Friday, September 3, 2010

Former Liberal Democrat MP Cyril Smith dies, aged 82, a true statesman of the Westminster Village

















Dear All

Most people who enter politics remain anonymous and never reach or do anything other than being lobby fodder for their party.

Some however stand out and grab the attention of the public.

Today is a sad day, Veteran politician Sir Cyril Smith has died aged 82.

Sir Cyril served as the Liberal and later Liberal Democrat MP for Rochdale from 1972 until retiring in 1992.

Cyril Smith had a distinguished and outspoken career and caught people’s attention.

He was genuinely one of his party's heavyweight political figures in the 1970s and 1980s in more ways than he probably ever imagined.

Known for both his famously rotund stature and his larger-than-life personality, he should have ended up as leader of the Liberals.

He famously described Westminster as:

"the longest running farce in the West End".

Westminster could do with more people like him.

He was the kind of guy who could deliver bad news and still be likeable.

*update, it seems the life of Cyril Smith wasn't the same as the public image he concocted for himself.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyril_Smith#Sexual_and_physical_abuse_allegations

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

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