for Rotherham described her a lion, and I’d agree. She was incredibly fit, and is such a dare-devil she found out she was pregnant with her son while climbing on the Isle of Skye in Scotland.”

Kate is a member of the Newspaper Conference – the regional press lobby in Westminster chaired by Archant group political editor Annabelle Dickson – for which the News Media Association provides a secretariat service.