Together Coalition Launches National Conversation 10 Years After Jo Cox Killing as UK Politics Hardens
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jun 16
Together Coalition Launches National Conversation 10 Years After Jo Cox Killing as UK Politics Hardens
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jun 16
Summary
The Together Coalition last month opened a National Conversation using surveys, voice notes and events — with AI mapping responses — to gather public views on community and country.
Ten years after Jo Cox was murdered in 2016, her sister Kim Leadbeater says hopes for a "kinder, gentler politics" have faded, with intolerance, abuse and identity-driven conflict worsening.
MPs Diane Abbott and Jess Phillips describe a harsher climate shaped by online racism, rape threats and rhetoric they say has normalized hostility, deterring some young women from entering politics.
Recent government moves — including an under-16 social media ban announced this week and the Online Safety Act — signal tougher scrutiny of platforms, though MPs say algorithmic amplification of harmful content still needs stronger action.
Brendan Cox says the project aims to "give the mic back" to a sensible majority, arguing Britain remains broadly tolerant even as social media rewards the most extreme voices.
Is political fragmentation a sign of democratic decay or the birth of a more representative system beyond two parties?
How much of today's political rage is economic pain channeled into the divisive politics of identity?
A Decade On: The National Conversation 2026 and the State of Social Cohesion in the UK
Overview
A decade after the tragic murder of MP Jo Cox, the UK marks her legacy in 2026 with the 10th annual Great Get Together events and the launch of the National Conversation. This new initiative, led by the Together Coalition and supported by the Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion, aims to unite the country and address deepening social and political divisions. With strong cross-party leadership, the National Conversation invites people across the UK to share their hopes for the future, building on Jo Cox’s belief that communities have more in common than what divides them.