John Smith (Labour Party leader)

Labour Party leader from Scotland (1938-1994)

John Smith QC (13 September 1938 – 12 May 1994) was a British politician who was the leader of the Labour Party from July 1992 until his death from a heart attack.


John Smith

Leader of the Opposition
In office
18 July 1992 – 12 May 1994
MonarchElizabeth II
Prime MinisterJohn Major
Preceded byNeil Kinnock
Succeeded byMargaret Beckett
Leader of the Labour Party
In office
18 July 1992 – 12 May 1994
DeputyMargaret Beckett
Preceded byNeil Kinnock
Succeeded byTony Blair
Shadow portfolios
1987–1992Chancellor of the Exchequer
1984–1987Trade and Industry
1983–1984Employment
1982–1983Energy
1979–1982Trade
Secretary of State for Trade
In office
11 November 1978 – 4 May 1979
Prime MinisterJames Callaghan
Preceded byEdmund Dell
Succeeded byJohn Nott
Minister of State for the Privy Council
In office
8 April 1976 – 11 November 1978
Prime MinisterJames Callaghan
Preceded byThe Lord Crowther-Hunt
Succeeded byThe Baroness Birk
Minister of State for Energy
In office
4 December 1975 – 8 April 1976
Prime MinisterHarold Wilson
Preceded byThe Lord Balogh
Succeeded byDickson Mabon
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy
In office
18 October 1974 – 4 December 1975
Prime MinisterHarold Wilson
Preceded byGavin Strang
Succeeded byThe Lord Lovell-Davis
Member of Parliament
for Monklands East
In office
18 June 1970 – 12 May 1994
Preceded byMargaret Herbison
Succeeded byHelen Liddell
Personal details
Born(1938-09-13)13 September 1938
Dalmally, Argyll, Scotland
Died12 May 1994(1994-05-12) (aged 55)
London, England
Resting placeReilig Odhráin, Iona, Scotland
Political partyLabour
Spouse(s)
(m. 1967)
Children3, including Sarah
EducationDunoon Grammar School
Alma materUniversity of Glasgow

John Smith was born in the Scottish town of Dalmally in Argyll and Bute.[1] He became a Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) at the 1970 General Election for the constituency of North Lanarkshire (Monklands East from 1983). In 1978, he was given a cabinet post however lost this after Labour's defeat at the 1979 General Election. He continued in the shadow cabinet until 1992, when Labour leader Neil Kinnock resigned and Smith was elected leader. During Smith's time as leader, opinion polls showed that Labour were becoming more likely to win an election than the Conservatives.[2]

On 12 May 1994 in London, Smith died of a heart attack and was buried on the Scottish isle of Iona.[3] Tony Blair replaced Smith as Labour leader on 21 July 1994.

References

change
  1. "Our Records". ScotlandsPeople. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  2. "1993: Recession over – it's official". BBC News. 26 April 1993. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  3. "Rèilig Odhrain, the ancient cemetery on the edge of the world". Flickering Lamps. 3 October 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2018.