Michael Foot bade farewell to our world yesterday aged 96

Mr Foot is one of my very few political heroes because he never once betrayed his beliefs to appease his Party, the popular Press or attract votes.

He first came face to face with poverty and unemployment when at 21 he became a shipping clerk in Liverpool, a City so different from his native and prosperous Plymouth.

He first became an MP in 1945 winning his seat for Labour for the first time ever.

Throughout his lifetime he was his own man, often paying the price that no present day Politician would ever consider – loosing an election in 1955 because his middle class Plymouth Devonport Constituents thought he had drifted too far left for their liberal tastes.

He was a staunch supporter of Aneurin Bevan, the Welsh MP and Labour Government Minister responsible for the creation of the NHS in 1948.

Michael Foot the Journalist

Aneurin Bevan recommended him to Lord Beaverbrook who hired him to write for the London Evening Standard where he quickly became Editor at the tender age of 28 (1942).

When in 1945 he was elected to Parliament, he joined the Daily Herald, an official Labour Party paper as a hard hitting columnist.

He championed freedom of the press and warned of the dangers of Corporate press control then personified in the form of Rupert Murdoch.

5 years in the Political wilderness?

After loosing his seat in 1955 he was expected to disappear.

Not on your life!

During this time, as well as editing the Daily Herald, he spent a great deal of his own time travelling round the country to familiarise himself with the real Britain that wealthy MP’s represented (allegedly) in Parliament but had never seen. I’m sad to say, times haven’t changed.

He was often visibly moved by what he saw and people he met.

Poverty and unemployment were everywhere, the rich were getting richer (sound familiar?) while the Trades Unions were becoming increasingly militant.

Michael Foot’s “fire brand” editorials were brilliant and attracted national attention to this man who was now trusted by the Unions and people alike but feared by the non militant MP’s from his party who wanted an easy life.

Finally on 1960, aged 47, he was elected by the Constituents of Ebbw Vale in Monmouthshire to replace the great Aneurin Bevan who had tragically died of cancer.

Serious errors of Judgment 1960 – 1992

1. The Cuban missile crisis of 1962 should have persuaded this ultra intelligent man that extremist dictators will never be dissuaded to curb their aggression with diplomacy.
2. He criticised Britain’s action over the Suez Canal without being in possession of the full facts.
3. When he opposed the Labour Government’s intention to restrict immigration during the 60’s he did so from a humanitarian view point without first considering the potential chaos that unrestricted immigration would cause.
4. In 1975 he allowed his late friend, Aneurin Bevan’s widow, Jenny Lee to persuade him to support Indira Gandhi’s declaration of a state of emergency in India.
5. He introduced the Health and Safety at Work Act that although it has make the workplace safer has spiraled out of all proportion.
6. When he was Secretary of State for Employment during the Wilson Administration, he became too close to the Union Leaders who ultimately walked all over him.
7. Labour’s failure to win the 1983 Bermondsey by-election was guaranteed when he failed to defend the Labour candidate, Peter Tatchell against the homophobic rants of the Tory candidate.
8. The Labour manifesto of 1983 was more suited to the Communist Party because it was much too radical. It was later described as “the longest suicide note in history”

What he got right 1960 – 1992

1. Michael Foot, from the very beginning advocated State ownership of major British Industries which, had the Trades Unions had some fore-sight, would still be alive today, to provide the employment and revenue that’s now notably absent.
2. He advised everyone to vote NO in the 1975 Referendum on membership of the European Economic Community but unfortunately 67% said YES with a 65% turn out. (What a shame those who voted YES didn’t realise what their politicians were getting them into and how much it was going to eventually cost!)
3. Immaterial of how the former Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) has turned out, Mr Smith, the former Prime Minister had every intention of enslaving the non white population for many more years when he declared independence in 1965.
4. He rightly backed the Tories when they decided to kick Argentina out of The Falklands in 1982 much to the disgust of Tony Benn and his motley crew in the Labour Party.
5. He wore his Donkey Jacket to the Cenotaph on Remembrance Day in November 1981. It was a dark colour and demonstrated no disrespected.
6. When the Tories defeated Labour in 1983, Michael Foot retired but didn’t run away. He joined the Back Benchers and proudly continued to be actively involved in Parliament as any MP should.
7. His support for Croatian leader Franjo Tudman was openly criticised but then that was his own personal opinion – right or wrong.
8. His defence of Salman Rushdie, the novelist who was subject to a fatwa by Ayatollah Khomeini, although criticised was based on the democratic belief that anyone living in a free country can voice their opinion for or against any Government or religion and no one, particularly a man of religion has the right to sentence anyone to die!
9. The many books he wrote or co-wrote over an almost 50 year span are now highly collectable and well respected in literary circles.
10. Finally, although his leadership of the Labour Party was voted by Labour members as the worse ever, there would be no Labour Party today if Michael Foot hadn’t provided the cohesion to hold it together.

Michael Foot may have had his imperfections and his eccentric manner bring a smile to your face, but he was possibly the most loyal servant the Labour Party has had in recent years demanding nothing in return.