Mr Martin said: “The murder of Jo Cox has shocked the entire country, and it has hit home particularly hard in Tooting.
“It is our duty and responsibility to continue with this by-election, but clearly a very dark shadow has been cast over these proceedings.”
The by-election was held to elect a successor to Sadiq Khan following his election as London mayor.
Mr Khan posted a tribute to his Labour colleague on his Facebook page, describing the mother-of-two as a “fearless campaigner” who stood up for the world’s poorest and most marginalised.
He wrote: “In the year she was an MP she made more impact than others make in a whole parliamentary career.
A photo of Jo Cox shared on Twitter by her husband Brendan after the attack today (Brendan Cox/Twitter)
“She was the most powerful advocate for the people of Syria, ensuring their plight stayed on the political agenda as well as reminding us all of our country’s proud record of humanitarianism.
“But she was also an extremely hard-working local MP for her home constituency and so proud of her roots there.”
The 41-year-old also had a great sense of humour, Mr Khan said, having joking that she hoped to get permission from the House of Commons to park her houseboat at Parliament “so she could drive it to work”.
Bunches of flowers were laid at a shrine in Parliament Square opposite the Palace of Westminster where hundreds of people stopped to pay their respects as dusk fell.
Mr Corbyn said: “We’ve lost a wonderful woman, we’ve lost a wonderful member of parliament, but our democracy will go on. Her work will go on. As we mourn her memory, we’ll work in her memory to achieve that better world she spent her life trying to achieve.”Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and deputy leader Tom Watson were among numerous MPs to stand in silence, lighting candles and leaving flowers.
Three miles east on the banks of the Thames, devastated houseboat owners who live on the same jetty as Mrs Cox and her family in Wapping laid bouquets on their converted barge Ederlezi.
Police at the scene in Birstall, West Yorkshire (Nigel Roddis/PA)
As ship horns rang out in unison for a full two minutes, her neighbours stood solemnly by their boats with tears in their eyes before five children, each holding a single red rose approached the houseboat and threw them onto the deck.
Anne Wainwright, chair of Hermitage moorings, said: “We have lost a dear, dear friend in the most tragic and outrageous circumstances.
“We pay tribute to our amazing, wonderful and spirited member of this community.
“A beacon of hope who believed in love, friendship and values that we all so much need at this time.
“The community will continue to be inspired by her relentless energy and all that is good.
No comments :
Post a Comment