​Edinburgh event will celebrate life of murdered MP tonight in Portobello

Community groups and members of the public will join thousands worldwide in a celebration of murdered MP Jo Cox’s birthday today.

The event – which uses the hashtag #MoreInCommon – will take place at 4pm on Portobello Beach in Edinburgh and will celebrate the politician's life and the values she stood for.

The events are being organised by a global network of the MP for Batley’s friends and colleagues, in close collaboration with her family.

As well as being a noted community activist, Cox previously worked for a range of third sector organisations before entering politics.

The Portobello event is being organised by Kim Wallace, a friend and former colleague of Brendan and Jo Cox.

Wallace, said: “Jo was fearless in standing up for her beliefs and was a force for good. She was irreplaceable in many ways, but most especially to her children. As a mother, my heart breaks that they now have to grow up without her.

Today’s event is about a show of love - Kim Wallace

“When something awful happens there can be a feeling of uselessness, but I believe it’s important not to just let it go, leaving everyone that bit sadder and much weaker. Today’s event is about a show of love.

“I wanted people in Edinburgh to have a chance to voice that they believe in Jo’s values, to show we care about what happened to her and that we care about each other.”

Similar events will be held around the world including in Washington, New York, Sydney, Nairobi, Brussels and Beirut.

In the UK, events will also be held in Batley, Belfast, Cardiff and Manchester. Many thousands of people are expected to gather at Trafalgar Square in London. All events will run simultaneously from 4pm to 5pm.

At the informal and simple event in Edinburgh, the words More In Common will be written in the sand with candles and people will be invited to contribute candles to help light up the words and show their support. People are being encouraged to bring their own candles in jars.

Jo Cox worked for Oxfam for eight years between 2001 and 2009 in a variety of different roles including as Head of Advocacy – a role based in Oxford, where she met her future husband, Brendan Cox.

Her commitment to humanitarian issues led her to become head of humanitarian campaigns for Oxfam International in New York in 2007 for two years.

Jamie Livingstone, head of Oxfam Scotland, said: “Jo gave so much to Oxfam – ideas, energy and no shortage of passion. She was killed because of her views and, sadly, she is not alone in having paid that price.

“All over the world, people are being killed because of the causes they believe in. Hatred, and the violence that so often flows from it, are all too common.

“Jo’s death has devastated a family, and attacked the ideals we cherish. It has also delivered a jolt to the world to look at itself anew.

"These events are an opportunity for people to join together to say, echoing Jo’s own words, that we have more in common than that which divides us.”