Foot was a politician like you rarely see these days. Aside from his gentlemanly behaviour, he had a recognisable and coherent set of beliefs. A true humanist and socialist, he genuinely and consistently fought for democracy and social justice.
Foot was also one of the bravest Labour leaders ever, taking on the task of steering the party through one of their most complicated and divided periods in history (1980-1983), which culminated with the creation of the breakaway SDP and Margaret Thatcher's 1983 landslide victory.
He will always be remembered with affection as one of the best and most humane MPs in British history.
3 comments:
A gentleman and an intellectual. No wonder the Thatcherites hated him.
Hear, hear Claude, a fine man and a sad loss, we will never see his kind again.
A great man indeed and someone whom I have respect for even though I disagreed with his politics. Much rather have a cup of tea with the likes of him or Tony Benn than any the current lot. However Socialist Sam clearly does not know what his legacy was. The policies of the Labour left in the 1980's saw Mrs T repeatedly laugh all the way to the ballot box. They loved him I bet not hated him. Still perhaps now is the not the time for such a discussion, RIP.
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