Long-standing Labour MP Paul Flynn dies aged 84
Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has paid tribute to his "good friend" saying he had a "dry wit" and was an "independent thinker".
Monday 18 February 2019 06:19, UK
Paul Flynn - a maverick, a campaigner and a parliamentary wit - has died at the age of 84.
He was the second eldest MP in parliament and one of Labour's longest serving, elected to the seat of Newport West in South Wales in 1987.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has paid tribute, calling him a "good friend" with a "dry wit" and an "independent thinker".
Mr Flynn's was not a career of high office but instead of long-fought causes.
He was on the left of the party - a long-standing opponent of the Iraq war and Western military interventionism and the monarchy.
He was also noted as the doughtiest proponent of cannabis legalisation.
Having spent the mainstay of his parliamentary career on the backbenches, in his twilight years he achieved a final distinction: the oldest shadow cabinet member for a century.
In 2016 after Jeremy Corbyn faced an exodus of MPs from his top team, Mr Flynn was dragooned as shadow leader of the House.
He was believed to be the oldest person to speak from the frontbench since Gladstone was prime minister.
Eventually, as MPs trickled back, he was released to the backbenches, joking: "Our glorious leader, in an act of pioneering diversity, courageously decided to give opportunities for geriatrics on the front bench and this was so successful that he decided to create opportunities for geriatrics on the back bench.
"I'm double blessed."
This was characteristic of the man's wit and he was much respected across the Commons.
It will be a duller place without his colour.
This will mean the first by-election of the year in his seat of Newport West.
On paper it should be a safe Labour hold, with a majority of around 5,500.
Nonetheless as South Wales seats go, it isn't as scarlet red as many of its neighbours and was briefly Tory before Mr Flynn's victory in the late 1980s and the Conservatives are second there.
It was a Leave-voting seat and how the main parties perform will be closely watched.
It could well be the first electoral contest after March 29th - Brexit day- or at least when Brexit day is supposed to be.
If it is delayed, it could be the first opportunity for Nigel Farage's new Brexit Party to dip its toe into the electoral waters.
But that's for another day.
For now, Welsh Labour and the party more generally will mourn one of their longest serving comrades.
First minister of Wales and Welsh Labour leader Mark Drakeford said the MP was a "giant of the Welsh Labour movement".
He added: "Today's news will be a source of great sadness to all those who knew him.
"He was one of the most effective communicators of his generation - inside the House of Commons and outside.
"But it was Paul's willingness to speak up for causes beyond the political mainstream which marked him out as a politician of real courage and integrity.
"I first met him more than 35 years ago, and it has been a privilege to have worked with him, in the run-up to the devolution era and beyond."
Jo Stevens, Labour MP for Cardiff Central, described Mr Flynn as a "kind, principled, fascinating man".
She tweeted: "So very sad to hear that my lovely colleague Paul Flynn MP has died. A kind, principled, fascinating man who was devoted to his constituents & constituency.
"Sending deepest sympathy to Sam, their family & to all our comrades in @nptwestlab."