Michael Meacher was my friend and colleague for more than 30 years. We were on the same side in the ferocious struggle for the soul of the Labour party in the late 1970s, and later served together as ministers in Tony Blair’s government.

Michael combined a razor-sharp intellect and boyish charm with an engaging naivety that he never lost during his 45 years in parliament. An unrepentant Bennite, a label fatal to many a political career, he was widely respected for his ability to master a brief and his capacity for hard work. As a result, during the long years of opposition he was regularly re-elected to the shadow cabinet and held half a dozen frontbench posts, in all of which he performed with distinction.

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Source: Guardian Environment