Roy Hattersley (The Guardian): On a par with our heroes (Robin Cook)

[Jack Rabbit]

From The Guardian Unlimited (London)
Dated Monday August 8

On a par with our heroes
By Roy Hattersley

The death of a friend should first evoke personal memories of happy times spent together. And, next week in Edinburgh, I will recall a boisterous lunch with Robin Cook at which we laughed about our disagreements with government policy on the principle that we were both too old to cry. But it is impossible to mourn Robin's death without feeling, almost as the primary emotion, despair at what the Labour party and the country has lost.

Robin Cook was more than one of the most talented politicians of his generation. He shared with Gordon Brown, and perhaps Peter Mandelson, the right to be compared - for commitment and ability - with the old heroes of the Labour party. In 20 years' time, he will be talked about in the way that Aneurin Bevan is talked about today.

His reputation, and his memory, have both - as was the case with Bevan - been immensely enhanced by resignation from the government. In an age of blatant political cynicism, even men and women who supported the war in Iraq applauded his decision to put principle ahead of his prospects of continuing in high office. And Robin's determination to follow where conscience led had added impact because it was unexpected. There was so much talk about his ability that his convictions were often overlooked.

The first time I heard Robin's name was when Jim Callaghan drew my attention to both of those essential aspects of his political character. I had missed the foreign affairs debate at the 1977 Labour party conference and, as I returned to my place in the hall, the prime minister stopped me. "A man called Cook has made a very bad speech," he said. Then he corrected himself. "In one sense, it was a very good speech. But it was bad for us." Robin had made a robust defence of unilateral nuclear disarmament.

Read more.

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Great article. Thanks for posting.

[autorank]

2. A true hero indeed. He had both integrity and intellectual honesty.

What a combination! Let's see, the government I serve is going to engage in an immoral war. What should I do? Cook did exactly the right thing. What did Gordon Brown, et al, do? They knew what the score was yet they stayed to preserve their prestige and power. The irony is that Cook's prestige and power are now out of the reach of any Labour loyalists forever because he did the right thing and they cannot undo their moral failure.

Robin Cook was a great man, great patriot, and a true citizen of the world.