RIP. From a time when MP's were respectful and respected...
I'm a big Healey fan, but I'm not sure your characterisation of the man or the era is entirely accurate ...
Think he compared an attack by Geoffrey Howe to being "savaged by a dead sheep". He was a bit of a bruiser, which he often needed to be to deal with some of the people in his own party, never mind the other lot.
RIP Dennis. How he was never elected as leader of the Labour Party is a mystery really.
He was beaten by a left winger, who brought in a very left wing manifesto and got slaughtered at the next election. Of course the Labour party would never make the same mistake...
RIP - Great respect for him AND I like my socialists spit roasted over a burning fire or tied to a lampost outside of Eton and made to watch terrible Tories walk in and out all day!
It was his courageous thwarting of Tony Benn which saved the Labour Party from oblivion in the 1980's .It is a sad irony that he dies at a time when the Labour Party needs politicians of his calibre and has similar problems .
He had a superb academic record ,but also had the common touch and really engaged with people . He was multilingual. On one occasion on the stump I saw him talk in fluent Polish to a voter in Erith .
The last time I met him was in unusual circumstances .
In 2004 my children didn't live with me and I needed to take them back up to Milton Keynes on Sundays .
On this particular occasion I was keen to make an early drop off because the Addicks were playing Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the afternoon . I took an earlier train which ultimately went to Liverpool .
We boarded the train and the lights went off . The lights came on again and an elderly gentleman teased my son that he had switched the lights off . I recognised him and realised that it was Denis Healey . Remember he was well into his eighties and there he was in a standard class carriage on a trip to talk to the Liverpool University Students Union about his photography .
For the next hour he held court discussing his career with everyone in the carriage . My son asked him which football team he supported and he said he was a Gooner . He had no airs and graces at all .
They say sometimes when you meet your heroes you are disappointed , My admiration for Denis Healey increased.
Can't be too many people who have packed so much in to a wonderful, long life. Could even have been more, including Prime Minister, if he had beaten Michael Foot to the Labour leadership.
I love this quote from Denis Healey, describing David Owen. “The good fairy gave him thick dark locks, matinee idol features and a frightening intellect. Unfortunately, the bad fairy also made him a shit.”
RIP Dennis. How he was never elected as leader of the Labour Party is a mystery really.
Because he fought a pathetic campaign against Foot, he tried to be all things to all men (Andy Burnham's error too) rather than be himself and preach what he actually believed in. If he had won, as a man of his standing should have done, there would have been no SDP. He may not have won the '83 Election but David Owen may well have won the '87 one and almost definitely 1992. The Labour Party would not have lost the brilliant Shirley Williams and New Labour may never have happened.
A respected politician and man. Compared to most present day politicians, Healey was an intellectual giant - indeed, 'Darling Harold's' cabinet of the 1960s had a huge amount of intellectual firepower compared to later models.
Healey also, of course, came from an era where politicians had a bit of life experience (in his case, rather a lot), rather than pursuing a pre-determined path from public/private school to Oxbridge to a career in politics, as is now the norm.
RIP Dennis. How he was never elected as leader of the Labour Party is a mystery really.
Because he fought a pathetic campaign against Foot, he tried to be all things to all men (Andy Burnham's error too) rather than be himself and preach what he actually believed in. If he had won, as a man of his standing should have done, there would have been no SDP. He may not have won the '83 Election but David Owen may well have won the '87 one and almost definitely 1992. The Labour Party would not have lost the brilliant Shirley Williams and New Labour may never have happened.
Agree with everything apart from the comparison to Burnham and that he fought a bad campaign. Part of the reason Denis lost was because he didn't try to build bridges.
Foot was the last leader to be solely elected by MP's and it was once said that Denis didn't suffer wise men let alone fools gladly.
In my view there were two reasons why some moderate MP's voted against him.
The first group did it to keep the peace. Foot promised to support them in reselection battles with left wing activists.
The second group were already planning to defect and voted for Foot as a way of quickening the process and give their new project some impetus.
Unlike Burnham and for that matter Cooper and Kendall, Denis did well when the franchise extended. Forget the rhetoric but Tony Benn and his people fought against OMOV. Every Union bar the NUM who balloted their members voted for Healey. Most local Labour members did as well.
The only reason Benn got so close was that the T&G choose to ignore the view of their members and 80% of constituency parties refused to extend the franchise.
I really wish moderate Labour had such an obvious big fish now.
RIP Dennis. How he was never elected as leader of the Labour Party is a mystery really.
Because he fought a pathetic campaign against Foot, he tried to be all things to all men (Andy Burnham's error too) rather than be himself and preach what he actually believed in. If he had won, as a man of his standing should have done, there would have been no SDP. He may not have won the '83 Election but David Owen may well have won the '87 one and almost definitely 1992. The Labour Party would not have lost the brilliant Shirley Williams and New Labour may never have happened.
My favourite politician. He would have been a great PM, but as Richard said, he wasn't good at building factions or sucking up to people he didn't like or respect.
Whatever one's own views undeniably a major political influence for most of the second half of the 20th Century and recalling him emphasises how incredibly lightweight the majority if not all of today's politicians, of all colours, really are
As this is a Charlton forum it is interesting to note that there were Charlton fans prominent in both the Benn and Healey camps in the 1981 Deputy Leadership contest .
Current MP Roger Godsiff supported Denis and Nigel Williamson who I understand used to post on here was in the Benn Campaign .
Comments
Labour MP of the old school.
RIP
Think he compared an attack by Geoffrey Howe to being "savaged by a dead sheep". He was a bit of a bruiser, which he often needed to be to deal with some of the people in his own party, never mind the other lot.
RIP
RIP
It was his courageous thwarting of Tony Benn which saved the Labour Party from oblivion in the 1980's .It is a sad irony that he dies at a time when the Labour Party needs politicians of his calibre and has similar problems .
He had a superb academic record ,but also had the common touch and really engaged with people . He was multilingual. On one occasion on the stump I saw him talk in fluent Polish to a voter in Erith .
The last time I met him was in unusual circumstances .
In 2004 my children didn't live with me and I needed to take them back up to Milton Keynes on Sundays .
On this particular occasion I was keen to make an early drop off because the Addicks were playing Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the afternoon . I took an earlier train which ultimately went to Liverpool .
We boarded the train and the lights went off . The lights came on again and an elderly gentleman teased my son that he had switched the lights off . I recognised him and realised that it was Denis Healey . Remember he was well into his eighties and there he was in a standard class carriage on a trip to talk to the Liverpool University Students Union about his photography .
For the next hour he held court discussing his career with everyone in the carriage . My son asked him which football team he supported and he said he was a Gooner . He had no airs and graces at all .
They say sometimes when you meet your heroes you are disappointed , My admiration for Denis Healey increased.
Respected as an MP as many have mentioned.
Rest In Peace Mr Healey.
I love this quote from Denis Healey, describing David Owen. “The good fairy gave him thick dark locks, matinee idol features and a frightening intellect. Unfortunately, the bad fairy also made him a shit.”
Healey also, of course, came from an era where politicians had a bit of life experience (in his case, rather a lot), rather than pursuing a pre-determined path from public/private school to Oxbridge to a career in politics, as is now the norm.
Foot was the last leader to be solely elected by MP's and it was once said that Denis didn't suffer wise men let alone fools gladly.
In my view there were two reasons why some moderate MP's voted against him.
The first group did it to keep the peace. Foot promised to support them in reselection battles with left wing activists.
The second group were already planning to defect and voted for Foot as a way of quickening the process and give their new project some impetus.
Unlike Burnham and for that matter Cooper and Kendall, Denis did well when the franchise extended. Forget the rhetoric but Tony Benn and his people fought against OMOV. Every Union bar the NUM who balloted their members voted for Healey. Most local Labour members did as well.
The only reason Benn got so close was that the T&G choose to ignore the view of their members and 80% of constituency parties refused to extend the franchise.
I really wish moderate Labour had such an obvious big fish now.
Whatever one's own views undeniably a major political influence for most of the second half of the 20th Century and recalling him emphasises how incredibly lightweight the majority if not all of today's politicians, of all colours, really are
Current MP Roger Godsiff supported Denis and Nigel Williamson who I understand used to post on here was in the Benn Campaign .