John Smith (UK politician)
John Smith QC (
September 13,
1938 â€"
May 12,
1994) was a
Scottish and
British politician who served as leader of the
Labour Party from July
1992 until his sudden and unexpected death from a
heart attack on 12 May 1994.
Born in
Ardrishaig,
Argyll and Bute, he went to school in
Dunoon,
Cowal, Argyll and Bute, before attending the
University of Glasgow where he studied law. While at University he won the
Observer Mace debating championship. After his death, this was renamed the
John Smith Memorial Mace in his honour. He worked as an
advocate before entering parliament for
North Lanarkshire in
1970.
In the Labour government of the 1970s, Smith piloted the highly controversial
devolution proposals for Scotland and
Wales through the
House of Commons. From
1978 until the government fell in
1979 he served as
Secretary of State for Trade.
Despite a quiet, modest manner, and his politically moderate stance, he was a witty, often scathing speaker. He suffered a heart attack on
9 October 1988, whilst
Shadow Chancellor, and lost a lot of weight in order not to risk further problems. His 'Shadow Budget' at the start of the
1992 general election was subsequently criticised as having contributed to Labour's surprise defeat, although it did not prevent him being elected to succeed
Neil Kinnock as leader.
During his brief time as leader of the Labour Party he abolished the
trade union block vote at
Labour party conferences, and replaced it with "
one member one vote". It was also during his time as leader, that the Labour party gained a significant lead in the polls over the
Conservatives. He also committed a future Labour government to establishing a
Scottish Parliament, a policy which was followed through by his successors (most notably his close friend
Donald Dewar) after his death. He is also understood to have laid much of the foundation for the Labour Party's victory at the 1997 General Election by launching, with
Mo Mowlam, the party's so-called
Prawn Cocktail Offensive.
His sudden and untimely death made way for young hopeful
Shadow Home Secretary Tony Blair. John Smith was buried on the
holy island of
Iona, special permission having already been obtained. Following Smith's death, the Labour Party renamed its then party headquarters in
Walworth Road to
John Smith House in his memory.
Smith was a traditional figure of the Labour
right and, as such, was seen by many as a
conservative leader.
Tony Blair and
Gordon Brown were, under Smith's leadership, restless and anxious in private that the party had adopted a "one more heave" approach and was overly cautious in tackling the legacy of "
tax and spend".
Since Blair became leader Smith has become an
icon of Labour's
hard left because of his
traditionalist approach and the contrast between his leadership and that of Blair. It remains a moot point whether Smith could have led the Labour Party to an electoral victory on the scale that Blair did in 1997.
His daughter,
Sarah Smith, is a journalist and presents the news on the UK digital TV channel
More4.
:
"The opportunity to serve our country - that is all we ask.":: —from his speech to a
Labour fundraising dinner,
May 11,
1994, the day before his death.
