Gransnet forums

News & politics

Alistair Darling has died

(38 Posts)
Germanshepherdsmum Thu 30-Nov-23 12:59:51

Only 70. I respected him very much.

HousePlantQueen Thu 30-Nov-23 17:01:32

Sad news indeed.

DaisyAnneReturns Thu 30-Nov-23 17:03:22

Thank you for your post Urmstongran. So well summed up.

Bella23 Thu 30-Nov-23 17:04:17

RIIP lord Darling, one who thought hard and worked even harder a sad loss.So young at only 70.

maddyone Thu 30-Nov-23 17:11:37

Germanshepherdsmum

BBC lunchtime news said that he had cancer.

Yes, that’s where we saw it and that he died of cancer.

Germanshepherdsmum Thu 30-Nov-23 17:14:52

He was of a different and much missed generation of politicians.

Suki70 Thu 30-Nov-23 17:26:33

A friend’s son worked under him at the Treasury and thought highly of him as a boss and a person. Behind the scenes he was as kind and helpful to his young staff as he was an effective politician. His wife Maggie welcomed the young man into their home in Edinburgh and gave my friends a tour of No 10.

varian Thu 30-Nov-23 18:37:12

The very idea of "decency" being an adjective applied to a politician since 2015 seems quite absurd - a legacy of a lost era

varian Thu 30-Nov-23 18:40:14

Alistair Darling was a decent politician and I'm sure that there still are decent politicians in the House of Commons now -

I have met some, but they are not the politicians that the right wing press energetically promotes.

Oldbat1 Thu 30-Nov-23 22:36:34

Sad news. He was very well respected as a Chancellor and as a person.

Urmstongran Fri 01-Dec-23 09:47:10

I’ve just read an obituary on Alistair Darling and it seems he was born on 28 November 1953. He only became 70 years two days before he died.

Witzend Fri 01-Dec-23 09:49:56

Very sad, 70 is no age nowadays.
He was one of the best, with integrity, not just out for himself.

Chocolatelovinggran Fri 01-Dec-23 13:11:09

I agree with you all. He seemed a man of honour in a climate of dishonour.