One of my all time heroes died today, at 96.A true and lifelong Socialist, a brilliant writer and essayist (one of the finest authors of the twentieth century), an eloquent orator and hugely entertaining raconteur, political maverick, co-founder of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, human rights campaigner, famously appalling dresser, freedom fighter, leader of the Labour Party and probably the nicest person ever to enter politics.
Rest in peace, old comrade. You will be sorely missed.
14 comments:
Your Grandad Andrews would be proud of you, a labour man through and through, wheras your Grandad Farrow, was a conservative!!!!
Good age to reach.. and you have put some nice photo's on of him he was a real scruffy chap......
He was indeed an outrageously scruffy dresser but what a brilliant mind.
His was a life worth living and was well-lived.
Yes, I am glad Grandad would approve. It seems only right that having grandfathers at the furthest ends of the political spectrum should have resulted in my extreme right wing brother having to put up with me being a lifelong Marxist. It keeps things balanced nicely. Hee hee.
You gotta love a guy with the courage to shout through a bullhorn while standing on a truck.
Sorry to hear about the passing of one of your heros. I'd never heard of Mr. Foot, but he sounds like he lived a very interesting and politically-active life. Not sure about appalling dresser though, as the outfit he's wearing in the color photo looks reasonably dapper to me.
I haven't heard of him before now either, but I'm sorry to see him go. A nice politician = a living oxymoron. He may have been the last one.
Well, Jimmy Carter, but he got out of politics.
My Brit husband had not heard the news of Mr. Foot's passing until I told him just now. Actually, it was several minutes ago, but he is STILL ranting about Old Labour and New Labour. I think Michael Foot disappointed him when he was unable to beat Margaret Thatcher....Christ! He's still going on! It's going to be a long evening.
Farewell old chap. Nice post, Dive.
Robyn: He was an indefatigable campaigner and spent most of his life doing that very thing.
Katie: I wish I could write out even a hundredth of the things he achieved in his life. I confess I chose two photos of him looking considerably smarter than his usual attire of Andy Warhol hairdo, battered duffelcoat and wellies.
Petrea: He was a rarity indeed.
Kate: It's a shame that the Labour crisis of '83 is what most young people remember him for. He started out in the 1930s, campaigning against Hitler and the rise of the extreme right (something that echoes scarily with the modern US far right), then worked tirelessly for the rights of the poor and spent his life striving for a fairer society as well as founding CND and writing some of the most brilliant books of the 20th century. Let's hope that the Thatcher years are forgotten and his other, greater achievements are remembered as the years pass.
Mme: Thank you. He was a truly lovely man.
Amen, well summed up. Sadly, it's impossible to imagine anyone like Michael Foot being in front line politics again.
The only positive thing that the people interviewed on last night's BBC News could find to say about him was that he "paved the way for New Labour". Shame on them.
Cheers, Betty!
I'm sitting here still mourning, reading my autographed Foot essays (yay) and sipping coffee from my "Old Labour And Proud Of It" mug.
Despair not; now that "New" Labour has crashed and burned there are still a few of us old Socialists left to pick up the pieces and start again.
Exits left, whistling The Internationale …
My condolences. I'm leaning more and more into that socialist realm.
Neetzy: It's the only way to lean.
I'm sorry to learn that someone so brilliant and nice has passed away.--He must have been really something to have earned your respect. Odd that he's leaning left in that attractive photo.
Lupine Lady: He certainly was someone special.
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