Labour leader John Smith Dies, May 1994

The Labour leader John Smith died on 12 May 1994 in St Bartholomew's hospital London after two serious heart attacks.
The 55-year-old leader of the opposition and the man expected to be Britain's next Prime Minister suffered his first attack at his central London flat.
He had a second heart attack in the ambulance on the way to hospital and was pronounced dead at 0915 BST.
Clip features Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Paddy Ashdown, John Major, Margaret Thatcher and Tony Benn.
news.bbc.co.uk/...

[@petergreen2552]

25 years on. Still remember this. A tragic loss. He'd have made a fine PM.

[@SniffMyDeadwax]

The best

[@berlvid]

I say this as an Irishman. John Smith would have been a great leader of your country.

[@MrThorfan64]

@@berlvid Would have been a very fine PM. I doubt we'd be in such a mess now if he had got into No. 10.

[@amyclarke41]

@@SniffMyDeadwax a missed man

[@PlayMoreGolf-RipOff]

If John Smith had become PM then there would never have been a New Labour and it would’ve been a one term government

[@Kevinasp]

In May 1987 he and Brian Clough both spoke at a Labour rally in Nottingham. In death, they have two things in common. One was the best PM we never had and the other the best England manager we never had.

[@falconeshield]

How did either happen?

[@MarkHarrison733]

Clough told the truth about the drunk Liverpool fans.

[@chrispalmer7893]

@@MarkHarrison733 Clough had the good grace to recognise that wasn't the truth at all and apologised for those remarks. He was clearly an infinitely better person than you can ever hope to be.

[@MarkHarrison733]

@@chrispalmer7893 Clough never changed his view. However he was forced to issue a fake "apology" so he could keep his magazine column after objections from readers. Privately he always maintained the Liverpool fans were 100% to blame.

[@chrispalmer7893]

​@@MarkHarrison733 Then he was beyond contempt, too. Congratulations, you have company in your pit of filth and ignorance.

[@no1knowledge]

Unlike the conmen and liars who took over from him,John Smith was a decent and honourable person,completely straight and down to earth.

[@falconeshield]

So of course he had to die

[@johntomkins8906]

Are you talking about conmen and liars like Cameron, Boris and Sunak

[@JessicaJones2001-o7t]

@@johntomkins8906and Blair

[@johntomkins8906]

@@JessicaJones2001-o7t and Cameron ithe liar who screwed this country and the did a runner and left behind a poverty stricken country and cemetery's full of British people he put them there and Boris and Sunak to compulsive liars who lie to this country every time they open their mouths with smug smiles glued to there face's

[@vikingsmb]

@@johntomkins8906 no, i think he means starmer and co

[@johnrider5701]

We can only imagine what might have been.

[@petergreen2552]

Such a tragic loss to the country. He surely would have become PM in 1997. A fine leader, skilled in oratory and political knowledge.

[@falconeshield]

He wouldn't have been Bush Jr's lapdog unlike Blair

[@joecurran2811]

Way better than Blair!

[@Tuneman1984]

As a Canadian, I find the parallels amazing between John Smith's death in 1994 and Jack Layton's death just last summer. Very similar circumstances. Both men died young, both were arguably at the cusp of coming to power, and both commanded a large amount of respect even beyond party lines.

[@tomgibson6801]

oh yeah layton was ten times better thrn trudeau same with smith being better then blair

[@lw1zfog]

The Pilgrims Society & Le Cercle

[@therespectedlex9794]

Was Layton also at a dinner, with his party's most opulent backers, the night before?

[@texanbloc]

I'm not a Labour supporter, but I always felt John Smith was an excellent politician and would have made a great prime minister.

[@thomasmohan9565]

Say what you want about Kinnock but it’s more than clear to see that he really loved and respected John

[@alanhargreaves-thevoiceofr2361]

just like when he cried when jo cox died . . . . . .

[@MrPeterpiper1969]

I'm a lifelong Tory but even I felt this was a bad day for the country not just the Smith family and Labour Party. His work in moving Labour to the centre-left was absolutely the right way to go (no pun intended) and I personally felt (and still do) that he would have made a fine Prime Minister. In 1994 I was utterly disillusioned by my own party, it seemed another scandal was coming out every day, our policies were becoming ever more incoherent and distasteful and John Major, while a decent enough man personally was simply not strong enough to control the far right of the party OR his own ministers. It may sound strange but I was privately HOPING for a Labour win under Smith because I felt it would force us to reorganise, to stamp the loony right into the dirt where they belonged and get back to being what we were before Thatcher, a party that believed in free enterprise and common sense policies, a strong military and law enforcement AND compassion for those who could not help themselves. To those who say Smith was a communist I would say you're utterly wrong. He was a SOCIALIST, a very different animal indeed. It was never Smith's intent to make Britain a communist state, he wanted a country where everyone had an equal chance to get to the top regardless of background or how much money your parents/family had with the only limiting factors being ability and willingness to work for it. In many ways Smith was more like a moderate Conservative (something I proudly call myself) than many of those who actually wore the blue rosette.

[@tomgibson6801]

so your a one nation style tory. i'm a centre left labour democratic socialist and i have so much respect for one nation torys like you. macmillan one of our best pms was a one nation tory. lovely comments :)

[@joestewart-paul7181]

@@tomgibson6801 Is Democratic Socialism actually on the centre left?

[@tomgibson6801]

@@joestewart-paul7181 yeah like attlee and wilson were considered centre left and they were democratic socialists. the left is like more marxist forms of socialism.

[@joestewart-paul7181]

@@tomgibson6801 totally with you there. Personally I identify myself as a Centre Left Democratic Socialist or Social Democrat, and I'm happy with that position as i believe that the rest of the left have gone batshit insanse like the hard left.

[@chelseaking1735]

lovely comment. What do you think of the conservatives arm

[@Matt-cz6ti]

I was a week old so I don’t remember this at all. But my mum has told me that she cried when she heard about John Smith’s death

[@AH-be6bu]

Who knows what Britain would look like today, had Smith lived to be prime minister?

[@sho-m-er5194]

him as pm and al gore as president, maybe there would be no war in iraq...

[@BotanicalAngel]

And suddenly have happened ❤ He looks so healthy and long life ❤❤

[@Kevinasp]

Major made a good statement on Smith's death.....

[@scooby1992]

Major is a great statesman , especially in comparison with some of his successor .

[@Inglese001]

@@scooby1992 and predecessor. He got the ball rolling for peace in Northern Ireland.

[@jwillk42]

Sometimes you can get on better with members from different parties, he has competition in his own party and people who want his jobs.

[@nik1969100]

What’s the point of being in politics if you can’t speak up for those who can’t speak for themselves. We’ll never see the like of him again in politics - the humanity he had and the respect he commanded across the whole spectrum. May he rest in peace.

[@falconeshield]

I hope he comes back. His soul shouldn't be limited to one life.

[@The-Elfin-Knight]

We not only lost a future PM, we in my home town lost a great MP.

[@TheRealZamZamTV]

Wow i hope he’s okay

[@The-Elfin-Knight]

@@TheRealZamZamTV He died in the mid-nineties...

[@bripat22]

as Roy Hattersley said "If John Smith had lived, we would have had a proper Labour Government"

[@susannamarker2582]

Instead of the Trotskyite Blair, and now the communist Starmer.

[@henfc456]

@@susannamarker2582Trotsky and communist? Eh

[@susannamarker2582]

@@henfc456 Yes. Blair was a Trotskyist at University. We don't know which faction he joined, but Peter Hennesey got it out of him during a BBC Radio 4 interview. As for Starmer, at the end of the 1980s, Starmer joined the Haldane Society of lawyers when everyone knew it was a cover organisation for the british communist party, the old CP.

[@henrysmith883]

@@susannamarker2582yeh and Farage was a Nazi at school.

[@susannamarker2582]

​@capri2673No. In 1997, one of the first things Blair did was raid private pension funds. And it was not in New Labour's manifesto at all. That's far-left ideology. Getting rid of hereditary peerage was also hard Left. In the TV debate with Sunak, you could see Starmer's mask slipping. He's got a few nasty surprises he is not telling us about.

[@mazzarouni5608]

If he was still alive now, he would have led Labour for many years and I’m certain wouldn’t have ventured into Iraq. His replacement once retiring probably would have been Blair but an older and wiser version. Because of that our country would have been more prosperous and at ease with itself, better prepared against covid and the challenges thereafter. It’s our tragedy we lost him so soon.

[@leehighland5435]

Labour were crap just like the Tories were, we were swapping them out all the time. Callaghan was a decent guy, but the country was destroyed under him, whats to say the same wouldn't have happened under Kinnock or Smith? Labour were and still are full of commies and marxists, people who were dedicated to the destruction of Britain.

[@benhikescamps]

30 years ago. He died two days before my own father passed away.

[@UK31337]

I remember this (it was a month short of my seventh birthday). I grew up in Edinburgh five minutes from his home there and the church where they held his funeral. I still go past the church almost every day and remember the massive crowds that formed.

[@BossySwan]

Unbelievably tragic moment in our recent political history.

[@kevinwhelan9607]

Politics in Britain...how far it has fallen in 30yrs. John Smith RIP❤

[@nicholaspowell3294]

Loved John, absolute legend, would have been an amazing pm.

[@FizzVizard]

People here seem to be forgetting, the man had already had a heart attack, 5 years earlier and took 3 months to recover, his heart condition was well known and he was alone with his wife when it happened.

[@blueb0g]

Fiz Vizard People aren't forgetting... his previous heart attack is mentioned in the video...

[@FizzVizard]

Ben Kolbeck​​ I was referring to the people commenting, implying he was murdered

[@dilksjoel]

@@FizzVizard Well when it's Tony Blair that got in and went on to enact some of the worst primeminsisterring ever, on the back of his death, questions will always be asked.

[@FizzVizard]

@@dilksjoel You do have a point......

[@alanhargreaves-thevoiceofr2361]

what makes you think you can trust a politician when they say one has died ..?

[@Touhou-forever]

He died the year I was born I feel sad that I never got the chance to meet him all I can say now is rest in peace The Right Honourable John Smith your legacy will live on

[@falconeshield]

I was 4. Everyone born after 1982 missed a real prime minister

[@veggie42]

Yes I was cleaning the toilet seat and dropped it on hearing in newsflash come on abou his death

[@Touhou-forever]

@@veggie42 that's very heartbreaking

[@doddsoreric]

RIP John. You should have led us, and you will never be forgotten.

[@alanhargreaves-thevoiceofr2361]

Already has been ....by the 'Liebore' party .. . .

[@jazzycrew]

RIP John Smith. You were the best PM we never had :(

[@alansbinnie1446]

Him and Hugh Gaitskell.

[@simonturner1]

Nah, that was Corbyn.

[@notreallydavid]

​@@alansbinnie1446and Paddy Ashdown

[@alansbinnie1446]

@@notreallydavid Ashdown could never have been PM owing tohis party, Gaitskell probably would have been in 1964.

[@alansbinnie1446]

@@simonturner1 I assume that was a joke.

[@richardcochrane1966]

"When I think of John Smith, I think of an opponent, not an enemy!" Classy words from Major - if only it was still that way!

[@haydoncooper3744]

Did Teflon Tony get an Oscar for this performance?

[@veggie42]

Major like starmer today

[@raymondanderson3624]

@@veggie42 Major has far more personality than Starmer and at least had principles.

[@bilbofaggin5]

The doctor appears to have knighted John Smith postumously, a concept, I feel, would have horrified him. John Smith was the best Prime Minister we never had.

[@BintyMcFrazzles]

What might have been? Not only did John Smith's family lose a loved one; the country lost what might have been a great leader.

[@michaelmuldowney8]

No sadder words............. What might have been.

[@arcticozzy792]

Can anyone explain what he was about policy wise. Sounds like the UK wouldn't have been the way it is if he became PM.

[@leehighland5435]

One man can't change the direction of an entire nation, when globalist forces are at work. We were always going to end up with mass immigration and wokeness.

[@markydh83]

In many ways his strategy wasn’t all that different to Starmer’s publicly. Wanted to win by being more competent and taking advantage of a tired Tory Party that was falling apart after being in power for too long. He continued with Kinnock’s neutering of the power of the unions in the Labour Party. In private, though, he was very much a social democrat with a zeal for constitutional reform. Wanted to create something that looked more like the federal government system you see in some continental European countries. He wanted to create a written constitution, something that would have prevented some of the abuses of power we’ve seen since, especially since 2019. Believed very strongly in human rights. He hated economic globalisation. There’s absolutely no way we’d have been involved in the Iraq War. He was a committed European. He was a centrist so we wouldn’t have become a socialist country with everything being renationalised. But unlike Blair, he had no interest in the so-called Third Way so he wouldn’t have embraced the private sector and the super rich.

[@wrexham1983]

The Prime Minister we never had, shame he wasn’t here he would be formidable against Mr Johnson :-)

[@richardcoats6430]

He'd have wiped the floor with bozo on all levels.

[@veggie42]

And even cameron

[@wleon4068]

Would have been a wonderful Prime Minister. Fate plays a cruel hand.

[@r0bsven]

A great politician, and a genuinely good bloke. We never got to see his true potential, and I often wonder what the country would've been like post 1997 general elections (let's face it, Labour would've won regardless of who was party leader). "The opportunity to serve our country, that is all we ask." Brilliant.

[@falconeshield]

I guess every country has their Al Gore

[@jeffreyweitzman6463]

One thing is for sure - even with all the sleaze of those last Major Conservative government years, by this alone as an example of what was said about Smith from both sides...there was a better calibre of MP's back then than what we have today and have had these past years.

[@Iskandar64]

How dignified they all are. Not like now.

[@tonyska]

When the Labour Party had some quality in it's ranks. Him and Robin Cooke were great talents.

[@joridge171]

Amazing to see normal, mature, intelligent MPs here... compare to the chimps on all sides of the House of Commons now! What on earth happened??

[@ellimere]

I'm not a fan of Blair but he was right when he said that John Smith was the greatest PM we never had. Things could've been so different. :/

[@therespectedlex9794]

Yeah, funny you should mention that Tony. His death enabled your rise.

[@NorthernFella]

would have made a great PM

[@MrGlove191]

"Would have been the same as Blair and Brown"

[@Peter-kl8jg]

I really don't think so.

[@BossySwan]

Best PM we never had

[@phantompizza]

iamsadwhereisdad “best pm we never had”

[@BossySwan]

iamsadwhereisdad Are you for real?

[@jaa1407]

Blair and Brown may have done things differently, but don't ever think that they weren't genuinely devastated by the loss of a friend and a mentor. Yes, they had issues with his leadership. But don't try and turn them in to two dimensional characters

[@alcoholicjoe6199]

Blair was and still is a horrible psychopath.

[@Kevinasp]

A paradox occurred with Smith. He was always on the Gaitskellite wing of the Labour party from 1956 when he joined, yet posthumously, he became an iconic figure for the Labour left.

[@plumjam]

5:54 one of Blair's early acting roles.

[@HRHooChicken]

Practising for when he kills one million Iraqis.

[@gordontaylor5373]

@@HRHooChicken And 474 Brits. If John Smith had lived, we'd never have had that filthy war criminal Blair as PM.

[@ShiroIMKS]

@@gordontaylor5373 You say that like he wasn't elected by the country 3 times

[@gordontaylor5373]

@@ShiroIMKS He may have been, but he's still a war criminal.

[@sho-m-er5194]

@@ShiroIMKS if the opposition weren't pro-Iraq war as well Blair would probably have lost in 2005

[@GoldMario5500]

Atleast Smith is a better MP than Major

[@beatonthedonis]

John Smith, Robin Cook, Dr David Kelly RIP.

[@Maffoo]

What's with the whacky zooming at the end?

[@liamblackman63]

Ikr its scary af

[@KarlHamilton]

Ikr

[@njkip]

I remember the news of his death being broke on the radio, was in my tractor listening intently.....such a blow......such a shame!

[@ianmorga4018]

I did not agree with the politics of many in this news report. But ultimately, most of them were decent people. Unlike the shower we have in power today. Bring on tomorrow.

[@leemorris2924]

5:10 Corbyn in the top left of the screen

[@--Fish]

Lee Morris well spotted there

[@AlJalandhari]

Last words of the clip... "He was pacing himself slowly... Too slowly for some party critics" hmmmm

[@PC-lu3zf]

Tragic and as a result we got horrible Tony Blair.

[@Kevinasp]

David Blunkett, the MP for Sheffield Brightside is blind, so it is his guidedog. He has been an MP since June 1987.

[@nicholasforman1195]

John Smith’s death was a terrible loss to the Uk and Parliament. A Charming man who I once met and left an outstanding impression upon me.

[@MarkHarrison733]

Smith would never have won a GE. He had caused Labour to lose the 1992 GE.

[@UK31337]

Behind Paddy Ashdown at 4:46, far right of the screen - is that a much younger looking Alex Salmond?

[@Cruithneach]

It is indeed

[@TBrl8]

Funny how life goes, this gave us PM Blair.

[@r0bsven]

The doctor, whom you claim to be "not very professional" met John Smith just a couple of weeks earlier during a campaign to stop a ward being closed down by the Tory Government. This same Doctor was then part of the team which tried to, unsuccessfully, save his life following the heart attack. So yes, you could say they were close colleagues.

[@osummuso]

@gwhite79 never heard of him. Do you not rank John though?

[@Kevinasp]

That was the day of his funeral. I remember watching it on TV.

[@colinadams5390]

Would have taken Labour down a different path. No bloody Tony Blair!

[@coreysworld702]

RIP john smith & Margaret (Maggie) Thatcher

[@wilsonfisk6626]

Britain faces a clear and inescapable choice, stability and strong government with John Smith or chaos with Tony Blair.

[@JakJim1]

Taken out to make way for the evil Tony B Liar

[@veggie42]

Yh

[@leehighland5435]

and Brown, don't forget him too.

[@JakJim1]

@@leehighland5435 Too true , another possessed evil soul

[@alansbinnie1446]

Great loss to us all. Hugh Gaitskell was another.

[@regmunday8354]

Labour still hasnt recovered from his loss.

[@williamclifford4441]

The best Prime Minister we never had. Johnson, Gove, Hunt etc., etc., would have run a mile rather than face him in Parliament.

[@MarkHarrison733]

That was Mosley.

[@PlayMoreGolf-RipOff]

6:35 Correction Gordon "A position where the labour could have earned a majority of elected MPs at a general election and formed a new governmental administration within the UK" not power.... no government has outright and carte blanche power over the people!

[@veggie42]

He didn't win surrey

[@oznogguitar]

The greatest loss to the Labour movement ever, would have been a fantastic PM

[@mrwilliecowie]

The day politics died in this Country

[@leehighland5435]

lol, what tosh.

[@mrwilliecowie]

@@leehighland5435 Another brainless Tory muppet.

[@allyplumb]

I was in CANADA at the time I couldn't believe it..

[@SiVlog1989]

It is important to note that all sides of the house of commons were grieving that day, it's easier to form friendships across party boundaries than within parties believe it or not. Take Joe Biden and John Macain for example, Biden is a Democrat and Macain is a Republican and they are great friends, Biden even went so far as to say, "if I could choose any one person, should I be nominated for President, to be my Vice president then it would be Senator John Macain"

[@donalddewar1502]

sbaker190189 Good point. George Bush Sr and Bill Clinton another key example of that.

[@Amber90125]

Sad day in British Politics

[@joecurran2811]

This was a great shame for our country

[@veggie42]

Yes it was.

[@BlyatimirPootin]

I remember this day, my Grandad told me what had happened, he was a staunch conservative and was very saddened by it.

[@irishgodfatherchris]

@RichardElden Actually we found it quite refreshing that a UK citizen called for us to become a republic. it wasn't until 1984 that Australia actually severed all legal ties with the UK.

[@richardkent]

1984? Who's your head of state in 2024?

[@michaelsandford1015]

Who's John Smith

[@CUSTARDMIKE]

Fool

[@michaelsandford1015]

He's been so long he's been forgotten about ​@@CUSTARDMIKE

[@susannamarker2582]

His death was lucky for Blair, Mandelson, Brown etc. I wonder how he really died.

[@SniffMyDeadwax]

My hopes were dashed on this day.

[@skullcompco]

This was the day, the proper labour party died. He was a good man and a proper labour man. God bless.

[@MarkHarrison733]

Smith was New Labour.

[@davidclark5467]

He would make a great prime minister

[@mattponikvar4944]

In 2020 seeing Blair speak then Brown is such a funny coincidence considering they were the next two leaders of the party

[@williambulloch3219]

OH! TO HAVE A MAN OF JOHN SMITH'S CALIBER! GOD BLESS JOHN AND FAMILY! SADLY MISSED, ALWAYS! 🇬🇧🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇬🇧🇬🇧🥁🎺👏🙏👏🙏💙🧡❤😁👍

[@superyachtchef]

🌟 30 years ago, and he stood head and shoulders above this generation numpty of British politicians #datswatsup

[@hannahmcgahan8920]

This happened 7 days after my younger sister was born he'd of been a great Labour PM like Tony Blair was x

[@johnmchugh8860]

grow up ....Blair (and Bush) is a complete sociopath, a control freak and responsible for millions of deaths and the way the world is today. He is a globalist puppet and probably one of the nastiest pieces of shit ever to have entered this world. When he dies the Uk will applaud and cheer, and be grateful that he has gone forever.

[@Blubatt]

He would have been PM in 1997, if he lived. I don't think there would have been the same shift to the centre as Blair made, but certainly soft left.

[@veggie42]

Starmer could be like smith if he was more sensible and stuck to things

[@jamesbomd3503]

He didn't look much did it But when you heard of his death no matter how old you were your heart dropped to the floor

[@grahamkeithtodd]

he could have been one of the best prime minister's we ever had... what a damm shame...r.i.p john smith..

[@irishgodfatherchris]

@RichardElden you're avoiding the issue, did the public want Heath then.

[@Kevinasp]

Yet after his death he became an iconic figure amongst the Labour left.

[@Hububbfan]

Ffs, John Smith was not killed off, get a grip!

[@andrewtongue7084]

This was probably the last time that the entire House actually paid homage to a superb politician; no in-fighting or rancour; indeed, it is unrecogniseable to the shower of politicos who currently sit on those venerable benches today. I've never voted for the Conservatives, however, thirty years ago, I could at least respect their opinion - because it was delivered with dignity & aplomb. How far this country's standards have fallen into the black morass of cynicism, open contempt & unbridled vitriol....truly unfortunate..

[@asubjectiveopinion]

...and the Labour Party died with him. RIP

[@joestewart-paul7181]

Indeed it did

[@jakubwidlarz]

The day Labour died. Could it be resurrected December 12th?

[@Stratboy999]

A terrible loss for the nation. He would have smashed Thatcher.

[@Kevinasp]

Yes I know but which politician? Cameron? Hannan? Osbourne? Milliband? Hague? Clegg?

[@Kevinasp]

It was not only the day that John Smith died, but the day the Labour party died.

[@1tripz1]

I think this shows the difference between younger Blair and Brown. It is tragic that Labour didn't select Brown as leader then. Blair's response is so trivial and famously repeated later when Lady Died. I hope Brown finds his way soon as Cameron and cohorts are a danger.

[@TroyConvers5000]

Prophetic words...

[@gc7820]

Sadly thanks to his death we ended up with Bliar

[@jamesschofield4695]

At 4:12 , is that a dog on the floor in front of the opposition front bench?

[@SamHodkin23]

Yep! Guide dog for David Blunkett.

[@jamesschofield4695]

@@SamHodkin23 of course! Thanks