'Labour Party giant' Denis Healey dies at 98 Former chancellor Denis Healey has died at the age of 98, his family has said. Lord Healey was Labour's defence secretary from 1964 to 1970 and chancellor of the exchequer from 1974 to 1979 before becoming deputy party leader in opposition in 1980. The former Leeds MP's family said he died peacefully at his Sussex home on Saturday, after a short illness. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he was "a Labour giant". The PM said he was a "huge figure of post-war politics". BBC political correspondent Iain Watson said Lord Healey's death marked the end of an era in Labour's history. Obituary: Lord Healey Denis Healey: A life in pictures Mr Corbyn tweeted: "Denis Healey was a Labour giant whose record of service to party and country stands as his testament. All our thoughts are with his family." Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said he was "absolutely loyal to the Labour Party" and a "towering intellect". Prime Minister David Cameron wrote on Facebook: "We've lost a huge figure of post-war politics. A hero in World War Two as Beach Master at Anzio and a brave politician, Denis Healey told his party hard truths about Britain having to live within her means." please log in to view this image Image copyright PA Image caption As chancellor, Lord Healey applied for an emergency loan from the International Monetary Fund Lord Healey served as an MP for Leeds for 40 years from 1952 before joining the House of Lords in 1992. A defining moment in his career came in 1976 when, as chancellor, he applied for an emergency loan from the the International Monetary Fund in an effort to save the pound from collapse. He came close to winning the Labour leadership in 1980, finishing just 10 votes behind winner Michael Foot. A graduate of Oxford university, he also served in the Army, joining operations in North Africa, Sicily and Italy during World War Two. His wife, Edna, died in 2010. Obituary please log in to view this image Image copyright PA Denis Healey, an intellectual heavyweight who had a range of interests that stretched far beyond the narrow world of Westminster politics, was known for his tough, no-holds-barred style of debate. His relish for the cut-and-thrust of politics served him well during long periods in government in the 1960s and 1970s, and in the internal struggles that re-shaped Labour during its years in opposition in the 1980s. His trademark bushy eyebrows, colourful turn of phrase and expertise on a range of musical instruments, including the piano and double bass, made him a regular fixture on television and a favourite target of impressionists. But he had a sharp mind and could fell opponents with a devastating one-liner, once likening debating with Conservative Chancellor Geoffrey Howe to being "savaged by a dead sheep" and accusing Margaret Thatcher of "glorying in slaughter" during the Falklands conflict. Read more: Obituary of Lord Healey Shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn, whose father Tony unsuccessfully ran against Lord Healey for the party's deputy leadership in 1980, said: "Very sorry to hear that Denis Healey has died. All our thoughts are with his family on their loss. Current Chancellor George Osborne tweeted: "Sad to hear that Denis Healey has died at 98. A giant of the Labour movement + Chancellor in the most difficult circumstances." please log in to view this image Image copyright PA Image caption Labour's leader in the Lords said Lord Healey, pictured with his wife Edna, was said to be a "real character" Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: "Very sorry to hear that Denis Healey has died. He was, undoubtedly, a giant of the post war Labour movement. Condolences to his family." 'Tremendous fun' Labour's leader in the House of Lords Baroness Smith of Basildon, said: "Denis was a great man of British politics and a real character with a tremendous sense of fun. "He maintained his passion and commitment and all of us in the Labour peers group will miss him so much." Former Labour cabinet minister Peter Hain told the BBC Lord Healey was "an enormous character" who had a "wonderful sense of humour". He said: "His passing, very sad, is part of a passing of a Labour era those big figures in the Labour party." http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34434378
Always thought he was a gentleman and a decent bloke, much better photographer than he was a Chancellor
Dennis Healey's best quips "Healey’s first law of politics: when you’re in a hole, stop digging.” To a reporter in 2000: A statesman is a dead politician. I am in the home of the living dead which is betwixt and between. The House of Lords.” On Margaret Thatcher: That bloody woman.” On debating with Geoffrey Howe: Like being savaged by a dead sheep.” On John Prescott: He has the face of a man who clubs baby seals.” To a reporter in 1997: Yes I have been on a diet, but not the Nigel Lawson one. I don’t want to look like death warmed up.” In a newspaper interview in 1997: Being chancellor is not a woman’s job. There’s a difference between the sexes, and people who don’t know that don’t know what people are like with their clothes off. So there.” While campaigning for Tony Benn in the 1984 Chesterfield byelection: Healey without Benn would be like Torvill without Dean. I can’t get the bugger off my back.” Speaking in the House of Commons in February 1990: While the rest of Europe is marching to confront the new challenges, the prime minister [Margaret Thatcher] is shuffling along in the gutter in the opposite direction, like an old bag lady, muttering imprecations at anyone who catches her eye.” However, he denied ever having said, as chancellor: I want to squeeze the rich until the pips squeak.”
