Roy Hattersley dead at 93: Tributes to former deputy leader and 'giant of the Labour movement'

- Get your news delivered straight to you by 7am - sign up to our new Morning Mail newsletter for FREE - See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Former Labour Party deputy leader Roy Hattersley has died at the age of 93. Born in 1932 to a working-class family in Sheffield, he went on to forge a formidable career in politics after studying economics at the University of Hull. In 1964, he was elected as the Labour MP for Birmingham Sparkbrook, a constituency he would represent for more than 32 years. Lord Hattersley, who was a respected Daily Mail columnist, held several ministerial positions during Harold Wilson's time as prime minister, including employment minister and deputy defence minister during the 1960s. From 1974 to 1976, he was appointed by Mr Wilson as minister of state for foreign and commonwealth affairs. The following year he held the position of privy councillor. And between the years of 1976 and 1979, he served as secretary for prices and consumer protection in James Callaghan's cabinet. He became Labour's deputy leader in 1983 under Neil Kinnock, after the party's second devastating defeat to Margaret Thatcher. He held the role until 1992. While their work taking on the hard-Left and confronting Militant, a Trotskyist group within Labour, did not result in victory against the Conservatives in 1987 or John Major in 1992, it would serve as the building blocks for Sir Tony Blair's 1997 victory. However, Lord Hattersley was one of New Labour's biggest critics, accusing Sir Tony of abandoning the party's fundamental vow to take on inequality. In 1997, he left the House of Commons and was made Baron Hattersley of Sparkbrook, retiring to the House of Lords. As well as working as a newspaper columnist, Lord Hattersley released more than 20 books, including histories, memoirs and biographies. In 1964, he was elected as the Labour MP for Birmingham Sparkbrook, a constituency he would represent for more than 32 years The politician appeared on Desert Island Discs in 1986, and a puppet of Lord Hattersley also featured on Spitting Image, exaggerating his speech impediment. However, he responded in good humour and is said to have praised the show for 'putting the spit in Spitting Image'. In 1956, he married Molly Loughran, but they divorced in 2013. According to court documents, they had separated five years earlier and the relationship had 'irretrievably broken down'. He then wed Maggie Pearlstine, his literary agent, who survives him. He had no children. Last night Sir Keir Starmer described him as a 'giant of the Labour movement'. He wrote on X: 'Roy Hattersley was a giant of the Labour movement. 'Through decades of service, including as deputy leader and a minister, he never lost his belief in a more equal Britain. 'My thoughts are with his wife Maggie and his family.' Former Labour strategist, Alastair Campbell, paid tribute, describing Lord Hattersley as 'a fine mind and gifted writer, a loyal and hard-working deputy to Neil Kinnock at a vital time in Labour history, and a critical friend to New Labour'. He added: 'Sheffield Wednesday to the very end! RIP Roy.' Deputy Labour leader Lucy Powell said he had 'shaped the Labour Party and British politics'. She added: 'He was a giant of our movement and of that generation of politicians. I met him a few times and he was always kind, thoughtful and full of sound advice.' Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said Lord Hattersley had spent a 'life devoted to politics, public duty and writing'. And Nigel Evans, former Conservative MP, described him as 'one of the genuine Old Labour politicians, fiercely academic with his true roots in support of working people'.