TRIBUTE TO JEREMY THORPE ON HIS 80TH BIRTHDAY
May 5, 2009 3:51 PM
Nick Harvey said of former North Devon MP, Jeremy Thorpe, on the occasion of his 80th birthday, 'He is a larger-than-life character and was immensely popular in North Devon, and was a big figure for the Liberal Party, keeping it going at a time when things had been at a low ebb, dragging it in to the modern era.
'He was a gifted communicator and fought the 1974 national election as a national leader without really leaving North Devon.
'Mr Thorpe had used his powerful position during minority Labour administrations to get funding for the North Devon District Hospital and for the link road; these were two of his major legacies.
'He kept going the traditional Liberal vote in North Devon after a period when the Liberals didn't have the seat. After his misfortunes, when I did win it back, it was building on the foundations that Jeremy had built.'
These comments were first published in North Devon Journal on 30 April 2009
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