Last of his kind?
Goodbye, then, Michael and thank you for everything.
Listening to the warm tributes being paid to Michael Foot today, I was reminded of two things. Firstly, what a remarkable, super-intelligent, thoroughly committed man he was. Secondly, what a despicable, rotten, nasty campaign the Tory press and most of the rest of the media waged against him during his three years as Labour’s leader.
The way Foot was portrayed in the media brought shame to the entire media establishment and for many people, this marked the beginning of the deep malaise we witness today whereby neither the media or the politicians trust each other and the public trusts very littke it sees, hears or reads.
So to watch the media today reporting on the media coverage Foot received was more than a little sickening – and it was all done with a straight face.
We will probably never see the likes of Michael Foot in British politics again – he was perhaps the last of his kind.
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An erudite, decent man, a great parliamentarian, a fine writer and journalist, a defender of free speech and a staunch opponent of the European Union.
1983….
On taking office we will open preliminary negotiations with the other EEC member states to establish a timetable for withdrawal; and we will publish the results of these negotiations in a White Paper. In addition, as soon as possible after the House assembles, we will introduce a Repeal Bill: first, in order to amend the 1972 European Communities Act, ending the powers of the Community in the UK; and second, to provide the necessary powers to repeal the 1972 Act, when the negotiations on withdrawal are completed.
Following the publication of the White Paper, we will begin the main negotiations on withdrawal. Later, when appropriate and in the same parliament, we will use our powers to repeal the 1972 Act and abrogate the Treaty of Accession – thus breaking all of our formal links with the Community. Britain will at this point withdraw from the Council of Ministers and from the European Parliament.
There will need to be a period of transition, to ensure a minimum of disruption – and to phase in any new agreements we might make with the Community. This will enable us to make all the necessary changes in our domestic legislation. Until these changes in UK law have taken place, the status quo as regards particular items of EEC legislation will remain. And this period will, of course, extend beyond the date when we cease, formally, to be members.
But we got the Blessed Maggie, “No. No. No.”, Maastricht,
LisbonThe European Constitution (thanks for the referendum, Crash), Herman van Rumpuy, Margaret Ashton and the death of democracy.“It’s like rayayyyyyyn….”
Yep. And….?
That’s it?
Disappointed.
If disappointment’s your thing, you should try writing Dave’s gags for PMQs.
You’ve been blogrolled, Jamie.
You’re clearly quite mad, but you seem like a straight shooter.
I am honoured by such a compliment – but given the source, I think I’d best seek a second opinion. Thanks all the same.
There’s two main reasons why the Tory press are so warm in their tributes to MF. Firstly he enabled their heroine to remain unassailable as PM. Secondly they assume – wrongly – that MF must have despised New Labour, and so it’s a case of my enemy’s enemy is my friend. However, although he was against the invasion of Iraq, he was (according to Alastair Campbell and others) very pleased that Labour were in government.
I think this is true. Much of what Foot stood for was in the classic social democratic tradition of our country – he was not purely and simply a left-wing idealogue.