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politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » 26 days after losing his seat to the SNP Charles Kennedy di
politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » 26 days after losing his seat to the SNP Charles Kennedy dies at the age of 55
A police statement earlier this morning said simply “Police officers attended an address at Fort William on Monday, June 1 to reports of the sudden death of a 55-year-old man. Police were notified by ambulance service personnel. There are no suspicious circumstances.”
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I feel for his family. RIP.
1) Correlation =/= causation, and
2) Never speak ill of the dead.
:off-on-holiday:
RIP.
Southam replied stating ld colleagues who may treated Kennedy poorly re the covering up drinking Runnymede referred to etc did not preclude them feeling sad about his death. He said ' someone they knew well' in relation to Kennedy. That's clearly a reference to people who knew Kennedy feeling sad whatever happened politically.
You then wondered how many of society felt the same or wouldn't understand why those people - in reply to Southam who was talking about ld colleagues of Kennedy - would feel emotional. That gives an implication of thinking some ratio of the public think those colleagues would not feel emotions and therefore that you might be one of those people who thinks that, hence my making it a question not a statement.
I apologise if I have misread your intent but following my chain of thought above I trust you will see the reasoning behind it and genuine confusion. I certainly did not miss runnymeades post, but yours as laid out does not appear to reference the same people.
If you meant to comment on people professing emotion on here that was most unclear given the reference to 'such people' feeling emotional in reply to a post referring to ld colleagues of Kennedy being emotional. You appeared to be referencing an entirely different point.
@Mr_Eugenides: Case in point. https://t.co/B1vNjy4BJh
@Mr_Eugenides: It’s just a way of making yourself look and feel good by association. Doesn’t imply actual respect for the person’s political “courage”.
He stood up for what he thought was right. Easier if you're in charge of a third party rather than a governing one, but still a fine epitaph.
O/T - I see Paul Flynn, who is certainly on the left though very much his own man, has backed Kendall.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPCZvYu0QBA
My speculation was completely separate to any individuals who knew Kennedy on a personal basis.
Morning all
Charles Kennedy was only eighteen months or so older than me so his death raises those questions you don't like to think about too much.
I knew him more in the late 80s and early 90s when I was politically quite active in Sutton and elsewhere. I had first met him at a Liberal Assembly when he spoke on the fringe and then he was the only SDP MP who openly supported the merging of the two parties in 1987 (Robert MacLennan came along later in the process).
I was delighted to see him as President of the Liberal Democrats and he was the obvious choice to take over from Paddy in 1999. He may not have has Paddy's relentless energy but he worked hard for the party and I remember him campaigning in Romsey in 2000 to get Sandra Gidley elected.
He came to the Beddington Zero Energy Development (BedZed) soon after it opened and I was invited as a Party member to go along as one of the crowd but it was great to see him and he gave an impromptu address to us afterward which was full of wit and humour.
Much of the real business of Party Conferences (as those who have attended them will know) is done at the bars and the fringe meetings so to see him or another MP at a bar raised no eyebrows back then and I had no idea back then there was any problem.
Charles had the good fortune of leading the Party at a time of unprecdented Conservative weakness and opportunity and his courage in opposing the Iraq War, in the face of vitriolic comments from much of the Press, was incredible and he was able to reach out beyond the normal core Liberal Democrat vote into Labour areas as well as Conservative ones.
2005 was a disappointment - the Conservatives dumped IDS just in time and retreated to their core handing the election to Blair. Had Labour fallen short of a majority - well, I've often wondered what Charles would have done ? The circumstances of his departure from the leadership are well documented and didn't reflect well on the Party but as someone else once said "politics is a rough trade" and it takes no prisoners.
To lose a parent at any time is difficult as I can attest but to lose both a father and to be thrown out of a job after over thirty years must have been doubly hard. Perhaps, instead of gloating at the fall of political opponents, we might ourselves consider these are human beings with all that entails and consider whether their misfortune is really worth all our glee.
RIP Charles Kennedy 1959-2015
http://tinyurl.com/qjvrpm8
Quite unfair that he didn't get to see his party rebuilt after the coalition (he opposed).
And to those who point out that he was flawed, we all are. Some people are just better at hiding it.
Someone mentioned his age. 55. I has 2 bosses who died of heart attacks at their desks aged between 55 and 57. My own father suffered his first major angina attack at 55. A further one at 57 caused his retirement, but he died of a stroke at 62. He did not smoke or drink, but 'pressure' no doubt can have the same effect. So my understanding of Mr Kennedy's early death is quite crystal clear. The ages between 55 and 60 are telling ones for men. I have managed to make it to 64 so far.
*sighs, and returns to the leper colony on the island in the river, hoping the authorities remember to lower a basket of food from the bridge above*
"Charles Kennedy, and the heartache of losing your seat":
http://www.conservativehome.com/leftwatch/2015/06/charles-kennedy-and-the-heartache-of-losing-your-seat.html
what the two have said/written today is all the more remarkable. It might be nice to see a bit more of this in the open, but I guess the confrontational nature of our politics does not allow it.
Edited extra bit: urgent Greek debt crisis talks as deadline looms, part 97:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-32970661
I thought on his last appearance on Question Time that he seemed to be in trouble but nobody could have foreseen such a sudden tragic turn of events.
I voted Lib-Dem in 2005 because of Charles Kennedy's stance on Iraq... It's Undoubtedly this stance that he'll be remembered for.
"Charles Kennedy was one of a kind - a gentle soul who never really coped with the pressures of an abrasive career. Heartbreaking news"
https://twitter.com/lembitopik
https://twitter.com/GeorgeAylett/status/605656946457354240
There must be a lot of MPs who on losing their seat have a real tough time of it. I suspect we often don't hear about their stories.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-32970302
With Hartley out (punch, I think), Tuilagi (more violence) and maybe Cipriani, what's going on with English rugby players?
It's not exactly the same as being given the sack from your checkout job at Tesco...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-32964600
"Former Liberal leader David Steel says he will miss Mr Kennedy as a "very dear friend" who was "great fun to be with".
He says Mr Kennedy "understood" the rise of the SNP in Scotland, but "wasn't expecting to be swept away by it" at the election.
"I know that from the conversation I had with him just before the election but, you know, that's politics. That happened and he was just swept away in the tide.""
Mr. Flashman (deceased), perhaps. Maybe we'll find out.
It's not a case of feeling sorry or not for MPs but rather understanding how people make the transition from one career to another, often at a moment's notice and at a time when it can be harder to adjust.
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CK 40 a day cigarette smoker...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/11645121/Charles-Kennedy-obituary.html
But...
Michael Deacon @MichaelPDeacon 36m36 minutes ago
“Paddy Ashdown is the only party leader who’s a trained killer. Although, to be fair, Mrs Thatcher was self-taught.” Charles Kennedy
I used to be on the panel which helped former MPs and their families in difficulty (there's a levy on current MPs which funds this). People from before the period of good pensions and high payouts (which were I think introduced in the 70s and curtailed after 2010 - you now get two months' pay, I think) were often in real trouble. We were appalled to get requests for tiny sums (to repair a broken window, that sort of thing) from the widow of a former Prime Minister, who was living in utmost poverty in her 90s.
I shouldn't think these aspects were an issue for Charlie and I'm just responding to GIN rather than making any sort of comparison, but abruptly losing an apparently safe job is always a nasty shock, and it can't have helped his situation.
BTW both of the the contestants for England fly half are from Wigan. Sam Tomkins who started as a stand off has resisted RU offers and is returning to Wigan and Wigan have a new potential world class stand off in George Williams. Some might say he is world class already at the age of 20.
Mr. Ears, I'm near certain he didn't vote for it, but couldn't say if he voted against or abstained.
http://order-order.com/2015/05/26/natalie-bennett-lands-new-job-as-junior-parliamentary-staffer/#_@/WrfVj8_ypsDVNQ
Didn't agree with him on his stance on the pro EU and on immigration but we proberly on same page on social justice.
The man turned out to be a giant in politics on the Iraq war debate and his party were wrong in my view of getting rid of a principled politician leader who had his troubles.
I do not particularly complain at MPs salaries or expenses or severance. Not only of course is it an unsure future but it also takes time and dedication to get a seat and get elected. This can also affect an outside career. I think critics of employment terms should remember that.
As ever however when someone puts themselves in the firing line they will get shot at. That is part of the job of being an MP. Part of the price. That's why we are still better than Russia, where even now its the opponents of politicians who literally get shot.
For us, as Enoch said, 'All political careers end in tears'. I am sure Cameron is wise to be thinking about retiring in 5 years time.
Just a random, pointless anecdote, but I saw him once when I was walking in Parliament Sq just by the security barriers in 2006 or thenabouts. I said "Good morning, Mr Kennedy" and he said "Good morning" back. I was with an American friend, showing him the sights, and he was surprised that a party leader would walk around without a bodyguard.
Politically of course he was a might-have-been, popular and principled, but, like so many, destroyed by bad luck and a lack of self-control. We will of course never know how he would have handled the 2010 negotiations had he been in Clegg's position.
Like others, I enjoyed his appearances on HIGNFY.
Seconded. NP has made many patient and thorough replies to at times hostile questions.
Campbell should keep out of public life.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-32958033
Who could we pick instead, I wonder...??
They would have been much better listening to another less followed Labourite internet twitter troll.
http://www.oddschecker.com/cricket/ashes/test/series-correct-score