Just getting the very sad news that former Labour leader Michael Foot has died at the grand old age of 96.
Foot will unfortunately probably be remebered as leading Labour whilst it wrote the longest suicide note in electoral history,the 1983 manifesto.
He had though led a long and active life in the socialist movement.First elected to Parliament in 1945 he was a founder member of the campiagn for nuclear disarmament.a lifelong passion which he persuaded the Labour party to adopt,probably to its cost.
A critic of the Labour government from the sidelines in the 1960's he joined Wilson's 1974 cabinet as secretary of state of employment and was responsible for the Health and Safety at Work Act.
He campiagned against memebership of the EU during the 1970's and as the party shifted to the left in 1979 he became its leader,a move which was ultimately to lead to the party splitting as senoir figures joined the new Social Democratic party.
The country was to reject his party's left wing leaning quite dramatically in 1983 as a resurgent Mrs Thatcher won a landslide victory despite dragging the country into a unprecedented election.
He resigned from the leadership after the defeat to be succeeeded by Neil Kinnock but only left the Commons in 1992 becoming the oldest sitting British MP.
His passion and committment will be sorely missed
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