Michael Foot 1913 - 2010

Today witnessed the passing of a true maverick of 20th century parliamentary life, Michael Foot sadly passed away at the age of 96 years. As a committed Member of Parliament and socialist, Michael Foot represented the Plymouth Devonport and the Ebbw Vale constituencies for 45 years in the House of Commons, including 3 years as Leader of the Labour Party between 1980 and 1983.

Bill Jones describes the essence of Michael Foot:

"Possibly the most brilliant public speaker and parliamentarian of his day as well as one of the most cultured and civilised politicians of the century, he was widely popular in many sections of the party, but suffered from a poor media image."

A politician that was respected by both sides of the House; a man of principles that cared more for the content of people's character than the image they portrayed in the media. He was a person that could teach many current MPs many valuable lessons about a politician's conduct in public life.