Jo Cox's husband warns 'Britain's balance is shifting' as he opens up on GB News ten years after her murder

Jo Cox's husband has warned that "Britain's balance is shifting" as he opened up on GB News on the 10th anniversary of her murder.

Cox, who was elected as the MP for Batley in 2015, died just days before the Brexit referendum after being shot and stabbed multiple times in the street by a terrorist in the village of Birstall, where she had been due to hold a constituency surgery.

Following her tragic death, Mr Cox campaigns for Survivors Against Terror.

Launched back in 2018, the team works to support a network of survivors across Britain and beyond.

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Explaining how he had the emotional strength to be able to speak out about her murder, Mr Cox admitted it had been "difficult" and that he was less optimistic than he had been in the past.

He told The People's Channel: "Jo is very optimistic, a very optimistic person about our country, about our people.

"Optimism for me has been really important, both because in the sort of early stages, it was important just to keep the show on the road, keep sort of getting up each day.

"Important also for the kids and their view of the future."

He blamed his lack of optimism on the state of the country, although he added that he remained determined in his cause.

"But we are at a stage in our country where people who are trying to pull us apart, who are emphasising our divisions rather than what we have in common," he warned.

"That was the thing that Joe talked about. Most of what it is we have in common and how we can build that. I think that balance is, is shifting in the public environment now."

The division, he explained, was not truly representative of the British public.

"I think the public still believe that what connects us, what unites us, is more important than our differences," the campaigner added.

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"But whether it's the online discourse or whether it's events... We are, um, emphasising our differences more. And I think there's real risk there.

"Our country only holds together if we believe in each other, if we are willing to make compromises, if we're willing to build something together. And I think that, at the moment, feels like it's in the balance."

Reflecting on the time that has passed since the death of his wife, Mr Cox recounted his experience of grief over the past decade.

"It comes both sort of suddenly and incredibly slowly, obviously. Lots of your viewers will have experienced grief, would have experienced loss...," he started.

"Anniversaries are weird things. They are moments you can plan for so, in some ways, I find them less hard than moments you can't plan for.

"I find I often get most upset about Jo out of the blue when something reminds me of her rather than on anniversaries."

In memory of his wife, Mr Cox called on Britons to hold onto our similarities, otherwise the UK risks becoming a country unable to sustain a democracy.

"We won't have a country that will be able to achieve anything at all," he added.

"We all get caught up in the moment and we all get hot under the collar about issues that we care passionately about. But remembering what it is we've got in common, building that, and nurturing it. That's something that we can all do."

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