Editing Michael Foot (section)

{{Short description|British politician (1913–2010)}}
{{Other people}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = [[The Right Honourable]]
| birthname        = Michael Mackintosh Foot
| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|FRSL}}
| image            = Michael Foot (1981).jpg
| caption          = Foot in 1981
| office           = [[Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom)|Leader of the Opposition]]
| monarch          = [[Elizabeth II]]
| primeminister    = [[Margaret Thatcher]]
| term_start       = 10 November 1980
| term_end         = 2 October 1983
| predecessor      = [[James Callaghan]]
| successor        = [[Neil Kinnock]]
| office1          = [[Leader of the Labour Party (UK)|Leader of the Labour Party]]
| deputy1          = [[Denis Healey]]
| term_start1      = 10 November 1980
| term_end1        = 2 October 1983
| predecessor1     = James Callaghan
| successor1       = Neil Kinnock
| office2          = [[Deputy Leader of the Labour Party (UK)|Deputy Leader of the Labour Party]]
| leader2          = James Callaghan
| term_start2      = 5 April 1976
| term_end2        = 10 November 1980
| predecessor2     = [[Edward Short, Baron Glenamara|Edward Short]]
| successor2       = Denis Healey
| office3          = [[Shadow Leader of the House of Commons]]
| leader3          = James Callaghan
| term_start3      = 4 May 1979
| term_end3        = 10 November 1980
| predecessor3     = [[Norman St John-Stevas]]
| successor3       = [[John Silkin]]
{{collapsed infobox section begin|last = yes|Ministerial offices
| titlestyle       = border:1px dashed lightgrey}}{{Infobox officeholder
| embed            = yes
| office           = [[Leader of the House of Commons]]
| primeminister    = James Callaghan
| term_start       = 8 April 1976
| term_end         = 4 May 1979
| predecessor      = Edward Short
| successor        = Norman St John-Stevas
| office1          = [[Lord President of the Council]]
| primeminister1   = James Callaghan
| term_start1      = 8 April 1976
| term_end1        = 4 May 1979
| predecessor1     = Edward Short
| successor1       = [[Christopher Soames]]
| office2          = [[Secretary of State for Employment]]
| primeminister2   = [[Harold Wilson]]
| term_start2      = 5 March 1974
| term_end2        = 8 April 1976
| predecessor2     = [[William Whitelaw]]
| successor2       = [[Albert Booth]]
{{collapsed infobox section end}}
}}
{{collapsed infobox section begin|last = yes|Parliamentary offices
| titlestyle       = border:1px dashed lightgrey}}{{Infobox officeholder
| embed            = yes
| parliament       = United Kingdom
| constituency_MP  = [[Blaenau Gwent (UK Parliament constituency)|Blaenau Gwent]]
| prior_term       = [[Ebbw Vale (UK Parliament constituency)|Ebbw Vale]] (1960–1983)
| term_start       = 18 November 1960
| term_end         = 16 March 1992
| predecessor      = [[Aneurin Bevan]]
| successor        = [[Llew Smith]]
| constituency_MP1 = [[Plymouth Devonport]]
| term_start1      = 5 July 1945
| term_end1        = 6 May 1955
| predecessor1     = [[Leslie Hore-Belisha]]
| successor1       = [[Joan Vickers]]
{{collapsed infobox section end}}
}}
| birth_date       = {{birth date|1913|7|23|df=y}}
| birth_place      = [[Plymouth]], [[Devon]], England
| death_date       = {{death date and age|2010|3|3|1913|7|23|df=y}}
| death_place      = [[Hampstead, London]], England
| party            = [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]
| spouse           = {{Marriage|[[Jill Craigie]]|1949|1999|end=died}}
| father           = [[Isaac Foot]]
| mother           = {{#ifexist: Eva Mackintosh|[[Eva Mackintosh]]}}
| relatives        = {{ubl|[[Dingle Foot|Sir Dingle Foot]] (brother)|[[Hugh Foot, Baron Caradon|The Lord Caradon]] (brother)|[[John Foot, Baron Foot|The Lord Foot]] (brother)|[[Paul Foot (journalist)|Paul Foot]] (nephew)|[[Sarah Foot (journalist)|Sarah Foot]] (niece)|[[Oliver Foot]] (nephew)}}
| resting_place    = [[Golders Green Crematorium]], London
| signature        = Michael Foot Signature.svg
| education        = {{ubl|[[Plymouth College]]|Forres School|[[Leighton Park School]]}}
| alma_mater       = [[Wadham College, Oxford]]
}}

'''Michael Mackintosh Foot''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|FRSL}} (23 July 1913{{spaced ndash}}3 March 2010) was a British politician who was [[Leader of the Labour Party (UK)|Leader of the Labour Party]] and [[Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom)|Leader of the Opposition]] from 1980 to 1983. Foot began his career as a journalist on [[Tribune (magazine)|''Tribune'']] and the ''[[Evening Standard]]''. He co-wrote the 1940 polemic against [[appeasement]] of [[Adolf Hitler]], ''[[Guilty Men]]'', under a pseudonym.

Foot was a [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) from [[1945 United Kingdom general election|1945]] to [[1955 United Kingdom general election|1955]] and [[1960 Ebbw Vale by-election|1960]] to [[1992 United Kingdom general election|1992]]. A passionate orator, and associated with the left wing of the Labour Party for most of his career, Foot was an ardent supporter of the [[Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament]] (CND) and of British withdrawal from the [[European Economic Community]] (EEC). He was appointed to [[Harold Wilson]]'s [[Cabinet (UK)|Cabinet]] as [[Employment Secretary]] in 1974, and he later was [[Leader of the House of Commons]] from 1976 to 1979 under [[James Callaghan]]. He was also [[Deputy Leader of the Labour Party (UK)|Deputy Leader of the Labour Party]] under Callaghan from 1976 to 1980.

Elected as a compromise candidate, Foot served as Labour leader and Leader of the Opposition from [[1980 Labour Party leadership election (UK)|1980]] to [[1983 Labour Party leadership election (UK)|1983]].<ref>{{cite news | url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/10/newsid_4699000/4699939.stm | work= BBC News | title= 1980: Michael Foot is new Labour leader | date= 10 November 1980 | access-date= 31 August 2011 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110813001659/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/10/newsid_4699000/4699939.stm | archive-date= 13 August 2011 | url-status= live }}</ref> Not particularly telegenic, he was nicknamed "[[Worzel Gummidge]]" for his rumpled appearance.<ref name=Michael_Foot_reflects_on_his_infamous_jacket/><ref name=Baker_Worzel_Gummidge/><ref name=How_Worzel_came_to_save_the_Labour-Party/> A faction of the party broke away in 1981 to form the [[Social Democratic Party (UK)|Social Democratic Party]] (SDP). Foot led Labour into the [[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983 general election]], when the party obtained its lowest share of the vote in [[1918 United Kingdom general election|65 years]] and the fewest parliamentary seats since [[1935 United Kingdom general election|1935]], which remained the case until Labour's defeat at the [[2019 United Kingdom general election|2019 general election]].<ref>{{cite news|first= Robert |last= Philpot |url= http://www.totalpolitics.com/history/371552/1983-election-alliance-and-skirmish.thtml |title= 1983 election: Alliance and skirmish |work= Total Politics |location= UK |date= 4 June 2013 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140323014954/http://www.totalpolitics.com/history/371552/1983-election-alliance-and-skirmish.thtml |archive-date= 23 March 2014 }}</ref> He resigned the party leadership following the election, and was succeeded as party leader by [[Neil Kinnock]].