SMITH WAS HUGE LOSS

I have just finished reading Mark Stuart’s biography of former Labour leader, the late John Smith. For me it was a reminder of three things: Firstly, New Labour were barely disguised Tories. Secondly, compared with him, we are currently being led by political pygmies. Who compares with Attlee, Wilson and Smith for Labour, or Churchill, Macmillan and Butler for the Conservatives? And finally, the Mirror’s headline upon his death, “The Greatest Prime Minister We Never Had”, was absolutely right. Derek Metson, Bristol