Politics mourns loss of ‘great Parliamentarian' (From The Northern Echo)

Michael Foot dies at the age of 96

8:08am Thursday 4th March 2010 in News

GREAT PARLIAMENTARIAN: Michael Foot

TRIBUTES flooded in from all sides of politics yesterday for former Labour leader Michael Foot, who has died at the age of 96.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown hailed Mr Foot as “a man of deep principle and passionate idealism” who fought all his life for his beliefs and for the Labour Party.

And Mr Foot’s former adversary, Baroness Thatcher, who faced him in many fiery exchanges over the despatch box in the Commons, described him as “a great Parliamentarian and a man of high principles”.

His great-nephew, the historian John Foot, said Mr Foot had died shortly before 7am yesterday at his home in Hampstead, north London. He had been ill for some time and had been receiving 24-hour care.

Mr Foot said the family had been moved by the tributes.

“We expected a big outpouring of emotion, but it’s been more than we could have imagined,” he said.

Michael Foot was active in Labour politics from the Thirties, campaigning against appeasement of Hitler as a radical journalist for the New Statesman and Tribune magazine.

He was selected by Lord Beaverbrook as editor of the Evening Standard and entered Parliament in 1945, becoming a hero of the Left, a founder of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and a thorn in the side of successive Labour leaders.

He won the leadership race against Denis Healey in 1980 as the candidate of the Left, and led Labour through its blackest period, as its survival was threatened by infighting and the defection of senior figures to found the Social Democratic Party.

His manifesto for the 1983 election – featuring unilateral nuclear disarmament, the abolition of the House of Lords and withdrawal from Europe – was described by one of his own MPs as “the longest suicide note in history”. The party suffered its worst defeat in 60 years, with only 27 per cent of the vote.

Mr Foot’s death was announced to the House of Commons by Justice Secretary Jack Straw.

Mr Brown said: “Michael Foot was a man of deep principle and passionate idealism and one of the most eloquent speakers Britain has ever heard.

“He was an indomitable figure who always stood up for his beliefs and whether people agreed with him or not, they admired his character and his steadfastness.”

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair said: “Michael Foot was a giant of the Labour movement, a man of passion, principle and outstanding commitment to the many causes he fought for.” He added: “We shall greatly miss him and always revere his memory.”

Mr Foot’s protege and successor as Labour leader, Lord Kinnock, hailed him as a man of “courage and generosity of spirit and action” who saved the party from tearing itself apart.

Former Chancellor Lord Healey, who was Mr Foot’s deputy from 1980 to 1983, said he was “very, very sorry to hear of his death”.

And Tony Benn hailed him as “a great credit to the Labour movement”.

Ashok Kumar, MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, said: “I’ll never forget the kindness he showed me when I first became an MP in 1991.

“I was new to the backbenches and he made plenty of time to help me and to talk about history.”

Tory leader David Cameron described Mr Foot as “a remarkable man and in many ways, almost the last link to a more heroic age in politics”, while Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said he was “a great Parliamentarian, a great intellectual and a great idealist”.