Robin Cook

The Right Honourable Robert Finlayson Cook usually called Robin Cook (February 28, 1946, Bellshill – August 6, 2005, Inverness), was a politician in the British Labour Party. He was Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2001. He resigned from his post as Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council on March 17, 2003 while protesting the 2003 invasion of Iraq. At the time of his death he was president of the Foreign Policy Centre and a vice-president on the America APPG and the Global Security and Non-Proliferation APPG.

Parliamentary career

He contested the Edinburgh North constituency in the 1970 general election, later becoming MP for Edinburgh Central in 1974, and representing Livingston from 1983 to the time of his death. He joined the left-wing Tribune Group of the Parliamentary Labour Party and frequently opposed the policies of the Wilson and Callaghan governments. He was an early supporter of constitutional and electoral reform (although he opposed devolution in the 1978 referendum, eventually coming out in favour on election night in 1983), and of efforts to gain more women MPs. He also supported unilateral nuclear disarmament and the abandoning of the Labour Party's euroscepticism of the 1970s and 1980s. Despite his role in modernising the party under Kinnock and Smith, Cook was said to be never fully commited to Blair's "New Labour" project, considering it a step too far to the right.

Related Topics:
Edinburgh North - 1970 general election - MP - Edinburgh Central - 1974 - Livingston - 1983 - Left-wing - Tribune Group - Parliamentary Labour Party - Electoral reform - Devolution - Nuclear disarmament - Euroscepticism

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He became known as a brilliant parliamentary debater, and rose through the party ranks, becoming a frontbench spokesman in 1980, and reaching the Shadow Cabinet in 1987, as Shadow Social Services Secretary. He was campaign manager for Neil Kinnock's successful 1983 bid to become leader of the Labour Party, and was one of the key figures in the modernization of the Labour Party under Kinnock. He was Shadow Health Secretary (1989-92) and Shadow Trade Secretary (1992-94), before taking on foreign affairs in 1994, the post he would become most identified with (Shadow Foreign Secretary 1994-97, Foreign Secretary 1997-2001).

Related Topics:
Shadow Cabinet - 1987 - Neil Kinnock

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1994, following the death of John Smith, he ruled himself out of contention for the Labour leadership, apparently on the grounds that he was insufficiently attractive to be an election winner, although two close family bereavements in the week in which the decision had to be made may have contributed.

Related Topics:
1994 - John Smith

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On 26 February 1996, following the publication of the Scott Report into the 'Arms-to-Iraq' affair, he made a famous speech in response to the then President of the Board of Trade Ian Lang in which he said "this is not just a Government which does not know how to accept blame; it is a Government which knows no shame". His parliamentary performance on the occasion of the publication of the five-volume, 2,000-page Scott Report — which he was given just two hours to read before the relevant debate — was widely praised on both sides of the House as one of the best performances the Commons had seen in years, and one of Cook's finest hours.

Related Topics:
26 February - 1996 - Scott Report - Arms-to-Iraq - Ian Lang

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As Joint Chair (alongside Liberal Democrat MP Robert Maclennan) of the Labour-Liberal Democrat Joint Consultative Committee on Constitutional Reform, Cook brokered the 'Cook-Maclennan Agreement' that laid the basis for the fundamental reshaping of the British constitution outlined in Labour's 1997 General Election manifesto. This led to legislation for major reforms including Scottish and Welsh devolution, the Human Rights Act and removing the majority of hereditary peers from the House of Lords. Others have remained elusive so far, such as a referendum on the electoral system and further House of Lords reform.

Related Topics:
Liberal Democrat - Robert Maclennan - 1997 - Devolution - Human Rights Act - House of Lords

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After his 2003 resignation from the Cabinet, Cook remained an active backbench Member of Parliament until his death. After leaving the Government, Cook was a leading analyst of the decision to go to war in Iraq, giving evidence to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee which was later relevant during the Hutton and Butler inquiries. He was sceptical of the proposals contained in the Government's Higher Education Bill, and abstained on its Second Reading http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200304/cmhansrd/vo040127/debtext/40127-37.htm#40127-37_div38. He also took strong positions in favour of both the proposed European Constitution http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200405/cmhansrd/cm050209/debtext/50209-17.htm#50209-17_spnew4 and a majority-elected House of Lords http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200203/cmhansrd/vo030204/debtext/30204-08.htm#30204-08_spmin0 http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm200405/cmhansrd/cm050223/halltext/50223h01.htm#50223h01_spnew1, about which he said (whilst Leader of the Commons), "I do not see how can be a democratic second Chamber if it is also an election-free zone".

Related Topics:
Backbench - Iraq - Hutton - Butler - Higher Education Bill - Second Reading - European Constitution - Majority-elected House of Lords

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the years after his exit from the Foreign Office, and particularly since his resignation from the Cabinet, Cook made up with Gordon Brown after decades of personal animosityhttp://politics.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,9115,1544637,00.html — an unlikely reconciliation after a mediation attempt by Frank Dobson in the early 1990s had seen Dobson conclude (to John Smith) "You're right. They hate each other." Cook and Brown focused on their common political ground, discussing how to firmly entrench progressive politics after the exit of Tony Blair.http://comment.independent.co.uk/columnists_m_z/steve_richards/article304440.ece Chris Smith said in 2005 that in recent years Cook had been setting out a vision of "libertarian, democratic socialism that was beginning to break the sometimes sterile boundaries of 'old' and 'New' Labour labels."http://comment.independent.co.uk/commentators/article304442.ece Some commentators and senior politicians said that Cook seemed destined for a senior Cabinet post under a Brown premiership.http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article304437.ece

Related Topics:
Gordon Brown - Frank Dobson - Chris Smith

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~