Michael Foot, 1913 - 2010

Tankus

A truly honourable man .
Few and far between in politics.

Respect

John Ware

the most Unspun politician ever. RIP

THX1138

I can also add Alistair Campbell's very moving tribute to the Pete's list.

http://www.alastaircampbell.org/blog.php

Pete Hoskin

THX1138: thank you, I've now added Campbell's tribute to the list above.

Chris

'Commitment,, integrity and intelligence?' Being wrong about everything from the age of reason onwards is only a sign of the first of these qualities. After the Labour Party spent the 30s campaigning against re-armament, Foot rushed into print in the early days of World War II, with a book blaming the Conservatives for the war because they failed to re-arm. One sees where Mandleson gets his ethics from.

wrinkled weasel

His main contribution to British Politics was to keep Mrs Thatcher in power.

Apart from that, he made a number of attractive and pneumatic young women very happy

Chris lancashire

Let's not get carried away (as Alastair Campbell as usual has); I am sure that Mr Foot was a delightful person, decent and honourable. But I remember him as a pretty useless politician.

Dirty Euro

I have seen a lot of his books. He had honour.

Tom Pride

�de mortuis nil nisi bonum� �“ so I will keep my thoughts to myself today, but, of those who rush to gush �“ �quot hominess, tot sententiae�.

David Lindsay

Brilliant orator, sparkling writer, and man of culture, allegations that could no more be made against Thatcher than against Blair.

Consistent enemy and sharp denigrator of Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin, in stark contrast to Churchill on all three counts.

Like Enoch Powell, an opponent of the ultimate violence, namely the splitting of the very atom to belligerent ends.

Successful obstructer of constitutional vandalism, again with Powell.

Valiant in the cause of national sovereignty, not least against Thatcher.

Deliverer of a full legislative programme without an overall majority.

Given the Leadership at the wrong time by the votes of cynical MPs who had already decided to set up the SDP and voted for him in order to give themselves an excuse.

Defender of the Falkland Islands when Thatcher had been astounded to find herself taken at her word by Argentina.

Leader whose manifesto did not contain much of what people think it did, but did contain numerous measures that have since been enacted, by no means only since 1997, so that the other lot were clearly just waiting for the Mad Woman to go back to her attic.

Leader whose vote combined with that of the premature and fatally flawed SDP was higher than that of Thatcher even in the post-Falklands days, as that of Labour and the SDP would also be in 1987.

And therefore identified by New Labour as part, or even as the very embodiment, of the problem.

No wonder that the seat from which he led the Labour Party is now held by an Old Labour patriot and social conservative who is therefore not a member of the Labour Party, but rather defeated its candidate at the polls.

Frank P

One shouldn't speak ill of the dead. So I won't. But would you kindly refrain from directing us to the 'warm and thoughtful tribute' of Jon Snow. That man is a cold-blooded lizard and any thoughts in his head should remain unexpressed, for the good of the species. Was it not he who rubbished his mater in some self-serving book? Yet he finds time to praise an old Marxist culture warrior, you tell us. I choose only to remember "Ten Inches" Foot in that donkey jacket at the Cenotaph.

TomTom

A good biographer far too much in love with his subject Nye Bevan; and a highly educated Radical who should never have been given Ministerial Office or any office whatsoever.

He was a Backbencher of quality but was talentless as a Minister

John Mounsey

Commitment, integrity, intelligence?! His only commitment was to the trades unions right or wrong. His integrity consisted of continuing to fight yesterday's battles (such as CND) when they had lost all relevance. His intelligence was never apparent in either his actions or his speeches.

Let's look at this towering figure in some detail: this is the man who, during the appalling Wilson-Callaghan administration, pushed through some of Britain's most shamefully illiberal laws - a closed-shop law, for example, that meant a man could lose his right to work not just because he didn't belong to a trade union, but because he didn't belong to the officially approved trade union!

This is the man who supported the use of flying pickets and illegal force to close down Grunwick. Thankfully, he failed.

This is the man under whose auspices unelected Jack Jones was allowed to expand the exclusive areas in which only dockers could work while giving them a job for life and vetoes over what they would and wouldn't unload.

This is the man who is sometimes depicted by the Left as a champion of freedom - in fact, he was the very opposite - a mean-minded, ranting bully who cared nothing for the rights of the ordinary working man if that man chose not be a trades unionist.

He did however, achieve one thing: it was largely his influence and the influence of the many ghastly toads like him in government at the time that led to the birth of the Freedom Association.

Fergus Pickering

He was a dreadful windbag who wrote far too many second-rate books. He will be soon forgotten. I've forgotten him already.

Michael Booth

One less Marxist in the world...

phil

Pete how right you were ,the coffee house wall took no time to write disgusting remarks about a man not even cold yet Michael Foot was a giant figure in the labour movement ,a man of principle even though I did not agree with his conclusions ,nevertheless one who should be admired for his dedication and loyalty to his cause .Those that wrote such filth will know no shame, but I do for having read them- RIP

Fergus Pickering

Dedication and loyalty to what cause, phil? The advancement of Michael Foot, would that be it? Who was ever better off because he lived except a lot of Foots/Feet? The trouble with you guys who forsake religion is you will believe any old bullshit.

toni

Reading the report of the death of TV presenter and property developer Kristian Digby on Sky news the other evening, and reflecting how sad it was that such a talented and vital life was lost, I found a forum there for comments on that news. It was really quite hideous that vile assertions had been posted about him and his personal life from people with obviously malicious and bitter minds, and one just wonders that somewhere in the deepest bowels of the blogosphere there isn’t a dedicated place for those who wish to make quite unnecessary and offensive comments about those who have passed away.

Yow Min Lye

I remember that electrifying debate in the House of Commons following the invasion of the Falklands, when - at his oratorical best - Michael Foot rose to chide that Mrs Thatcher had to "prove by deeds - (she) will never be able to do it by words" that she was serious about reversing Argentine aggression.

Suffice to say, she did.

Andy Leeds

While one is sorry for any death, I think many are letting sympathy at his passing cloud their judgement of what was the reality of the man. I agree with John Mounsey. He was like so many on the left: self indulgent of the tyranny their beliefs cause and careless of our Liberty.

TrevorsDen

Intelligence? He was thick and naive.

He was in favour of unilateral nuclear disarmament which would have given Russia easy hegemony over Europe.

He was an arse and was clearly married to an even bigger arse - it was she who bought the donkey jacket.

He lived to a good old age and good luck for that - and he was a jolly good old public schoolboy. rah rah rah - hey labour-boys?

2trueblue

At least he wasn't in politics for the money.

phil

Fergus Pickering
March 3rd, 2010 6:31pm
---
Fergus why do you feel it incumbent upon you to charge in like a bull in a china shop on a subject of my religious beliefs ,something you know nothing about in order to insult the memory of a man who has not yet been buried ,and who has received praise all round from friend and political foe alike -A man of loyalty and integrity to his cause and in fact one that I did not agree with ,but I have respect for those that show those qualities even if you do not .

When your time comes Fergus ,you may hope someone will show a little compassion and respect ,even if it is only to say "well his brother was worse"

De Rigueur

For me, the wagging finger in the picture says it all.

Gruesome how these people manage to get listened to. Down the pub they'd be chucked out for boorish behaviour.

THX1138

De Rigueur "Boorish behaviour" Irony is dead on the Coffee House.

toni

@De Rigueur
Wagging finger hmmm? I didn’t have to go far back on this forum to unearth this one of David Cameron wagging his finger, but I'd hazard a guess that your interpretation of that would be rather different to the one you assign to Michael Foot?

http://tinyurl.com/yfxtq3j

JohnAnt

I suppose by keeping communist sympathisers and (in at least one case) Soviet agents in charge of the unions, and ensuring the dominance of union power, he performed a service of sorts, helping Mrs Thatcher to several victories and deferring our national bankruptcy to a later Labour government under Brown.
My only real grudge against Foot is that, although gratifyingly incompetent as Labour leader, he prevented Benn from taking control of the Party and destroying it utterly.

Andy Leeds

Perhaps you should read Charles Moore writing in Todays Daily Telegraph. Seems Foot took Soviet Gold. Speaks volumes about the man.