Jon Kay and Sally Nugent hosted BBC Breakfast on Monday, June 15, and paid a heartfelt tribute to former Labour deputy leader Lord Hattersley, who has died at the age of 93.
Tributes on BBC Breakfast
During the live broadcast from the Salford studio, Jon Kay shared tributes following the death of Lord Hattersley, who served as deputy leader of the Labour Party under Neil Kinnock. The Sheffield-born politician entered Parliament in 1964 as the MP for Birmingham Sparkbrook, a role he held for over three decades. He also served as a cabinet minister under James Callaghan in the 1970s and became the party's deputy leader in opposition for nine years after Labour's 1983 defeat to Margaret Thatcher's Conservatives.
Jon Kay began the segment: "Tributes have been paid to the former deputy leader of the Labour party, Lord Hattersley, who has died at the age of 93. The Prime Minister said he was a giant of the Labour movement. Here's our political correspondent Iain Watson to look back at his life."
Iain Watson's Report
In a pre-recorded clip, Iain Watson said: "They called it the dream ticket. Neil Kinnock, then from his party's left, and Roy Hattersley, from the right, came together to form the Labour leadership team after an historic defeat in 1983. The red flags were replaced by red roses. But there was also a change of substance as well as image. Unilateral disarmament and a commitment to withdraw from Europe were amongst the policies ditched."
Watson continued: "The Trotskyist militant tendency was expelled and Roy Hattersley hoped to help lead Labour back to power. But growing up he had rather different aspirations. He wanted to play football for Sheffield Wednesday or cricket for Yorkshire. Instead, he tackled the role of local councillor in Sheffield, then became the Labour MP for Sparkbrook in inner city Birmingham."
The reporter concluded: "Roy Hattersley will be remembered as a Labour loyalist who fought to modernise his party, and a man unwilling to compromise his principals to advance his own career." A tribute card then appeared on screen.
Political Reactions
Sir Keir Starmer said: "Through decades of service, including as deputy leader and a minister, he never lost his belief in a more equal Britain. My thoughts are with his wife Maggie and his family." Deputy Labour leader Lucy Powell noted that Lord Hattersley had "shaped the Labour Party and British politics," adding: "He was a giant of our movement and of that generation of politicians. He was kind, thoughtful and full of sound advice." Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said Lord Hattersley spent his life "devoted to politics, public duty and writing."
BBC Breakfast airs daily on BBC One at 6am.
