Denis Healey the best Prime Minister Labour never had dies, aged 98, in his sleep Saturday Oct 03,2015

 

Denis Healey, one of the most towering figures of the post-war Labour Party, died Saturday Oct 03,2015 aged 98.

The pugnacious former Chancellor fought long-running battles against Labour’s militant Left-wingers – including current leader Jeremy Corbyn – and was frequently described as the best Prime Minister the party never had.

But the peer was also renowned for his cultural ‘hinterland’ – he was a pianist who enjoyed opera, history, painting and photography – and for his long and happy marriage to his wife Edna, who died in 2010 aged 92.

Lord Healey’s family said he died in his sleep at his Sussex home following a short illness.

Last night, leading politicians said his death marked the end of an era.

Jeremy Corbyn, who throughout the 1980s objected to Healey’s support for the nuclear deterrent, said he was ‘a Labour giant whose record of service to party and country stands as his testament’. He added: ‘His wit and personality transcended politics, making him one of the most recognisable politicians.’

David Cameron said: ‘We’ve lost a huge figure of post-war politics.’

 About Denis Healey(Aug 30,1917 - Oct 03,2015)

As an Oxford graduate, Healey entered politics after his war service, memorably being pictured at the 1945 Labour conference in his Army uniform as he talked to future Cabinet colleague Roy Jenkins.

He served as Defence Secretary from 1964 to 1970 and Chancellor from 1974 to 1979. 

The latter period saw Healey engaged in running battles with the party’s socialists as he attempted to impose pay curbs and public spending cuts.

But the defining moment of his political career came when he was forced to go ‘cap in hand’ for an emergency loan from the International Monetary Fund during the country’s near economic meltdown in 1976. 

After applying for the bailout, he was forced to rush back to the party conference in Brighton to urge delegates to accept the terms. He was heckled and booed on what he described as the most harrowing day of his life.

The 1970s was also a period when tax rates on the wealthy hit 98 per cent – although Healey never actually said, as is widely believed, that he was going to ‘tax the rich until the pips squeak’.

After Labour’s General Election defeat in 1979, he was beaten to the party leadership by Michael Foot. And in 1981, he fought a titanic battle for the deputy leadership against Left-winger Tony Benn, who was backed by a young Mr Corbyn. Healey won with 50.4 per cent of the vote to Benn’s 49.6.

After serving as Shadow Foreign Secretary during most of the 1980s, he retired from the Shadow Cabinet after the 1987 General Election, and from the Commons in 1992, becoming Baron Healey of Riddlesden.

Denis Healey was a Member of Parliament for 40 years (from 1952 until his retirement in 1992) and was the last surviving member of the cabinet formed by Harold Wilson after the Labour Party's victory in the

His last newspaper interview was given to The Mail on Sunday in August 2015, when he was asked about the Labour leadership contest.

Declaring himself ‘not impressed’ by Mr Corbyn, he added: ‘The one I’d prefer is Yvette [Cooper].’