Tributes for ‘irascible’ veteran Labour MP

Sir Gerald, who was Father of the House, died on Sunday after battling a long illness

Tributes have been paid to veteran Labour MP Sir Gerald Kaufman following his death at the age of 86.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn joined Prime Minister Theresa May in praising the record of Sir Gerald, who had been the “father of the House of Commons” after serving as an MP since 1970.

The death also means Labour faces another by-election in a heartland seat.

Sir Gerald had a commanding lead in Manchester Gorton, which he held at the last general election with a majority of 24,079 over the Greens.

Mr Corbyn described Sir Gerald as an “iconic and irascible” figure who “loved life and politics”.

Sir Gerald, who died on Sunday after battling a long-term illness, was first elected as Manchester Ardwick MP in 1970 before becoming Manchester Gorton MP after constituency boundary changes in 1983.

He famously described Labour’s 1983 manifesto, which had a heavy emphasis on ambitious hard-left policies, as “the longest suicide note in history”.

Mr Corbyn said: “Gerald came from a proud Jewish background. He always wanted to bring peace to the Middle East and it was my pleasure to travel with him to many countries.”

Mrs May said: “His was a life of remarkable commitment to his constituents in Manchester and to the political life of the nation.

“He spent more than half his life as a parliamentarian having been first elected in 1970.”

Former prime minister Tony Blair said: “Gerald was an extraordinary man, passionate, principled, acerbic and absolutely dedicated to the cause of social justice and the Labour Party.”

Ex-Labour leader Ed Miliband said Sir Gerald was an “outstanding servant of the Labour movement” who will be “sorely missed”.

SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson said he was “very sorry” to hear of the death.

Manchester Gorton is seen as one of Labour’s safest seats and so the by-election resulting from Sir Gerald’s death is unlikely to cause any headaches for Mr Corbyn.

Picture: PA Sir Gerald, who was first elected to Parliament in 1970, famously called Labour’s 1983 election manifesto “the longest suicide note in history”.