David Martin MEP: 25 years since the death of John Smith

John Smith in 1992: an enthusiast for devolution and Europe

John died the morning after a Labour European election fundraiser in London. I attended that gathering and heard inspirational speeches from Michel Rocard, the former French prime minister, and John himself. I took the sleeper from London to Edinburgh that night in good heart and looking forward to the election campaign. I was stunned just as I was leaving Waverley Station to receive a phone call to tell me that, although not yet announced, John was dead. It was a shattering blow on a personal and political level.

It was at the event the night before his death that John made his often quoted remark, “the opportunity to serve our country – that is all we ask”. It is beyond doubt that had he lived he would have got that opportunity. At the time of his death, Major’s government was languishing in the polls and only a few weeks later Labour went on to have its biggest ever win in a European election with 62 out of 78 seats.

There is no question that had he lived John Smith would have been prime minister. A counterfactual perspective in politics as in any walk of life is dangerous, but there are some reasonable assumptions that can be made about how different a Smith government might have been.

Firstly, we will never know, but the UK participation in the Iraq war would at the very least have been less likely. There would have been zero chance of John being in thrall to George W Bush, and with his famed forensic skills it is likely that he would have been much more sceptical about the dodgy intelligence dossier.

Secondly, the internal energy of the government would have been better harnessed. John would have used the massive talents of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown to the full. I remember a conversation on the plane to London while Neil Kinnock was still leader. He had heard Michael Meacher complain that his departmental deputy, Gordon Brown, was overshadowing him. John thought this a silly, even small-minded grumble and immediately asked if Gordon could join his team so that he might benefit from his abilities. John would have been proud of the Blair/Brown governments’ record in tackling child poverty, creating the minimum wage and investing in the NHS.

However, the achievement of the last Labour government that might have given John most satisfaction is devolution. He was responsible for the legislation devolving power to Scotland and Wales in the late 1970s. He was bitterly disappointed by the defeat of the referendum proposal in the 1978 referendum.

While the rise of the SNP would have puzzled and perplexed him, he would be delighted to see a vibrant Scottish Parliament. John started his life as a Highlander but spent most of it as a lowlander. He loved the combination and said, “I am Scots – proud of it, and very glad to be able to live in and enjoy my own country – all of it.”

John was a committed European and, in 1971, defied the Labour whips to vote for EU membership. In his final speech, launching Labour’s 1994 European election campaign, John was unequivocal about Labour’s European vocation. “We are going to go into European elections, not arguing for referendums, not arguing for a sceptical view of Europe, not hesitant about our future in Europe. We are going to approach the European elections with a sense of vision and of purpose because we in the Labour Party believe that our future is truly in Europe, that the sum of the parts that we can create in the European Community is far greater than what we can achieve on our own… that is why the Labour Party is now the European party in British politics.”

We do not know for sure how different Britain would be today if John Smith had lived to be prime minister. I do know, 25 years after his untimely death, that he is still greatly missed.

David Martin is member of the European Parliament for Lothians