Michael Foot

The Right Honourable Michael Foot FRSL
Foot in 1981
Leader of the Opposition
In office 10 November 1980 – 2 October 1983
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Deputy	Denis Healey
Preceded by	James Callaghan
Succeeded by	Neil Kinnock
Leader of the Labour Party
In office 10 November 1980 – 2 October 1983
Deputy	Denis Healey
Preceded by	James Callaghan
Succeeded by	Neil Kinnock
Deputy Leader of the Labour Party
In office 5 April 1976 – 10 November 1980
Leader	James Callaghan
Preceded by	Edward Short
Succeeded by	Denis Healey
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
In office 4 May 1979 – 10 November 1980
Leader	James Callaghan
Preceded by	Norman St John-Stevas
Succeeded by	John Silkin
Ministerial offices Leader of the House of Commons In office 8 April 1976 – 4 May 1979 Prime Minister James Callaghan Preceded by Edward Short Succeeded by Norman St John-Stevas Lord President of the Council In office 8 April 1976 – 4 May 1979 Prime Minister James Callaghan Preceded by Edward Short Succeeded by Christopher Soames Secretary of State for Employment In office 5 March 1974 – 8 April 1976 Prime Minister Harold Wilson Preceded by William Whitelaw Succeeded by Albert Booth
Parliamentary offices Member of Parliament for Blaenau Gwent Ebbw Vale (1960–1983) In office 18 November 1960 – 16 March 1992 Preceded by Aneurin Bevan Succeeded by Llew Smith Member of Parliament for Plymouth Devonport In office 5 July 1945 – 6 May 1955 Preceded by Leslie Hore-Belisha Succeeded by Joan Vickers
Personal details
Born	Michael Mackintosh Foot (1913-07-23)23 July 1913 Plymouth, England
Died	3 March 2010(2010-03-03) (aged 96) Hampstead, London, England
Resting place	Golders Green Crematorium, London
Political party	Labour
Spouse	Jill Craigie ​ ​ (m. 1949; died 1999)​
Parent	Isaac Foot (father)
Relatives	Sir Dingle Foot (brother) The Lord Caradon (brother) The Lord Foot (brother) Paul Foot (nephew) Sarah Foot (niece) Oliver Foot (nephew)
Education	Plymouth College Forres School Leighton Park School
Alma mater	Wadham College, Oxford
Signature

Michael Mackintosh Foot FRSL (23 July 1913 – 3 March 2010) was a British politician who served as Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1980 to 1983. Foot began his career as a journalist on Tribune and the Evening Standard. He co-wrote the 1940 polemic against appeasement of Hitler, Guilty Men, under a pseudonym.

Foot served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1945 to 1955 and 1960 to 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 as Employment Secretary in 1974, and he later served as Leader of the House of Commons from 1976 to 1979 under James Callaghan. He was also 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 to 1983.^[1] His strong left-wing political positions and criticisms of his vacillating leadership made him an unpopular leader. Not particularly telegenic, he was nicknamed "Worzel Gummidge" for his rumpled appearance.^[2][3][4] A faction of the party broke away in 1981 to form the Social Democratic Party (SDP). Foot led Labour into the 1983 general election, when the party obtained its lowest share of the vote in 65 years and the fewest parliamentary seats since 1935, which remained the case until Labour's defeat at the 2019 general election.^[5] He resigned the party leadership following the election, and was succeeded as party leader by Neil Kinnock.