THE best Labour leader without a shadow of a doubt was Labour leader from January 1992 up until his untimely death in May 1994 at the age of 55. This was the right honourable John Smith QC.

If he hadn’t died it is my firm belief he would have become one of the greatest prime ministers this country has ever had.

He was always on the offensive.

Always asked all the right questions and when asked the questions always had the right answers.

You couldn’t even compare Jeremy Corbyn to John Smith.

His leadership united the Labour Party and made it a formidable opposition party in the House of Commons. It wasn’t just the young people who could relate to him. It was across the board.

He was a human down to earth politician, someone you believed could fight your corner.

If he had lived it would have been John Smith and not Tony Blair who would have been the next prime minister.

Alistair Rutter, Woodland