The Dalai Lama has called for the 21st century to be the century of dialogue. Let's hope that continued dialogue, peaceful demonstration, a seeking of solutions, rationality, a desire for healing, and a huge dose of patience and goodwill survive this election. On November 8th and thereafter, America chooses. Make it a good choice.
Women need power to change things. You can't change things if you are a name on a ballot, a quota filled - you need your seat in Parliament. Participation is the start, but power is the end. Jo knew that - it's why she worked so hard across party lines to make sure that women were running for seats they could win and it's why she herself joined a party where she stood a shot of becoming an MP and, one day, a minister, even a Prime Minister. Jo had courage, but she was also unashamed to have ambition. She wanted to go far, and she wanted to lift up others as she climbed. There's no stain in aspiring to the highest office in your country. It doesn't taint the purity of your purpose. Today, I want to say to you loudly and clearly - Have the highest of ambitions for yourself, for your purpose.
The current crisis in the party aside, I would urge the next MP for Batley and Spen to remain neutral in the crisis. The job should be to represent constituents, hold the government to account and ignore anything else. In my view Jo Cox's memory cannot be remembered as it should be if her successor is immediately drawn into battle for the leadership.
For years I have fought for a Parliament that reflects the diversity of the country it represents. Thanks to the support of many in the Labour movement, I arrived as a newly elected MP just over 12 months ago. A working class woman in an institution which had far too few. I want more to follow. We should glory in our diversity and demonstrate our values of inclusivity, comradeship and tolerance. We may have differences, but we are bound together by a belief in the best of human nature.
Even before the current war, Yemen was the poorest country in the Middle East. Chronic poverty has been aggravated by conflict, weather and long-term instability. More than ten million people have insufficient food and two million have been displaced within the country. Bombing and fighting continues in many places and there are few aid agencies on the ground with too little money. Too many of those that are there have been holed up in the capital.
My remaining days as a European are sadly numbered. I have just spent the last week away on business in Italy and Germany as a guilt-free Europhile. I was still in Germany when the EU Referendum results were announced and at breakfast in my hotel I felt like I had to apologise on behalf of Great Britain for the ghastly reality of Brexit.
Last week was a gruelling news week in which the consequences of poor mental health were splashed across TV screens and newspaper headlines around the world. The week began with the massacre of 49 LGBT Americans in the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando and here in the UK the week ended with the brutal murder of a popular Member of the UK parliament Jo Cox on the street of a small Yorkshire town.
The Batley that I know and love has lost some of its sparkle, we have lost some of our light. But I believe that Jo and the memory of Jo will continue to burn bright and live on in all of us who continue her good work with the same passion, love and zeal that she displayed throughout her short-lived time in Parliament. Jo is gone, but will never be forgotten.
If you want to help Brendan Cox, or any bereaved friend, remember that the pain goes on for them. And on, and on, and on. You can help. Just be there. Take them out, let them cry, realise that they are a newborn trying to find out who they are going to become now that the world has ended. They will remember your kindness (or your stupidity) forever.
Yes, I'm saying we, although some would brand me stranger. But I live here, work here, pay my taxes, love my boyfriend. This is my voice. In my own way, I want to make a difference.
It feels strange being heartbroken over the passing of someone you never met. Yet Jo Cox rekindled my faith in politicians and for that I'll be forever grateful. I know her legacy will inspire me for years to come.
Despite being born and raised in England, I no longer identify as British. It feels unsettling to say so, and I should add that I still hold a UK passport and have a deep affection for my country of origin. However, having having spent almost a third of my life living in France and Belgium, and learned a second language, I now see myself as European.
Down in the Commons chamber, MPs couldn't help direct their sympathy and love up towards that small family grouping in the corner of the gallery. Nearly all MPs on all sides wore the white rose of Yorkshire as a mark of respect for the local lass, and some wore purple and green colours of the Suffragette movement, as Brendan and Jo had at their own wedding.
Look around you. Look at the poison you have created and ask yourself, what are you leaving me? This is your legacy and, regardless of Thursday's result, my generation may well spend the rest of our lives cleaning up.
For a woman of Jo's age to leave the legacy in the Palace of Westminster and beyond, in such a short space of time, is what legends are truly made of. Coming into Portcullis House this morning and looking at the screens dotted around which inform us of the business of the day, has such a different meaning today.
Horror, despair, rage, confusion: they and other emotions are all understandable reactions to Jo's killing last week. Brendan Cox's call for us to unite in challenging hate is one I take extremely seriously. Knowing him, I take these as concrete calls to action. But what action, beyond calling out the more obvious elements of hate in our society?