Brexit suspended - gun violence in the UK

[MajGenl.Meade]

BIRSTALL, England, June 16 (Reuters) - A British member of Parliament was shot dead in the street in northern England on Thursday, causing deep shock across Britain and the suspension of campaigning for next week's referendum on the country's EU membership.

Jo Cox, 41, a lawmaker for the opposition Labour Party and vocal supporter of Britain remaining in the European Union, was attacked as she prepared to hold a meeting with constituents in Birstall near Leeds.

Media reports said she had been shot and stabbed.

West Yorkshire Police said a 52-year-old man was arrested by officers nearby and weapons including a firearm recovered. The motive for the attack was not immediately known.

"The whole of the Labour Party and Labour family - and indeed the whole country - will be in shock at the horrific murder of Jo Cox today," Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said in a statement.

Prime Minister David Cameron said the killing of Cox, who was married with two children and had worked on U.S. President Barack Obama's 2008 election campaign, was a tragedy.

"We have lost a great star," the Conservative prime minister said in a statement. "She was a great campaigning MP with huge compassion, with a big heart. It is dreadful, dreadful news."

British lawmakers are not in parliament ahead of the June 23 referendum on whether Britain should remain in the EU.

The rival referendum campaign groups said they were suspending activities for the day and Cameron said he would pull out of a planned rally in Gibraltar, the British territory on the southern coast of Spain.

It was not immediately clear what the impact would be on the referendum

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[Lord Jim]

I've been hearing about this story all day on the news...absolutely terrible...not only an MP, but also the mother of two young children... and a person who from what I've seen reported was also very involved with humanitarian organizations...

But just a clarification on the subject line of this thread...

Both sides have suspended campaigning on the Brexit referendum...

The vote will go forward as scheduled...

[Guinevere]

Horrifying news about the MP. I'm so sorry.


Less so about the suspended campaign.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Update — Suspected killer may have had “mental health problems”, in receipt of “psychotherapy and medication”
The suspected killer of MP Jo Cox has been named locally as Thomas Mair, who has featured in a number of local news reports in recent years as a mentally ill man who claimed to be benefitting from local voluntary opportunities.

An archived 2010 article about a country park which welcomed Mr. Mair from the Pathways Day Centre for adults with mental health problems to volunteer in building a “faith garden” reported Mr. Mair as saying: “I can honestly say it has done me more good than all the psychotherapy and medication in the world.

“Many people who suffer from mental illness are socially isolated and disconnected from society, feelings of worthlessness are also common mainly caused by long-term unemployment.

“All these problems are alleviated by doing voluntary work.

“Getting out of the house and meeting new people is a good thing, but more important in my view is doing physically demanding and useful labour.

“When you have finished there is a feeling of achievement which is emotionally rewarding and psychologically fulfilling.

“For people for whom full-time, paid employment is not possible for a variety of reasons, voluntary work offers a socially positive and therapeutic alternative.”

[Lord Jim]

Suspected killer may have had “mental health problems”, in receipt of “psychotherapy and medication”

When I saw the guy's age reported in an on-line article earlier, (52) before they identified him, I thought that there was high probability that this would turn out to be a mentally disturbed individual type of situation...

If it had been something else, I would have expected the perp to be younger...

[Daisy]

My heart is breaking. I cried when the news broke on my way home from work.

This lovely lady who has spent her life bettering the lives of others in her work for Oxfam and in her parliamentary career did not deserve this.

There is an ugly element if neo-facism rearing up in this country, and the EU referendum is giving them a sense of bravado. Unfortunately its easy for the likes of Britain First and the EDL to influence the disaffected and those with mental health issues into committing acts like this. Just as ISIS influence the disaffected sections of the muslim community.

Two cheeks of the same arse, sadly with the same tragic results. The death of the innocent.

[Lord Jim]

Unfortunately its easy for the likes of Britain First and the EDL to influence the disaffected and those with mental health issues into committing acts like this.

Okay...

But it seems to me that it's even easier for people with mental health issues to commit acts like this on their own, motivated by their own private demons...(it happens all the time)

Absent any evidence to the contrary, I'm going to go with Occam's Razor...

[MajGenl.Meade]

Whatever, it is an appalling act. Senseless and cruel in the extreme.

[Lord Jim]

Absolutely.

[BoSoxGal]

Anyone who knows much about mental illness knows that folks who suffer from certain disorders tend to grasp onto conspiracy theories and act on them in peculiar and sometimes violent ways. To suggest that there isn't a connection between mentally ill people grasping onto despicable political or religious rhetoric and acting on it is naive as best, highly disingenuous at worst.

Condolences, Daisy.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Well, some reports have him shouting "Put Britain first" or the like a couple of times as he committed this foul crime.

I imagine that it is the last thing that the "Leave" campaign would desire. Aside from not wishing injury and death upon anyone, it is a PR disaster.

That people with certain mental deficiencies can be motivated to destructive or self-destructive acts by what is going on in society is such a truism that it is hardly worth mentioning. Editorially declaring they are aroused by "despicable" rhetoric (as if non-despicable rhetoric does not exist) is rather much. I am sure that it was not the intent to make that distinction.

[rubato]

A terrible business, but it is less common in the UK because guns are not as available to every mentally ill person as they are here. (Colorado, Gabby Giffords and probably the latest shootings in Florida) Thank you NRA for making sure so many people are killed each year. All of those deaths are on your conscience.

yrs,
rubato

[MajGenl.Meade]

I'm inclined to blame er.... politicians. The weasels are only concerned with preserving their positions of power. But apparently that seems to involve voters. So maybe I'll blame the voters. I believe the NRA position on lunatics is that they shouldn't have weapons

[Gob]

Sad sad news.

I'm sorry but the "remain" campaign's using of this tragedy has been despicable.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Why, what did they do? (He asked)

[Gob]

Many remain supporters are saying "oh well he must be a leave supporter and a hard right fascist."

Not "he was a mentally ill man"

A few of my clients believed the CIA is controlling them, if they do something wrong should we blame the CIA?

[Lord Jim]

A few of my clients believed the CIA is controlling them, if they do something wrong should we blame the CIA?

Yes, absolutely.

yrs,

A Concerned Electrician In Chester Vermont, USA

[Joe Guy]

[Lord Jim]

I suspect that at the end of the day, this terrible tragedy will have no effect on the Brexit vote one way or the other...

[Gob]

It didn't take long....

US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has condemned Jo Cox's killing, calling it a "violent act of political intolerance".

Mrs Clinton led the international tributes saying she was "horrified by the assassination".

She said in a statement: "Her (Mrs Cox) maiden speech in Parliament celebrated the diversity of her beloved Yorkshire constituency, and passionately made the case that there is more that unites us than divides us.

"It is cruel and terrible that her life was cut short by a violent act of political intolerance."