PERHAPS it was the formal announcement which was most affecting. At exactly 2.33pm the House was jammed, not with its usual ragged sprawl, but as if MPs were already at the funeral, sitting stiffly upright, the rowdy benches turned briefly into pews.
Betty Boothroyd said very simply: ╥I regret to have to report to the House the death of the Right Honourable John Smith QC, member for Monklands East.╙ It seemed touch and go whether she would reach the end without breaking down.
On the Labour benches several people were crying, and some of those were men. Others had that blank stare we associate with war hospitals. Neil Kinnock and John Prescott gazed straight ahead, but you could tell they were not seeing anything.
Outside the Chamber male Labour MPs hugged each other. Others were obviously red-eyed, clutching handkerchiefs. Sometimes they scurried along with their heads down.
I don╒t recall seeing the whole House of Commons grieve before. Some deaths are profoundly shocking, like Airey Neave╒s murder, but this time the mood was glum, sober and raw, a dead weight of unhappiness. I was reminded of the hours after the Brighton bomb.
A Tory rushed by, a florid rightwinger famous for his attacks on Smith. ╥This has knocked the guts out of this place,╙ he said. But MPs never quite stop plotting. This is not hypocrisy; it╒s in their nature. ╥It╒s certainly bought time for John Major,╙ said another Tory rightwinger sardonically. ╥Perhaps as much as a week.╙
At 3.30pm they met again for the tributes. Christian funeral observances move from the pain of the burial, then on to the lighter mood of the party, which becomes a celebration of the life that is gone. Somehow the Commons managed to reflect the same progress, as the sense of loss mingled with an outpouring of affection.
The Prime Minister was open, generous, even humorous. If Mr Major managed anything else with so sure a touch, he╒d be unchallenged as leader. He called him one of the outstanding modern parliamentarians, fair minded, ╥and a tough fighter for what he believed in╔ on good days ╤ and for him there were many good days ╤ his speeches could shape and move the will of the House.╙
Normally when the House of Commons is said to be at its best, it is actually at its worst. Yesterday for once they got it right.
The Leader of the Labour Party rose. The move from misery to commemoration was under way. Mrs Beckett said he had been ╥no sobersides. He had a wicked sense of humour.╙ She had seen a childhood photo of him as Just William, shirt tails out and tie up round his ear. ╥Those who saw him every day had no difficulty in detecting that boy in the statesman and leader.╙ Yet he had a natural strength. ╥I have never known a man so at ease with himself.╙
His last words in public had been impromptu, at Wednesday╒s gala dinner. ╥The opportunity to serve our country ╤ that is all we ask.╙ Let it, she said, stand as his epitaph.
Neil Kinnock, whose reputation has soared, since the Tories always love those who no longer threaten them, quoted Shelley: ╥He burst the icy chains of custom, and shone, a day star of his age╔╙ He went on: ╥We will always be grateful for the joyful privilege of knowing John Smith.╙
At the end, the Speaker called Dennis Skinner, who is now almost a part of our constitution. He wanted the House to pass the disabled rights bill unanimously as a tribute.
Labour MPs let their tension out in laughter. At first I thought Skinner╒s remarks tasteless, personal grandstanding. But then I thought, no. Smith always knew you had to be partisan to achieve anything. So, a mini-rant from Skinner made an excellent tribute too.
