Until her murder, most people had probably never heard of Jo Cox. Now that they’ve learnt what a kind and dedicated public servant she was, they may be wondering why not. The reason is simple. Clearly she was remarkable – but, in another sense, she was unremarkable. Unremarkable in that we have 650 MPs, and almost all of them went into politics with the same good intentions as she did, and carry out the same glamourless but useful work as she did. You didn’t hear much about her because “MP Does Her Job” doesn’t make much of a headline.

But maybe it should, because it certainly seems to be news to some people. I’m talking about people who imagine that MPs are “all as bad as each other”, are “out of touch”, and are “only in it for themselves”. These clichés are widely circulated, and rarely examined. And, when that kind of huffing resentment is the unchallenged norm, it’s little wonder that, these days, MPs so often find themselves abused and threatened.