The House Article | ‘Never afraid to rebel’: Jeremy Corbyn pays tribute to Harry Barnes

2003: Harry Barnes at Labour Against The War event, London | Image by: PA Images / Alamy

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I was very sad to hear that the former MP Harry Barnes had passed away. Harry was born in Easington, County Durham. He became a member of the Independent Labour Party and its successor organisation Independent Labour Publications in the 1970s, and was later elected as the Labour MP for North East Derbyshire in 1987 – a seat he went onto serve for almost 20 years.

Harry entered Parliament shortly after I did. He was very active throughout the 1984-5 miner’s strike and supportive of the very just cause of the miners in all parts of the country. He was a great friend of the trade union movement – and a regular speaker at the annual Chesterfield May Day Gala. A dedicated local MP, he was always focused on how to represent his community in Parliament. It is no surprise that so many tributes have poured in for Harry, who was a champion for his constituents for so many years.

He was, alongside me and fellow Derbyshire MPs Tony Benn and Dennis Skinner, a member of the Socialist Campaign Group, and we worked very well together on trying to steer the Labour Party in a socialist direction, rather than the retreat into neoliberal managerialism that occurred with the development of New Labour. He also worked well with great colleagues and friends in Sheffield such as Bob Cryer. He was a very different character to all of them, but they all blended well together – and were a real example of how differences in personalities and approaches can be a positive force in the development of a powerful political presence.

Harry was not afraid to rebel against the Labour whip – one thing we had in common! Harry rebelled against Tony Blair on issues such as asylum, benefit cuts for single parents and the privatisation of air traffic control.

In Parliament, Harry was particularly interested in Ireland and the relationship between Britain and Ireland, and I found discussions with him very interesting and thoughtful – even at times when we weren’t exactly on the same page. We travelled together to Northern Ireland, along with Dennis Canavan and other MPs on a delegation, during which time I got to know him much better.

Harry was not afraid to rebel against the Labour whip – one thing we had in common!

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Harry was relentless in pursuing issues of social justice and workers’ rights, and particularly passionate about opportunities for adults in further education. He believed that too many people were unable to achieve what they wanted in life because of the barriers they faced in an inadequate education system. 

As an MP, he frequently held Sunday evening discussion group meetings, where he would come into his own with his encyclopaedic knowledge of labour movement history.

After he stepped down from Parliament, Harry, to his credit, remained very active in local affairs, serving as the political education officer for the Dronfield branch of the Labour Party. He was still very involved in local events, local politics and his community. As he had done as an MP, he always made himself open to debate and discussion.

When I visited his old constituency with Chris Peace, the Labour candidate for North East Derbyshire in 2019, Harry was there strongly in support – it was wonderful to see him. Harry set an example to many of us, and I was so grateful for his solidarity and comradeship. He was a decent, thoughtful socialist, who always sought to share his knowledge and share his ideas, and bring other people on board in that same direction. Thanks, Harry. 

My thoughts are with his friends, family, and all those he touched with his wisdom and kindness. Rest in peace.

Jeremy Corbyn is Independent MP for Islington North