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I have just heard in the last hour of

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the passing of Tam dalel Tam dalel was a

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legend in the labor movement and a

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legend in the House of Commons I served

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with him for decades in the House of

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Commons and for years before I entered

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it and indeed after I left it tamel made

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a conscious decision to join the labor

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movement he was in fact a blue blooded

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Aristocrat who lived in a castle given

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to his ancestor in centuries past for

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ferocious Service as a soldier in the

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office of the crown tamel decided to

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side with the workingclass communities

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of West loan including the coal mining

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communities around Blackburn West loan

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and that was one of the reasons why Tam

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achieved Reed legendary status during

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the Great minor strike of

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1984 85 he stood alongside the mining

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community and he pursued the hammer of

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Britain's miners Margaret ther for

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decades not just for the way that she

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treated the miners but the conduct of

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the fand's war his pursuit of Mrs thater

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led to him several times being thrown

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out of the chamber and I saw it

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happening I knew that it was going to

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happen because Tam would never back down

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from his repeated assertion that Mrs

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thater had lied about the course of the

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Argentine ship the belgrano he knew and

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said so that she lied about the policing

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of the minor strike and he collaborated

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closely with my friend Sheamus mil in

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his Epic book The Enemy Within about

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that minor strike which should be read

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by all of you tamel was a man who got

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fixed on causes and issues early earlier

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than anybody else he fixed on the

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anguish the agony the Dreadful death

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toll in Iraq as a result of sanctions

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after the first war and I worked closely

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with him on that if Tam took up your

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cause if Tam adopted your principles you

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could be certain that everyone would

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know about it and that he would never

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ever waver he was a fantastically

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generous person I remember once I scored

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a half decent goal against the Blackburn

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miners at a labor party fet in his

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constituency that he organized

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afterwards Tam said in his uh tremendous

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unrepeatable sonorous voice George I

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haven't seen a left foot like that since

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pusas you may say that that makes him a

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master of the

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overstatement and certainly it's true

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that Tam's fixations could sometimes be

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wrong or at least in my opinion I

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opposed him in his long campaign

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culminating in the west loan question to

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Scupper Scottish Devolution mind you I

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believed that home rule for Scotland

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would Forstall preclude obviate the

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breakup of Britain and the separation of

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Scotland Tam believed it was a Motorway

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to separation with no

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exit ramp history will tell whether Tam

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was right or whether I was about that

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I'm extremely sad to hear the news

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because I can still see Tam bobbing up

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and down in his seat in the House of

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Commons harrying ministers with short

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forensic questions often questions for

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which there was only a yes or a no could

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be the answer he was a supreme

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parliamentarian he was a fantastic

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family man his now Widow Kathleen was

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the daughter of the late and great John

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Wheatley one of the finest men who ever

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wore the labor colors in labor history

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in the history of Scotland and my

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condolences go to her and all of Tam's

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family they should take some consolation

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from the fact

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the all over Britain Palestine Iraq

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indeed all around the world people will

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receive the news of the passing of the

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father of the House of Commons Tam Diel

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with sadness and with respect Tam I hope

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that you're now in heaven with Tony Ben

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your great friend may God Rest You and

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may you rest in peace