As part of Milton Keynes Labour Party’s 100^th birthday celebrations, we always intended to hold a summer picnic. Following the murder of our colleague, Jo Cox MP. we have decided to open the event up to the wider public, as part of the Great Get Together Weekend.  The picnic will be held at Willen Lake Park on Saturday 17 June, and all are welcome.

Chair of Milton Keynes Labour Party, Paul Day, said:

“Some of our local members knew Jo Cox personally, but all of us felt the loss to our party and the country of a tremendous person.  If we can help to create a more positive feeling between people, following her death, then that feels like the right way to honour her. We all agreed that the right thing was to convert our Centenary event into part of the Great Get Together Campaign“

Jo Cox’s life was marked by her compassion, and by her passion. She worked tirelessly for a fairer, kinder, and more tolerant world. And she believed passionately that even the greatest challenges could be overcome.

Jo Cox

The idea behind The Great Get Together is to bring communities together to celebrate what we have in common. It has cross-party backing, and is supported by some of the most prominent Remain and Brexit campaigners. However, it is completely outside of party politics and the Brexit debate.  This picnic is categorically NOT a political event.  Everyone is welcome, and the organisers hope to see as many people as possible come together for a relaxing afternoon, at a beautiful location in Milton Keynes.  There is no charge, and attendees just need to bring along their own picnic.

Paul concluded:

“After Jo’s death, the public were fantastic in their generosity, donating funds to good causes which she supported. That money has been put to good use.  The Jo Cox Foundation are behind the Great Get Together, as a national campaign.  Another one of the initiatives currently being delivered in Jo’s honour, is the Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness. We would especially like to extend our invitation to those people who would otherwise feel alone on that afternoon”.

Some attendees will be wearing “happy to Chat” badges, which are part of the Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness. The badge indicates that they are happy to chat to anyone who wants to talk. Anyone can ask for a badge and make a pledge to be “happy to chat” via the Jo Cox loneliness website (see below for website details).

On arrival at the picnic, just locate the red coloured Labour Party gazebo, find yourself a space, and enjoy the afternoon with the others who have come along.

You can tell the MK Labour Party you are coming along by RSVPing here: http://www.mklabour.org.uk/great_get_together_picnic

Further information

https://greatgettogether.org    and   https://www.jocoxloneliness.org/