The leaders of all the main political parties will stop campaigning for an hour on Sunday in memory of Jo Cox, the Labour MP murdered in her Yorkshire constituency a year ago.
Party leaders will halt political activity and instead visit community projects. The parties have asked all their candidates to do the same.
Jeremy Corbyn is due to visit a project in Liverpool, while Tim Farron will take part in a picnic in Kendal. The one-hour pause will be at a time of each candidate’s choosing.
In Jo Cox’s former constituency of Batley and Spen, the Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green candidates will attend a farmers’ event to raise money for a baby care unit. Before she became an MP, Cox worked in the charity and aid sectors.
Her widower, Brendan Cox, said that the break would send a positive signal. “Doing so in such a coordinated way will, we hope, send a powerful message that, whatever our political disagreements, we really do hold more in common and show a united front against hatred and extremism. in all its forms.”
After polling day, tens of thousands of community get-togethers are being held all over the country on 16, 17 and 18 June to mark the first anniversary of Cox’s death.
