English Labour leader soft on racism

This music video from England is called Clash – Live at Rock Against Racism, Victoria Park, London – 30 April 1978.

From daily News Line in Britain:

Saturday, 15 December 2012

Workers of the world unite – provided you speak English

LABOUR Party leader Miliband spoke yesterday on Labour’s ‘One Nation’ approach to cultural diversity and integration insisting that admission to this select body is for English speakers only.

After a ritual embrace of ‘toleration’, a lot of treacle about the Olympics, and some trailing of his family’s immigrant past, plus a declaration that ‘I love the diversity of London’, Miliband got down to business, with a big ‘BUT’.

He said: ‘But at the same time, as celebrating what is good, those of us who believe in this vision must face up to the challenges, not shy away from them…And there is profound anxiety about immigration. Some of this is economic…Some of this anxiety is about where money is spent within communities, including benefits. There is also anxiety about the pace of change…We have said we will learn lessons from Eastern European migration and ensure maximum transitional controls in future…’

It turns out that the slump, the jobs crisis, low wages, and savage cuts have unleashed, as well as the class struggle, some racism.

As it did when the Irish flocked to the UK in the period from 1830-1960, and when the Tsarist pogroms drove the Jews of Eastern Europe into Britain and when the Caribbean migration began in the 1950s. In all these cases, trades unions and socialists triumphed over the racists.

Miliband’s reaction to racism is not just to give in to the racists, but to try and win their vote as well.

He says: ‘We are one of the few countries in Europe without a comprehensive strategy for integration.’

He adds: ‘First, we should start with language…So if we are going to build One Nation, our goal should be that everyone in Britain should know how to speak English. We should expect that of people that come here.’

As well: ‘In housing, we should act too. We can’t expect people to embrace their neighbours, to build a community, if 38 people have been crammed into the house next door.’ They used to say this about the Irish – ‘ten in a bed and two shifts, day and night’ – so how could good solid English people be expected to mix with such wild and uncouth fellows!

He adds: ‘We should eliminate the shocking practices of shift patterns that leave people working alongside others only from the same national or ethnic background. It’s illegal. And it’s wrong.’

Turfing immigrants out of their shift jobs, jobs that only they were willing to take just a few years ago, would certainly create more jobs for the one nation English!

Miliband continues: ‘The more diverse the public sector workforce, including from Eastern Europe, the greater the importance of English. That’s in the interests of everyone who uses our public services, wherever they are from.

‘So we should extend the requirements in many professions for English proficiency to all publicly-funded, public-facing jobs.’

If you don’t speak English you will not work, you will be barred from benefit and you will not eat – this seems to be the content of Miliband’s One Nation.

Why is it that the real melting pot society, the USA, has never found it necessary to tell all its immigrants that they must speak English. It is because such open racism would not be tolerated in the land of the American Revolution.

Miliband is a fraud. His policy would only apply to non-white migrants from outside the EU. There is no way that the European Court will agree that all EU nationals must speak English to live and work in the UK! After all, this does not apply to the masses of English who live in the EU.

Miliband, instead of pushing for socialist policies that can deal with the capitalist crisis and provide jobs and homes for all, appeases racism and dresses it up as ‘One Nation’. His English-only policy must be rejected, as must his attempt to get immigrants who dominate certain types of shift work sacked.

Fighting and beating racism means fighting for socialist policies to put an end to capitalism by bringing in a planned economy to provide jobs and homes for all.

We say workers of the world unite, you have a world to win and nothing to lose except your chains. You certainly don’t have to learn English to carry out this task!

Related articles

• Ed Miliband: Every Briton in a publicly funded job should speak English (independent.co.uk)
• Miliband: every Briton should speak English (guardian.co.uk)
• Miliband calls for improved integration of immigrants to reduce pressures of a multi-ethnic society (independent.co.uk)
• The dangers of hollow populism and tired stereotypes when talking about immigration (newstatesman.com)

‘Free’ trade with Colombian trade unionist-killing regime

This music video from the USA says about itself:

Drink of the Death Squads – David Rovics

True story first told to me by Katie Knight from the Colombia Support Network in Montana. Something like half of the union organizers that are killed in the world each year are Colombian. Colombia is also the biggest recipient of military aid in the hemisphere. This, of course, is a coincidence.

———–

Coca-Cola came to Colombia
Seeking lower wages
They got just what they came for
But as we turn the pages
We find the workers didn’t like the sound
Of their children’s hungry cries
So they said we’ll join the union
And they began to organize

So Coke called up a terrorist group
Called the AUC
They said “we’ve got some problems
At the factory”
So these thugs went to the plant
Killed two union men
Told the rest, “you leave the union
Or we’ll be back again”

Now Coke did not complain
About this dirty deed
Why give workers higher wages
When Coke is all they really need
They phoned the AUC
Said “thanks, without you we’d go broke
And to show our appreciation
Here’s one hundred cases of Coke”

(Chorus)
The baby drinks it in his bottle
When the water ain’t no good
The dog drinks it
But he don’t know if he should
Some folks say
It’s the nectar of the Gods
But Coke is the drink of the Death Squads

Well the workers wouldn’t take
This situation lying down
Some went up to Georgia
Said “look what’s happened to our town
You American workers got downsized
And as for us we just get shot
And those of us who survive
Our teeth begin to rot”

(Chorus)

Well now that’s the situation
What are you gonna do
‘Cause death squads run Colombia
And they’re paid by me and you
We can let Coke run the world
And see what future that will bring
Or we can drink juice and smash the state
Now that’s the real thing

(Chorus)

Created March, 2002
Copyright David Rovics 2002, all rights reserved

From daily The Morning Star in Britain:

MEPs fail to stop EU-Colombia deal

Wednesday 12 December 2012

by Our Foreign Desk

British Labour MEPs fought an unsuccessful rearguard action in the European Parliament on Tuesday against a free trade agreement with Colombia because of the threat to trade unionists in the country.

Colombia has been described by Amnesty International as “the most dangerous country in the world for trade unionists.”

Last year alone 35 trade union members were assassinated.

“It’s unacceptable to conclude a trade agreement when the human rights situation remains so dangerous,” said Labour MEP and international trade spokesman David Martin.

This video is called David Martin MEP speaking against an EU-Colombia Free Trade Agreement.

“The Colombian government is desperate to show its commitment to protecting human rights defenders and prosecute perpetrators, but we have yet to see serious changes on the ground,” he said.

But the agreement was ratified by the European Parliament despite their efforts and will come into effect after it has been endorsed by each national government.

“I regret that the Parliament gave its consent to this agreement now,” said Mr Martin.

“Our trade relations should never be at the expense of human rights.”

Richard Howitt MEP, who speaks for Labour MEPs on human rights, said: “It’s with a heavy heart that Labour would ever vote against trade agreements, as they help to create economic growth in developing countries.

“We’re usually able to vote with our Socialist Group colleagues in Strasbourg but on this occasion, as Labour MEPs and trade unionists, we felt that we simply could not support a trade agreement with a country that has such an appalling record on trade union rights.”

Related articles

• No to EU Colombia free trade agreement (morningstaronline.co.uk)
• Massacres Under the Looking Glass (counterpunch.org)
• Afro-Colombian Women Not Invited To Peace Talks Between Government, FARC (atlantablackstar.com)
• EU Lawmakers Approve Trade Deals With Latin America (eurasiareview.com)
• Killing democracy (morningstaronline.co.uk)
• Colombia-Ecuador: Cocaine’s Forgotten Victims – Analysis (eurasiareview.com)
• Death Squads, Murder and U.S. Corruption in Colombia (counterpunch.org)

British historian Hobsbawm dies

This video from Britain says about itself:

Professor Eric Hobsbawm is interviewed on the so called ‘Responsible capitalism.’

Recorded from BBC Newsnight, 19 January 2012.

From daily The Guardian in Britain:

Eric Hobsbawm dies, aged 95

Lifelong Marxist, whose work influenced generations of historians and politicians, dies after long illness

Esther Addley

Monday 1 October 2012 13.55 BST

Eric Hobsbawm, one of the leading historians of the 20th century, has died, his family said on Monday.

Hobsbawm, a lifelong Marxist whose work influenced generations of historians and politicians, died in the early hours of Monday morning at the Royal Free Hospital in London after a long illness, his daughter Julia said. He was 95.

Hobsbawm’s four-volume history of the 19th and 20th centuries, spanning European history from the French revolution to the fall of the USSR, is acknowledged as among the defining works on the period.

Fellow historian Niall Ferguson called the quartet, from The Age of Revolution to 1994′s The Age of Extremes, “the best starting point I know for anyone who wishes to begin studying modern history”.

Niall Ferguson is a Conservative, supporting Mitt Romney’s candidacy in the USA.

Hobsbawm was dubbed “Neil Kinnock‘s guru” in the early 1990s, after criticising the Labour party for failing to keep step with social changes, and was regarded as influential in the birth of New Labour, though he later expressed disappointment with the government of Tony Blair.

Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, described Hobsbawm as “an extraordinary historian, a man passionate about his politics and a great friend of my family”.

He said: “His historical works brought hundreds of years of British history to hundreds of thousands of people. He brought history out of the ivory tower and into people’s lives.” …

Hobsbawm was born into a Jewish family in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1917, and grew up in Vienna and Berlin, moving to London with his family in 1933, the year that Hitler came to power in Germany. He studied at Marylebone grammar school and King’s College, Cambridge, and became a lecturer at Birkbeck University in 1947, the beginning of a lifelong association that culminated in his becoming the university’s president.

He became a fellow of the British Academy in 1978 and was awarded the companion of honour in 1998.

He is survived by his wife, Marlene, his daughter, Julia, and sons Andy and Joseph, and by seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

See also here.

And here.

Related articles

• Eric Hobsbawm dies, aged 95 (guardian.co.uk)
• Eric Hobsbawm dies aged 95 (telegraph.co.uk)
• Eric Hobsbawm dies: six things about the famous historian (theweek.co.uk)
• In Memoriam: Eric Hobsbawm (lsolum.typepad.com)
• Eric Hobsbawm, 1917-2012 (newstatesman.com)
• Eric Hobsbawm: an appreciation (guardian.co.uk)
• Eric Hobsbawm (1917–2012) (socialistworker.co.uk)

British Labour kicks warmonger MacShane out for corruption

This video from Britain is called The UK MP’s Expenses scandal___House of Shame PART 3.

From the New Statesman in England:

Breaking: MacShane reported to police over expenses

Posted by George Eaton – 14 October 2010 13:08

Labour MP has the whip withdrawn after expenses complaint is referred to the police.

Just a day after it emerged that Margaret Moran was likely to become the fifth Labour politician to face criminal charges over her expenses, Denis MacShane has been reported by the Parliamentary authorities to the police over his own claims. He has been suspended from the Parliamentary Labour Party (joining Eric Illsley)

Illsley, like MacShane, is an Iraq war supporter. Fellow corruption-tainted MP Ms Moran also “voted very strongly for the Iraq war“.

pending the outcome of any investigation.

MacShane belonged to the warmongering, xenophobic right wing of the Parliamentary Labour Party.

From Wikipedia:

In 2002 he [MacShane] became Minister of State for Europe in the reshuffle caused by the resignation of Estelle Morris. He caused some embarrassment to the government in 2002 by describing President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela as a ‘ranting, populist demagogue’ and compared him to Benito Mussolini during a failed military coup attempt to depose the democratically elected president.[6][7] Afterwards he had to make clear that, as minister with responsibility for Latin America, the government deplored the coup attempt. …

In 2005 he became a signatory of the Henry Jackson Society principles, advocating a proactive approach to the spread of liberal democracy across the world, including by military intervention.

Apart from the hypocritical cant about “the spread of liberal democracy” while in fact spreading torture and mass killing, MacShane really fits in a society named after the late United States senator and failed presidential candidate Henry ‘Scoop’ Jackson. As Mr Jackson was corrupt, like Mr MacShane. Jackson’s nickname was “the gentleman from Boeing“. Boeing being a military contractor getting lots of taxpayers’ money for killing and torturing people, Jackson was also a warmonger like MacShane. Finally, Jackson was a strong supporter of the racist internment of US citizens of Japanese ancestry into concentration camps during World War II. MacShane seems to have substituted Muslims for Japanese-Americans.

The society also supports “European military modernisation and integration under British leadership”. In 2003 he criticised the Muslim community, saying they did not do enough to condemn acts of Islamic terrorism. … He was a supporter of the 2003 invasion of Iraq and has strongly supported Tony Blair‘s foreign policy in relation to the Middle East, and elsewhere.

Three peers to be suspended from Lords over expenses claims: here.

Former [Blairite] Labour MP Margaret Moran will face 21 charges in relation to claims she made for parliamentary expenses, the Crown Prosecution Service said today: here.

Former Labour MP Margaret Moran sobbed in the dock when she appeared in court today charged with fiddling her expenses by around £80,000: here.

Former Labour MP Margaret Moran could stand trial next spring on charges relating to parliamentary expense claims: here.

Former Labour MP Margaret Moran fiddled more than £53,000 in expenses, a jury decided today: here.

Scandal forces UK Labour MP Denis MacShane to resign: here.

Related articles

• MacShane ‘not above criminal law’ (bbc.co.uk)
• MPs pile on crook MacShane (morningstaronline.co.uk)
• Moves to see if there is criminal case against MacShane welcomed (yorkshirepost.co.uk)
• Expenses shame destroys Denis MacShane’s politics career (standard.co.uk)
• Labour expels Denis MacShane over false expenses invoices (guardian.co.uk)
• MP’s expenses: Commons rules protected Denis MacShane – BBC News (bbc.co.uk)
• Labour: MacShane’s Career is Over (order-order.com)

Miliband admits Blair’s Iraq war was wrong

This video from London, England, says about itself:

A short film capturing the mood and the people of the London march against the war in Iraq back in 2003. Over 1 million people were there, joined as one.

From daily The Independent in Britain:

Ed Miliband: Blair ‘wrong’ on Iraq war

By Alan Jones, PA

Tuesday, 28 September 2010

New Labour leader Ed Miliband today conceded the conflict in Iraq had divided the country and said Tony Blair‘s government was “wrong” to go to war.

In a frank admission to the party‘s annual conference in Manchester, Mr Miliband said the Labour government had “undermined” the United Nations.

“Iraq was an issue that divided our party and our country. Many sincerely believed that the world faced a real threat.

“I criticise nobody faced with making the toughest of decisions

Unfortunately, this is a sort of apology for Tony Blair … who, of course, knew very well there was no “real threat” of Iraqi “weapons of mass destruction” causing havoc in Britain. And then, Blair lied to his own cabinet about the war.

and I honour our troops who fought and died there. But I do believe that we were wrong. Wrong to take Britain to war and we need to be honest about that.

“Wrong because that war was not a last resort, because we did not build sufficient alliances and because we undermined the United Nations.

“America has drawn a line under Iraq and so must we,” said Mr Miliband, drawing applause from delegates.

I wish it were true that the United States government had really “drawn a line under Iraq” in the sense that all troops had left Iraq. However, they are still there; killing Iraqi civilians; and sometimes killing each other. Really “drawing a line under Iraq” also presupposes that the war criminals who made the Iraq bloodbath, like Tony Blair, George W Bush, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld will have to defend themselves in a court of law.

In spite of all its weak points, this speech by Miliband seems to indicate that this new Labour leader is not a completely “new Labour” leader.

Compare also the admission by British Liberal Democrat Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg that Blair‘s Iraq war was illegal.

Though Miliband‘s statement marks a definite improvement, one cannot help but ask oneself somewhat cynically whether Miliband would have had the courage to say this on the bloody Iraq war, if Labour would still be in government, instead of being in opposition, as it is now.

The account of Miliband‘s speech continues with definitely worse sentences on Afghanistan:

He added that British troops were in Afghanistan to stabilise the country and enable a political settlement to be reached.

“I will work in a bipartisan way with the Government to both support our mission and ensure Afghanistan is not a war without end.”

Mr Blair has been dogged by his decision to take the UK to war in Iraq but has never apologised or said he made a mistake.

Mr Miliband said “old thinking” on foreign policy should be challenged, adding: “We are the generation that came of age at the end of the Cold War.

“We are the generation that recognises that we belong to a global community – we can’t insulate ourselves from the world’s problems.”

The Labour leader was warmly applauded when he said: “Our alliance with America is incredibly important to us but we must always remember that our values must shape the alliances that we form and any military action that we take.”

Tony Woodley, joint leader of Unite, said Mr Miliband had addressed the “illegal” war in Iraq, adding: “At long last, we have an acknowledgement that the Iraq war was a stain on the character of our party.”

Extensive comments on Miliband’s speech here.

Around 2,000 new members have joined Labour since Ed Miliband was elected leader on Saturday and people are now signing up at the rate of one every minute, it was announced on Wednesday: here.

HE pledged to ditch Blairism when elected as the new Labour Party leader, but Ed Miliband made it clear on Monday that he intends to continue the New Labour partnership with business for years ahead: here.

David Miliband should have said Iraq was wrong: here.

FOLLOWING their previous threat of proceedings against the government, 34 Iraqi victims of hooding today issued judicial review proceedings against the government to challenge the ‘Consolidated Guidance to Intelligence Officers and Service Personnel’ announced by David Cameron in Parliament on 6 July 2010: here.

Court: Germany can deport Iraqi convict despite death fears: here.

Sen. Graham: U.S. Forces In Iraq Should Be Labeled ‘Combat Troops’: here.

Iraq: The Age of Darkness: here.

In Syria, Iraqi Refugee Daughters Risk Being Sold: here.

Dick Cheney Defends Torture Because of Terrorist Nuke Threat: here.

Ed Miliband’s mixed message

This video from Britain says about itself:

Penny White is a representative of the BASSA Cabin Crew trade union. She talks about the current dispute and the bullying tactics of BA management. 280 people crammed into Conway Hall to hear Caroline Lucas MP, Tony Benn and others discuss the crisis and how we can resist the cuts.

Full report: http://www.counterfire.org/index.php/news/61-reports/5333-cant-pay-wont-pay-rally-calls-for-action.

Britain: Trade unions gave a mixed reception on Tuesday to a very mixed message from Labour’s new leader Ed Miliband: here. See also here. And here.

Labour right mourns after Ed Miliband‘s victory: here.

The International Monetary Fund gave its backing to savage Con-Dem spending cut proposals on Tuesday, describing them as “credible” and “essential”: here.

Irish trade unionists demanded an end to the “ideological Tory drive for unnecessary cuts” on Tuesday as they lobbied Stormont ahead of the EU-wide day of action against spending cuts which takes place on Wednesday: here.

British general election coming

By Peter Knight in England:

New coalition challenges the right-wing agenda

Friday 26 March 2010

Trade unionists packed into a conference room at Friends Meeting House in central London on Thursday evening to mark the launch of an anti-cuts coalition standing in the coming general election.

The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) is backed by the Socialist Party and Socialist Workers Party as well as a number of leading trade unionists including RMT general secretary Bob Crow.

It plans to stand candidates in 42 constituencies across the country.

PSC [sic; PCS] assistant general secretary Chris Baugh addressed the rally just days after leading hundreds of thousands of civil servants out on strike in opposition to a government attack on their redundancy rights.

Mr Baugh said: “We welcome the opportunity to fill the void left by new Labour‘s abandonment of working people.”

The union link with new Labour was highlighted as a central issue for workers in dispute against attacks on jobs, wages and conditions.

Mr Baugh added: “I think the BA cabin crews’ dispute is a classic example where Unite is a major contributor to Labour and yet the Prime Minister and other ministers have denounced what is and what we believe is a just cause.”

This video says about itself:

George Galloway discusses the BA strike with Seumas Milne.

From British daily The Morning Star:

Greens win council seat with 33% swing

Friday 26 March 2010

Mainstream parties were left reeling after they were routed in an astonishing council by-election result on Thursday just days before Prime Minister Gordon Brown is expected to call a general election.

The Green Party‘s Rachel Eburne snatched a Tory seat at Mid Suffolk District, also humiliating the Liberal Democrats and Labour.

She polled 61 per cent of the vote at Haughley and Wetherden with 444 votes – a 33.2 per cent net swing from the Conservatives, who won 176 votes.

Labour, which had a councillor in the ward until 2003, polled just 32 votes.

The Liberal Democrats, a close second last time, only managed 51.

British Blairite warmonger politicians’ corruption scandal

It seems that politicians of the pro Iraq war pro Afghanistan war pro all wars far Right wing of the governing British Labour party are emulating their money grabbing “hero” Tony Blair and want a Britain as corrupt as Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia, all suffering from the Western (and/or “pro Western“) “humanitarian intervention” which they love so much …

From the Daily Mirror in England:

Geoff Hoon, Patricia Hewitt and Stephen Byers suspended from Parliament[a]ry Labour party

By James Lyons 23/03/2010

Three former Cabinet ministers caught up in the lobbying scandal were dramatically suspended last night from Labour’s Parliamentary Party.

Stephen Byers, Patricia Hewitt and Geoff Hoon were dealt the humiliating blow after anger at their behaviour erupted at the weekly meeting of the PLP.

Gordon Brown acted on demands for disciplinary action from fellow MPs after the three were caught on camera offering to influence Government policy for cash.

Mr Byers, who wanted up to £5,000-an hour to work for lobbyists, likened himself to a “cab for hire” as he was filmed for Channel 4′s Dispatches programme.

The ex-Transport Secretary has referred himself to Parliament’s sleaze watchdog but all three deny any wrong-doing.

Ms Hewitt is a former Health Secretary and Mr Hoon was once Defence Secretary.

Suspension is one step short of the ultimate sanction of removing the whip.

A fourth Labour MP Margaret Moran, who was also secretly filmed talking to a fake US lobbying company, had already been suspended over her Commons expenses.

Chief Whip Nick Brown and General Secretary Ray Collins acted following the screening of the C4 programme last night.

Tory MP John Butterfill, who was featured alongside the Labour MPs, has also submitted himself for scrutiny.

All those filmed are expected to be investigated by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, John Lyon. …

The Blairite trio were already hate figures for many in the party. Mr Hoon and Ms Hewitt jeopardised Labour’s poll fightback by trying to oust Gordon Brown earlier this year. Mr Byers tried to find someone to stand against him when Tony Blair quit.

Lord Mandelson last night denied Mr Byers‘ claims to have successfully persuaded him to water down new packaging laws while working for Tesco.

Geoff Hoon is in the NATO commission for a new NATO strategy. If there is any justice in Britain, not only about this corruption scandal but also about Mr Hoon’s other affairs like his torture scandal, he will have to contribute to that commission from behind bars.

Gordon Brown on Thatcherism: here.

Mandelson’s memoirs: here.

British Labourite quits ‘new’ Labour

This is a video from the USA called DN! Blair Tied to Iraq-Linked Oil Firm.

From the Salford Advertiser in England:

Ex-MP Terry Lewis quits ‘Thatcherite’ Labour party

Neal Keeling

March 03, 2010

A respected former MP has quit Labour in disgust after 44 years – claiming the party had ‘lost its soul’.

Terry Lewis represented Worsley from 1983 until he retired at the 2005 election.

Now he has torn up his membership card, claiming the Labour party had missed an historic opportunity to repair the ‘damage’ of Conservative governments.

“I didn’t send in a letter of resignation because I would have needed a publisher,” he told the M.E.N. “It would have been the size of a small novel.

Mr Lewis said when Labour won in 1997 he expected a sea-change in policy.

Instead, he said, the country had seen ‘more Thatcherite policies for 13 years’.

And he predicted Labour would be routed by the Conservatives ‘like a dose of salts’ at the election expected in May.

Mr Lewis, who was replaced in 2005 by Barbara Keeley, served Labour as a councillor and party worker before winning a seat in Parliament.

Formidable

He carved a formidable reputation as an outspoken hard-working backbencher who was not afraid to vote against his own government.

Mr Lewis, 75, championed the anti-fox hunting lobby and voted against the Iraq war.

He told the M.E.N. the expenses scandal – which engulfed all the major parties – had been the ‘final straw’ in his disillusionment with politics.

“What some MPs have been up to is an absolute disgrace,” he said. “In general terms all the people who have been found to be abusing the system deserve to be removed from office.”

Mr Lewis also took a swipe at Labour-controlled councils for failing to challenge Labour’s right-wards drift.

“There has not been a word of criticism of the government,” he said. “The government has made it a profitable exercise being a councillor. You have councillors with no real responsibility due to cabinet-style councils, who are picking up £8,000 a year.

“Then some of them sit on other boards and authorities and picking up £30,000 or £40,000 a year – they are not going to criticise the government.”

British Labourite Michael Foot dies

This video from Britain says about itself:

Michael Foot speaks at anti-war rally in Hyde Park, London (February 15th 2003).

From British daily The Guardian:

Former Labour leader Michael Foot dies

Labour party leader between 1980 and 1983 dies aged 96

* Will Woodward

* Wednesday 3 March 2010 13.06 GMT

Michael Foot, Labour leader during one of the most tumultuous periods in the party’s history has died, it was announced today.

Foot led the party from 1980 to 1983, presiding over the party during the formation of the breakaway Social Democratic party. He quit after Labour slumped to a stunning defeat in the 1983 election. A distinguished writer and journalist, as well as a cabinet minister in the Wilson and Callaghan governments, he was an MP from 1945 to 1992.

Tony Benn, his cabinet colleague and occasional nemesis, said today: “He was one of the great figures of the Labour movement.”

Ken Livingstone said: “It’s amazing that somebody that nice got to the top of the Labour party but not surprising that he didn’t win the election.”

Foot was a founder of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and an editor of Tribune.

He was employment secretary in the second Wilson government and was allowed to campaign against its support for Britain staying in the European Economic Community in the 1975 referendum.

See also here. And here. And here. And here. And here. And here.