Tony Benn on the deaths of John Smith and Ralph Miliband, 25 years ago this month.
John Smith MP the Labour leader died 25 years ago on 12th May 1994. I remember the occasion well because in this period, before I descended in trade union officialdom, and indeed before the interwebs, I was a manager, with staff to manage. One of my junior operatives appeared in my 17th floor office at Vauxhall, which overlooked the Thames towards Parliament, to inform me that Smith had died. That’s how news got around in those days.
My connection to Ralph Miliband was closer as I had been taught by one of his colleagues, Peter Smith, when doing my first degree and was familiar with his work. I’m not sure how I found about his passing but quite possibly by reading the Guardian (I’ll check this in the British Library during the week). He died on 21st May 1994.
Tony Benn Diary 12th May 1994
John Smith died today…. It is terribly sad. I have known him for twenty-five years, worked closely with him in the Department of Energy and have been with him in the Cabinet. I liked him very much. He performed a completely different function from Neil Kinnock- he healed the wounds of the Party
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Smith_(Labour_Party_leader)
Tony Benn Diary 21st May 1994
Edward Miliband phoned to say his father Ralph had died this afternoon. It was terribly sad. He had a by-pass operation two years ago and hadn’t been well
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