Alistair Darling: Former Labour chancellor dies aged 70
Alistair Darling, who served as chancellor under Gordon Brown, has died at the age of 70, his family has confirmed.
The Labour Party stalwart became a household name when the then-prime minister gave him the keys to the Treasury back in 2007 – running the department throughout the global banking crisis and staying in post until Mr Brown lost the election in 2010.
But he had been a presence in Tony Blair’s government from the start, beginning as chief secretary to the Treasury in 1997 following Labour’s landslide victory, and going on to run a number of departments – including work and pensions, transport and trade.
Politics latest: Tributes to former chancellor flood in from across UK
Lord Darling’s family confirmed the news on Thursday, saying he had died after a short spell in Western General Hospital under the “wonderful care” of the cancer team.
In their statement, they described him as “the much-loved husband of Margaret and beloved father of Calum and Anna”.
After the news was announced, tributes poured in from all sides of the political spectrum, led by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, who said he had “lived a life devoted to public service”.
He said Lord Darling’s “calm expertise and honesty” as chancellor helped guide the country through the 2008 financial crisis, but that his “greatest professional pride” was serving his constituents in Edinburgh as an MP between 1987 and 2015.
He was perhaps best known for his time as chancellor
Echoing the sentiment, ex-prime minister Mr Brown tweeted that he “like many, relied on his wisdom, calmness in a crisis and his humour”, adding: “He will be missed by all who knew him.”
In another statement, Mr Blair said: “He was highly capable, though modest, understated but never to be underestimated, always kind and dignified even under the intense pressure politics can generate.
“He was the safest of safe hands. I knew he could be given any position in the Cabinet and be depended upon. I liked him and respected him immensely as a colleague and as a friend.”
One of his Conservative successors, Jeremy Hunt, described him as “one of the great chancellors”, saying he would be “remembered for doing the right thing for the country at a time of extraordinary turmoil”.
And the woman hoping to follow in his footsteps to the Treasury, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves, said she would miss “his advice and his counsel – but, more than anything I will miss his friendship, his kindness and decency, his humour and his warmth”.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Lord Darling’s passing “is a huge loss to us all”. He added: “The role he played during the 2014 Independence referendum was vital in keeping our union together. My deepest condolences go out to his family and friends at this difficult time.”
Gordon Brown made him his righthand man after he moved into Number 10 in 2007
Despite being Born in London, Lord Darling came from a long line of Scots, and returned to the country for school, before going to the University of Aberdeen, where he became president of the Student’s Representative Council.
After graduating, he became a solicitor, but having joined Labour aged just 23, it wasn’t long before he changed course to enter politics, being elected as a councillor on the Lothian Regional Council in 1982.
He became the MP for Edinburgh South in the 1987 election, ousting the Conservative candidate from the seat. When that constituency was abolished in 2005, he ran for – and won – the seat of Edinburgh South West until he left the Commons in 2015.
Lord Darling also played a prominent role in the Scottish independence referendum in 2014 as the chairman of the “Better Together” campaign.
Former first minister and SNP leader, Nicola Sturgeon, said despite the “clashes” the pair had over the country’s future, she “always found him to be a man of intellect and principle”, adding: “He made a significant contribution to politics and public life.”
Alistair Darling led the campaign for Scotland to remain in the UK
Lord Darling became a peer in 2015 – named as Baron Darling of Roulanish, He retired from the Lords in 2020.
His former cabinet colleagues from both the Blair and Brown years were among those marking his passing, with Hilary Benn calling him “an able, calm and thoughtful colleague” and Jacqui Smith praising his “warm, humble approach”.
From the other side of the Commons, former Tory prime minister Sir John Major described Lord Darling as “a decent man, who brought civility, reason and intelligence to politics”, while David Cameron said he was “thoroughly kind”.
Politics
Sir Keir Starmer vows to defend budget decisions ‘all day long’ as farmers slam ‘disrespectful’ PM
Sir Keir Starmer has said he will defend the decisions made in the budget “all day long” amid anger from farmers over inheritance tax changes.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced last month in her key speech that from April 2026, farms worth more than £1m will face an inheritance tax rate of 20%, rather than the standard 40% applied to other land and property.
The announcement has sparked anger among farmers who argue this will mean higher food prices, lower food production and having to sell off land to pay for the tax.
Sir Keir defended the budget as he gave his first speech as prime minister at the Welsh Labour conference in Llandudno, North Wales, where farmers have been holding a tractor protest outside.
Sir Keir admitted: “We’ve taken some extremely tough decisions on tax.”
He said: “I will defend facing up to the harsh light of fiscal reality. I will defend the tough decisions that were necessary to stabilise our economy.
“And I will defend protecting the payslips of working people, fixing the foundations of our economy, and investing in the future of Britain and the future of Wales. Finally, turning the page on austerity once and for all.”
He also said the budget allocation for Wales was a “record figure” – some £21bn for next year – an extra £1.7bn through the Barnett Formula, as he hailed a “path of change” with Labour governments in Wales and Westminster.
And he confirmed a £160m investment zone in Wrexham and Flintshire will be going live in 2025.
‘PM should have addressed the protesters’
Among the hundreds of farmers demonstrating was Gareth Wyn Jones, who told Sky News it was “disrespectful” that the prime minister did not mention farmers in his speech.
He said “so many people have come here to air their frustrations. He (Starmer) had an opportunity to address the crowd. Even if he was booed he should have been man enough to come out and talk to the people”.
He said farmers planned to deliver Sir Keir a letter which begins with “‘don’t bite the hand that feeds you”.
Farmers’ tractor protest outside the Welsh Labour conference in Llandudno, North Wales
Mr Wyn Jones told Sky News the government was “destroying” an industry that was already struggling.
“They’re destroying an industry that’s already on its knees and struggling, absolutely struggling, mentally, emotionally and physically. We need government support not more hindrance so we can produce food to feed the nation.”
He said inheritance tax changes will result in farmers increasing the price of food: “The poorer people in society aren’t going to be able to afford good, healthy, nutritious British food, so we have to push this to government for them to understand that enough is enough, the farmers can’t take any more of what they’re throwing at us.”
Mr Wyn Jones disputed the government’s estimation that only 500 farming estates in the UK will be affected by the inheritance tax changes.
“Look, a lot of farmers in this country are in their 70s and 80s, they haven’t handed their farms down because that’s the way it’s always been, they’ve always known there was never going to be inheritance tax.”
On Friday, Sir Keir addressed farmers’ concerns, saying: “I know some farmers are anxious about the inheritance tax rules that we brought in two weeks ago.
“What I would say about that is, once you add the £1m for the farmland to the £1m that is exempt for your spouse, for most couples with a farm wanting to hand on to their children, it’s £3m before anybody pays a penny in inheritance tax.”
Read more:
Ex-Labour adviser suggests doing to farms ‘what Thatcher did to coal mines’
Farmers ‘could block ports and disrupt food supply’
Welsh farmer Gareth Wyn Jones
Ministers said the move will not affect small farms and is aimed at targeting wealthy landowners who buy up farmland to avoid paying inheritance tax.
But analysis this week said a typical family farm would have to put 159% of annual profits into paying the new inheritance tax every year for a decade and could have to sell 20% of their land.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The Country and Land Business Association (CLA), which represents owners of rural land, property and businesses in England and Wales, found a typical 200-acre farm owned by one person with an expected profit of £27,300 would face a £435,000 inheritance tax bill.
The plan says families can spread the inheritance tax payments over 10 years, but the CLA found this would require an average farm to allocate 159% of its profits each year for a decade.
To pay that, successors could be forced to sell 20% of their land, the analysis found.
Trump’s administration could push DeFi from niche to mainstream, with crypto advocates eyeing potential pro-crypto policy shifts.
A former Conservative MP has said he felt “enormous guilt” when he found out he was the victim of a Westminster honeytrap scandal.
William Wragg resigned from the parliamentary party in April after he admitted giving out fellow politicians’ phone numbers to the suspected perpetrator of the sexting scam.
He said he felt threatened and pressured by the “catfish” after exchanging explicit photos with them.
Mr Wragg divulged the numbers to what he thought was a real person on a dating app, amid fears that the intimate images of himself would be leaked.
The former Tory party whip said he first saw news articles about the scandal when he was on a train.
The 36-year-old told the BBC: “My stomach just dropped.
“When I found out some of the things that had been going on, I just felt enormous guilt, enormous remorse.”
After the former Hazel Grove MP handed over the personal information, the catfish told Mr Wragg to vouch for their identity with their next potential victims, with the catfish telling their fresh targets they were a former researcher for Mr Wragg.
Mr Wragg agreed and this is what he feels “the most regret for” as it was “deceitful”.
Pic: PA
Panic attacks
After he was allegedly blackmailed, Mr Wragg started having panic attacks, with instances of yelling, crying, and swearing shocking his sleeping flatmates.
Police are investigating the scandal with at least 12 men with links to Westminster believed to have received unsolicited messages from the aliases “Charlie” and “Abi”.
The fake accounts were allegedly part of the scam to get MPs and other people in politics to send explicit images and other private or sensitive information.
Unlike others who were approached by the catfish accounts, Mr Wragg approached “Charlie” himself after spotting the profile on gay dating app Grindr.
And he thought the account was a real person before exchanging explicit photos with the catfish.
Suicidal thoughts
When the scandal broke, the humiliation and shame became too much for Mr Wragg.
He recounted photographers and the media camped outside his parents’ house, which is where he went to as he began to have suicidal thoughts.
Shortly after receiving medical attention, he returned to Westminster to resign as Conservative whip and from his posts on two parliamentary committees.
He had already announced he would not run in the next general election.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Man detained
In June, a member of the Labour Party aged in his mid-20s was apprehended in Islington, north London, on suspicion of harassment and offences under the Online Safety Act.
He has since been released on bail.
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports7 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Environment1 year agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway