UK division worse now than before Brexit, says Kim Leadbeater

Britain is more fractured today than it was during the bitter Brexit years, according to Kim Leadbeater, the sister of murdered MP Jo Cox and now a Labour parliamentarian herself. Speaking publicly this week, Leadbeater warned that the social divisions tearing through communities across England have deepened significantly since the 2016 referendum — and that politicians are failing to do enough about it.

A country more divided than ever

Leadbeater, who won the Batley and Spen by-election in 2021 — the same seat her sister held before her assassination — said the atmosphere in the country feels rawer and more hostile than it did in the charged months before Britain voted to leave the European Union. That’s a striking claim given how toxic the Brexit debate became, splitting families, friendships and communities along lines that took years to fade.

“I think the divisions are probably worse now,” she said. And for someone who has witnessed political hatred at its most violent — Jo Cox was shot and stabbed outside her constituency surgery in June 2016 by a far-right extremist — those words carry a particular weight.

The cost of letting division fester

Jo Cox famously declared in her maiden parliamentary speech that communities have “far more in common” than that which divides them. It became something of a national motto after her death. But nearly nine years on, her sister believes that message has been drowned out by a culture of outrage and political point-scoring that dominates both social media and Westminster debate.

Leadbeater pointed to the riots that erupted across English towns and cities in the summer of 2024 — triggered in part by misinformation spread online following a mass stabbing in Southport — as evidence of just how dangerous unchecked division can become. At least 24 towns saw disorder, with mosques attacked and hotels housing asylum seekers set on fire.

The human cost of division isn’t abstract. It’s windows smashed, families afraid to leave their homes, communities scarred.

Political responsibility under scrutiny

A senior community cohesion adviser familiar with Leadbeater’s work said the concerns she raised are echoed in local government circles across the country. “We’re seeing levels of distrust between different groups that are genuinely alarming,” the adviser said. “And the political class hasn’t taken it seriously enough for a long time.”

Leadbeater has been a vocal advocate for the Jo Cox Foundation, which promotes cross-community dialogue and loneliness reduction. She’s urged the government to invest more heavily in grassroots initiatives that bring people together rather than relying on top-down rhetoric about unity.

What comes next

With a general election cycle now behind it, the Labour government has an opportunity — and arguably a responsibility — to put social cohesion at the centre of its domestic agenda. Leadbeater hasn’t given up on that possibility. But she’s clear-eyed about the scale of the challenge. Bridging divides that have been years in the making won’t happen through speeches alone. It’s going to take sustained, unglamorous, community-level work — and real political will to back it up.