John Smith (Labour Party leader)

Smith was born at Baddarroch, Dalmally, Argyll, the eldest of three children of Sarah Cameron, née Scott (29 July 1910 – 11 January 1997), and Archibald Leitch Smith (18 June 1907 – 1981).

At the time of Smith's birth, his father was schoolmaster at Portnahaven, Islay; however, two years later he became the headmaster of the primary school at Ardrishaig, Argyll, which Smith went on to attend.

John Smith (13 September 1938 – 12 May 1994) was a British Labour Party politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from July 1992 until his death from a heart attack in May 1994.

He was also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Monklands East.

From September 1952, Smith attended Dunoon Grammar School, lodging in the town with a landlady and going home during the school holidays, before enrolling at the University of Glasgow.

He joined the Labour Party in 1955.

He studied History from 1956 to 1959, and then Law, from 1959 to 1962.

Smith first stood as a Labour parliamentary candidate aged 23 at a by-election in 1961 in the East Fife constituency; he contested that seat again in the 1964 general election.

As it was a safe seat for the Unionist Party (who at the time ran in place of the Conservatives), Smith came second by some distance on both occasions.

Smith became involved in debating with the Glasgow University Dialectic Society and the Glasgow University Union, and in 1962 won The Observer Mace debating competition, speaking with Gordon Hunter.

In 1963, he became a solicitor and then in 1967, an advocate at the Scottish bar, supplementing his income by working as a libel lawyer for the Daily Record and the Sunday Mail.

Smith first entered Parliament in 1970 and, following junior ministerial roles as Minister of State for Energy (1975–1976) and Minister of State for the Privy Council Office (1976–1978), he entered the Cabinet towards the end of James Callaghan's tenure as Prime Minister, serving as Secretary of State for Trade and President of the Board of Trade (1978–1979).

At the 1970 general election he was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for North Lanarkshire, succeeding Peggy Herbison.

Smith made his maiden speech on 10 November 1970, opposing the Conservative government's Family Income Supplements Act 1970.

On 28 October 1971, Smith defied the Labour whips in joining Labour MPs led by Roy Jenkins to vote in favour of entry to the European Communities.

These included Roy Hattersley, Shirley Williams, Bill Rodgers and David Owen, with all of whom he was later to sit in the Callaghan cabinet.

In February 1974, Smith declined Harold Wilson's offer of the office of Solicitor General for Scotland, not wishing his political career to become sidelined as a law officer.

In October, he was made an Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Energy.

In December 1975, he was made a Minister of State.

Smith supported James Callaghan in the Labour Party leadership election after Wilson resigned in April 1976.

When Callaghan became Prime Minister, Smith became a Minister of State at the Privy Council Office, serving with Labour's Deputy leader, Michael Foot, the Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons.

In this position, Smith piloted the highly controversial devolution proposals for Scotland and Wales through the House of Commons.

Smith's adroit handling of these proposals impressed Callaghan, and in November 1978, when Edmund Dell retired, Callaghan appointed Smith Secretary of State for Trade.

During Labour's time in Opposition to Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government, he rose through the Shadow Cabinet, serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Trade (1979–1982), Shadow Secretary of State for Energy (1982–1983), Shadow Secretary of State for Employment (1983–1984), Shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1984–1987) and Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer (1987–1992).

In this post, Smith was the youngest member of the cabinet, and served there until the 1979 general election.

Smith was voted to the Shadow Cabinet in the elections of June 1979 and would be re-elected every year until 1992.

Smith became Shadow Energy Secretary.

In the Labour leadership election of November 1980, Smith voted for Denis Healey over Michael Foot.

Smith remained in the Labour Party after figures on the right of the party formed the breakaway Social Democratic Party, remarking: "I am comfortable with the unions. They aren't. That's the big difference".

Smith voted for Healey in the deputy leadership election of September 1981.

He became a QC in 1983, the same year that his constituency became Monklands East.

During the 1983 general election, Smith concentrated on unemployment, arguing that the Conservatives had caused deindustrialisation and that a Labour government would increase investment, and therefore employment.

Smith received over 50 per cent of the vote in Monklands East, but Labour lost badly nationally.

Smith then acted as Roy Hattersley's campaign manager in the leadership election and the deputy leadership election.

After Labour leader Neil Kinnock resigned following the Party's surprise loss in the 1992 general election to new Conservative leader John Major, Smith was elected his successor in July 1992.

He continued Kinnock's moves to reform Labour, abolishing the trade union block vote at Labour party conferences and replacing it with "one member, one vote" at the 1993 party conference.

However, his overall cautious approach to reform, which was dubbed "one more heave", sought to avoid controversy and win the next election by capitalising on the unpopularity of the Conservative government.

This frustrated Tony Blair and Gordon Brown as well as Peter Mandelson.

Following Smith's sudden death in May 1994, he was succeeded as leader by Blair, who led the party to victory at the next general election in 1997.

In 1995, after his death, the competition was renamed the John Smith Memorial Mace in his honour.