‘John served with great dedication’
LABOUR LEADER PAYS TRIBUTE TO POLITICIAN AND EX-MINER
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and former Prime Minister Gordon Brown were among those to pay tribute to a former colliery mechanic who served his community as MP for 23 years.
Mr Corbyn and Mr Brown sent notes to be read at the funeral of John Cummings, who died earlier this month aged 73 after being diagnosed with lung cancer.
His coffin was topped with a large display of red roses at the service at a packed St Joseph’s RC Church in his home village of Murton, before he was laid to rest in its cemetery.
The trade unionist was buried with a photo and the collar of his beloved late Jack Russell terrier Grit, who had accompanied him on the picket lines of the miners’ strikes in 1984-85.
The eulogy was led by Grahame Morris, who had worked with Mr Cummings as his researcher, and was elected to Easington seat when he stood down in 2010.
Mr Corbyn’s message said: “He served with great dedication for 23 years.
“I first got to know John on a delegation to Angola, and it was obvious to me early on John strongly fought for his beliefs.
“Like so many generations of Labour politicians, his interest was formed in the trade unions.
“John pushed for better conditions for mine workers and John fought hard and held firm beliefs about social injustice.”
Mr Brown’s note said: “John, as an MP, never ceased to remind us about our responsibilities to the people we represented, and would never cease to speak from his heart for the community he served.”
Ronnie Campbell, Ian Lavery and Phil Wilson, all party MPs still serving the party, and councillors including Durham County Council leader Simon Henig, deputy Alan Napier, and fellow members Audrey Laing, Sonia Forster, Kevin Shaw and Eddie and Jennifer Bell were also among mourners.
Mr Morris spoke of how Mr Cummings had been “a wonderful colleague and friend” and that messages sent to his family from across the world had given them comfort.
He also spoke of how Mr Cummings had been proud to serve his community and had fought for funding for the area and other former coalfields after the closure of the collieries.
The end of the service, taken by Fr Frank McCullagh, was marked with a performance of Abide With Me, sang by Robert Adcock Forster, who also worked with Mr Cummings, and his husband Richard, both members of Shiney Row Male Voice Choir.
A gathering was then held at the Glebe Centre, with all donations gifted to the church.