This year marks 20 years since the death of Labour MP Robin Cook and Compass are marking the occasion with the inaugural Robin Cook Memorial Lecture, to be delivered by Clive Lewis, Labour MP for Norwich South and former leadership contender.
Organised in partnership with Labour Campaign for Electoral Reform (LCER) and SERA, Labour’s Environment Campaign, the lecture on Thursday 18 September will be an opportunity “to revisit Cook’s legacy and explore the undeniable importance of his vision and values today”.
Cook, Labour MP for Edinburgh Central then Livingston, is remembered as “a politician of remarkable principle, skill and curiosity”, say Compass. “He advocated for ‘an ethical dimension’ to foreign policy as the UK’s foreign secretary before his resignation in opposition to the Iraq War in 2003.
“A champion for democracy, climate and human rights, Robin was integral to the introduction of Scottish and Welsh devolution, the passing of the Human Rights Act, and re-casting climate change as an issue of geopolitical importance.
He was also “a great friend to Compass and a torchbearer for the humane, radical and expansive social democracy that we desperately need today”.
Among those responding to the lecture and sharing their reflections on Cook and his legacy will be:
- Greg Power, former special advisor to Cook.
- John Denham, director of the Centre for English Identity & Politics, former MP for Southampton Itchen, and former Secretary of State for Communities & Local Government and Innovation, Universities & Skills.
- Sue Goss, writer, political scientist and commentator.
- Sandy Martin, chair of the LCER a member of the executive of SERA.
The lecture will be held at Cecil Sharp House in Camden, north London. Tickets are available here for £14, £7 and £3.50.
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