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Shirley Williams

(67 Posts)
PippaZ Mon 12-Apr-21 18:02:09

Another sad day. She was such a likeable politician and respected by many on all sides of the political divide.

suziewoozie Mon 12-Apr-21 18:01:29

Yes varian if only we had a democratic electoral system. ?

Deedaa Mon 12-Apr-21 18:01:24

I always liked Shirley Williams and her mother was a wonderful woman too.

eazybee Mon 12-Apr-21 18:01:09

Never really given the positions and authority she merited in the Labout Party.
She fell in my estimation when as Secretary of State for Education she deliberately moved house so that her daughter was in the catchment area of the exclusive Godolphin and Latymer school, thus able to avoid the Comprehensive system she was imposing on every one else.

varian Mon 12-Apr-21 17:56:32

The internal struggles of the Labour Party have condemned this country to far too many years of ~Tory rule.

Shirley Williams realised that could happen and saw quite clearly that if the UK was ever to become a progressive country we needed an alliance of Social Democrats and Liberals.

If we actually had a democratic electoral system and a free press not controlled by ultra right wing foreingers and tax exiles then it could well have been possible for Shirley Williams to have become PM.

What a difference that would have made

M0nica Mon 12-Apr-21 17:49:28

Anniebach Discretion is soemtimes the better part of valour and she could see that the Labour Party was moving inexorably to the far left and there was nothing she could do to change its course

Better to work for a party with policies she could whole heartedly support than become more marginalised in a party she gave so much to.

An honourable and honest woman whose death will leave a mark on both parties she worked within.

Anniebach Mon 12-Apr-21 17:44:03

I was so sorry she left the Labour Party because of the far left, I
hoped she would have stayed and faced them

varian Mon 12-Apr-21 17:30:32

For the first time in my life I have shed a tear for someone who I never met.

My husband met Shirley Williams when they went canvassing together about eleven years ago. He could not believe how energetic and enthusiastic she was canvassing for the Liberal Democrats.

I think that she, more than any politician of the last sixty years, could have steered our country in a different and better direction..

How much better our history might have been if Shirley Williams, rather than Margaret Thatcher had become our first woman PM.

suziewoozie Mon 12-Apr-21 17:29:06

Ahhh John Smith - that was truly tragic. A real ‘what if’ political event

foxie48 Mon 12-Apr-21 17:26:40

I also had huge respect for her, they don't seem to make them like her anymore.

EllanVannin Mon 12-Apr-21 17:24:22

Two very much revered politicians Shirley Williams and John Smith, the like of who we'll never ever see again in politics again.

suziewoozie Mon 12-Apr-21 17:02:00

I really admired her very much whilst I disagreed with her on certain policy issues and was sorry when she left the Labour Party as they could have done with her. And in a very irreverent way, I loved the way she clearly never cared about how she looked. She came from a privileged background and was firmly in that Fabian tradition of the Labour Party. I would say that basically I always felt she had integrity.

Aldom Mon 12-Apr-21 17:01:28

I have always respected and admired Shirley Williams. A life well lived. RIP

Aveline Mon 12-Apr-21 16:59:08

I always respected her. Wish there were more like her today. RIP

Ellianne Mon 12-Apr-21 16:40:57

RiP
Yes she was well liked by many.
She could well have become Prime Minister but left Labour to form the Social Democratic Party as one of the 'Gang of Four'. Only 2 left now Callistemon! Eeks shock

EllanVannin Mon 12-Apr-21 16:34:26

A brilliant and very fair politician who was very feeling for her public.
RIP Shirley Williams, wherever you went you fought for justice.

Callistemon Mon 12-Apr-21 16:29:10

Baroness Williams of Crosby to give her full title, has died today at the age of 90.

A remarkable woman, true to herself and her convictions.

She could well have become Prime Minister but left Labour to form the Social Democratic Party as one of the 'Gang of Four'.

RIP Shirley Williams