August 19th, 2005
Mo Mowlam dies
I’m very sad to hear that Mo Mowlam has died. The former Northern Ireland Secretary was a popular and admired figure for her role in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. She died from an undisclosed illness that is thought to have been linked to a previous brain tumour. Mowlam was first elected an MP in 1987 and was one of the 101 women who won Labour seats when Tony Blair first came to power in 1997, but to call her a “Blair Babe” is as trite as the tabloid term itself. Despite that number, only a handful of those women came to be household names, with Mowlam possibly the best known and highly regarded of them.
It’s just a week since Robin Cook’s funeral (which Tony Blair didn’t attend), another former Cabinet member who, like Mowlam, fell foul of Tony. At the 2000 Labour Party Conference she received a longer standing ovation than the Prime Minister and in a cabinet reshuffle was demoted. In recent years, she was, like Cook, an outspoken critic of Labour Government policy. A quick look at the latest news section of 10 Downing Street today has no mention of her death as yet.
The Guardian has a comprehensive obituary, including the bizarre revelation that Mowlam may once have been stalked by American serial killer Ted Bundy.
August 19th, 2005 at 12:50 pm
It’s with regret that I noted Mo’s passing this morning. She was a very brave woman and an excellent honest politician. There are very few like her out there.
August 19th, 2005 at 11:22 pm
She was a lifeloving, realtalking, business politician. She gave everything she had to getting the Good Friday agreement concluded. The Irish people will remember her with affection. Rest her soul. I’m not a whiskey drinker myself, but I’ll raise a dram to her soon in Shanghai or somewhere.
August 20th, 2005 at 12:04 pm
Mo Mowlam is a great loss. As regards Northern Ireland Mo is a perfect example of the right person, in the right place, at the right time.