Michael Foot: The tributes

Wednesday March 3, 2010

Tributes paid to Michael Foot, the former Labour leader who died at his Hampstead home this morning.

 

PRIME MINISTER GORDON BROWN

 

Michael Foot was a man of deep principle and great idealism. He was the best parliamentary debater of his generation. One of the most eloquent and humorous speakers the country has ever heard.

Michael Foot was a great unifier and a man of great passion. He firmly believed in the principles of the NHS and he fought very hard for peace and disarmament. People will mourn all across the country a man of deep principle but a man who was such a good man and a very compassionate man.”

 

JOHN PRESCOTT, FORMER DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

 

A great man has died. He was the heart of our movement.

 

BRUCE KENT, VICE CHAIRMAN OF CND

 

I think he was a much more intelligent man than many of his contemporaries. He was ahead of his time. He was not only a good journalist but his intelligence was astounding. He was a man of great personal integrity.

 

DAVID BLUNKETT, FORMER HOME SECRETARY

 

He was the greatest parliamentarian of his generation

 

DAVID CAMERON, LEADER OF CONSERVATIVES

 

I'm obviously not old enough to have been in the House of Commons at the same time, but reading some speeches, they were incredibly powerful. He was a very intelligent, witty, amusing and thoughtful man.

 

PETER TATCHELL, GAY RIGHTS ACTIVIST

I have never waivered in my view that Michael Foot was a great humanist and humanitarian, and a true champion of social justice and human rights. Sadly, Michael became Labour leader too late in life. He was at his peak in the 1940s and 1950s, and would have been an even better Labour prime minister than Clement Attlee. A brilliant orator, who was equalled by few other politicians anywhere in the world, his speeches were magical and inspirational.

 

NICK CLEGG, LEADER OF LIBERAL DEMOCRATS

 

Michael Foot was a great parliamentarian, a great intellectual and a great idealist. He always stood up for what he believed in, even if that meant inviting unpopularity at times. His intellectual integrity is an example to everyone in politics. 

 

 

CHRIS MCLAUGHLIN, editor of Tribune.

 

It is a very sad day for us. His support ran right through our paper – politically, and then literary and journalistic, his points of view ran through the paper. He took an interest in our paper right up to the end. He would call and say well done, or call and say why have you not reviewed a certain book. He kept a close eye on the Tribune – he was our conscience. I saw him just a month ago, and he was still in full possession of all his faculties. We made him editor in chief last year in recognition of his work. House of Commons debates were all the better for having him there. His politics were informed with this great wealth of reading and learning. The only sadness is that this distinctive and decent man shows the paucity of good politicians in Parliament today.

 

MICHAEL MEACHER, LABOUR MP

 

He was an inspirational speaker. He did not use notes but spoke from the heart, and was able to be articulate and utterly sincere, and be wholeheartedly committed to the topic he was speaking on.

He was very different to today's politicians, transparently honest and dedicated to the Labour Party. 

He was also one of its finest leaders. He had the misfortune to be the leader when Thatcher was at her most triumphant, with the Falklands War. When her project floundered at the end of the 1980s it was a shame he was no longer leader. He was not a modern politician. He was utterly committed to peace and humanity.

 

FIONA MILLAR, FORMER DOWNING STREET AIDE AND FRIEND

 

I first met him when I was on the Daily Mirror's training scheme and I had gone to Plymouth. I introduced myself – my dad had worked with him on the Tribune in the 1950s. He was always very charming and friendly to everyone, no matter who you were. I got more friendly with him in the 1990s when Alastair [Campbell] started working for Tony Blair. He would invite us to dinner quite a lot.

 

He kept the party on the road despite the trouble and the mauling he got in the press. He even managed to take that in good grace. He was just an incredibly nice man,and that was why he held the Labour Party together. He was not a politician for the modern age. Oratory mattered so much more then than sound bites. He wanted real discussion about ideas. He would have thought such issues as whether Gordon Brown pushed past someone on the stairs at Number 10 to have been utterly ridiculous. He was also very loyal to the Party, and supported every leader. He had a crucial role to play in keeping the party together.

 

KEN LIVINGSTONE, FORMER LABOUR MAYOR

 

I remember first meeting him properly after he had made a very powerful anti-common market speech to the Labour party in Norwood. He was a wonderful orator and simply a very nice person. I had been the leader of the GLC for around six months when he became the leader of the Labour Party. He was under extreme pressure from the right wing the party to discipline me. He was caught between tow groups and he was simply the only person who could have managed it and kept it together. It was because the party knew he was totally honest and remarkable person. He was the only person who could have done it. Alongside Churchill, he was one of the few people with a platform he spoke out against Hitler. That was so important – his was the most significant voice after Churchill's.

 

JOHN WROBELL, the manager of the Gay Hussar in Greek Street, Soho, Michael Foot's favourite restaurant.

 

He was a very special customer and did so much good for our business. When the owners wanted to change it and do something different here around 15 years ago, Michael wrote to them and even set up a petition to save it and keep the Gay Hussar the same. We always thought of him a a special and loyal customer. He liked softer food as he got aged. He loved our fish dumplings, with rice and a cream and mushroom sauce, and he adored our soups. He was our longest serving regular, and we'd always look forward to holding special birthday parties for him. We'll raise a glass in his memory in July, when he would have been 97. He will be greatly missed – a true gentleman.”