Women in Westminster: In Conversation With Kim Leadbeater MP
Propelled by tragedy and supported by community, Kim Leadbeater MP entered politics in the most unimaginable of circumstances. As part of our Women in Westminster series, we sat down with the Spen Valley MP to explore her commitment to “disagreeing well,” and to hear how she is preparing for the tenth anniversary of her sister Jo Cox’s death
At one point, during her sit-down conversation with Women in Westminster, Kim Leadbeater MP jokes that she is, “probably the most reluctant MP ever.”
This doesn’t feel like a politician’s self-deprecating line delivered simply for effect. You get the sense that Leadbeater really does mean it. It reflects the reality that her route into Parliament came about in the worst possible circumstances, following the murder of her sister Jo Cox in 2016. That devastating event propelled the former lecturer into the public eye, and ultimately into the Commons.
For Leadbeater, her by-election victory in 2021 was not the culmination of a long-held political ambition, meticulously plotted over the course of years. It was a decision, maybe even an obligation, shaped by grief, responsibility, and a deep sense of duty to the community that had supported her.
“I only did it so I could try and make a difference on issues that matter to people,” she explains. “It’s tough. The abuse is intense. But politics needs good people. If we don’t step forward, the space is left for the wrong people.”
Next year marks ten years since Jo Cox was murdered. It will be a moment for reflection and is a landmark that Leadbeater has thought about often. “I’m a little nervous about it,” she admits. “I’ve almost set the tenth anniversary as a target – if I’m still standing and haven’t had a breakdown by then, that’s okay.”
She is determined that the occasion will be an opportunity for celebration as well as reflection.
“We want a big push on the Great Get Together – runs, bike rides, street parties, small acts of kindness. That’s what Jo believed in.”
It is what Leadbeater believes in too, continuing to build on her sister’s legacy to focus on community, kindness, and connection.
“I’m tired of people talking the country down,” she tells us. “Yes, we have challenges. But I see so much good when I’m out and about. We should celebrate that more.”
That desire to seek out the positive is something that has its roots in Leadbeater’s West Yorkshire childhood. Growing up in what she remembers as a “not particularly political” household, her early role models came not from Westminster, but from the worlds of sport and music as well as “lots of very stoic, strong Yorkshire women.”
The values that surrounded her, she explains, meant that she grew up largely unaware of many of the gender-based assumptions and expectations that existed in society. Instead, she says, she was “always taught to see the person.”
“I didn’t grow up in a very gendered environment,” she recalls. “I didn’t look at Madonna or Duran Duran and think ‘there’s a woman’ and ‘there’s a bunch of men.’ I just thought, ‘there are some talented people.’”
That grounding has shaped Leadbeater’s enduring instinct to connect without judgement. It is an outlook that also explains her deep discomfort with the way division and anger seem to be increasingly poisoning our national life.
“People are shouting at doctors, nurses, and taxi drivers. Supermarket staff are wearing body cameras. That is not healthy,” she tells us. “Some say it’s all the politicians’ fault. It’s not that simple. What do you achieve by getting angry? Why not be part of the solution?”
Leadbeater believes that what she describes as a “deeply worrying level of anger in society” can only truly be addressed by actively engaging and listening to different points of view. That need not always result in consensus on every issue. Instead, her focus is on what she describes as learning to “disagree well.”
“Finding common ground is not pretending we agree on everything,” she explains, drawing on her years of work with the Jo Cox Foundation, where the emphasis was always on reaching across divides. “Part of the challenge is learning to disagree better and disagree well.” That, she argues, requires empathy, curiosity, and the willingness to acknowledge the validity of other perspectives. “We spend a lot of time focusing on difference. We don’t spend as much time focusing on commonality and basic humanity.”
A clear practical example of Leadbeater’s commitment to respectfully listening to diverse and opposing views has been seen through her leading role in the Assisted Dying Bill. It is an issue where her resilience, empathy, and political courage have been in evidence. She told Women in Westminster that guiding her Private Members’ Bill through the legislative process has not always been an easy or comfortable process.
“I didn’t realise it was going to be quite as difficult or bruising as it has been,” she admits with characteristic candour. “There has been a definite personal toll.” But she never considered walking away. “Some of the most difficult things in life shouldn’t be shied away from. You look at where you can make the most difference,” she says.
Whether dealing with end-of-life care, equality issues, or community tensions, Leadbeater’s approach always recognises and celebrates shared humanity. It is an outlook that lends itself to kitchen tables, community venues, and face-to-face meetings rather than website updates and online engagement. Indeed, Leadbeater is blunt about the negative role social media increasingly plays in deepening division.
“If all you see is what you already think, or a more extreme version of that, then it sends you in one direction,” she tells us. “Algorithms push you further. There’s a lot more work to be done by social media companies.”
However, Leadbeater is equally convinced that the power to change the nature and tone of political debate cannot simply be dismissed as just ‘someone else’s job.’
“We need to take some personal responsibility – to seek out different opinions and question ourselves a bit more,” she says. “I love passionate debate, but we need to listen as well as talk. Sometimes we forget that.”
