
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, May 13, 1994                   TAG: 9405130103
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LONDON                                LENGTH: Short

BRITAIN'S LABOR PARTY IN CRISIS AFTER LEADER DIES

Opposition leader John Smith died from a heart attack Thursday, creating a crisis for the Labor Party just as it was looking strong enough to regain control of government after 15 years on the sidelines.

Smith's death at age 55 came as Labor was hoping to exploit weaknesses in Prime Minister John Major's Conservative Party, which has governed Britain since the election of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1979.

Parliament was stunned. Speaker of the House Betty Boothroyd faced a crowded, silent House of Commons to announce Smith's death in a shaking voice. All business was canceled so lawmakers could hold an afternoon tribute.

Smith, who had recovered from a near-fatal heart attack in 1988, was at his London home Thursday morning when he was stricken again. He was taken to nearby St. Bartholomew's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The Labor Party was left wondering "how we move forward in the light of this tragedy," spokesman Dave Hill said.

No Labor leader stood out as a clear favorite to succeed Smith, probably ensuring a fight over the party's leadership. Party members fear a leadership struggle could divide them at a time the Conservatives are weak because of deep public unhappiness over Britain's longest recession since World War II.

Deputy leader Margaret Beckett does not have a high profile. Early speculation on a new leader focused on several of Smith's ranking deputies: John Prescott, the party's labor spokesman; Gordon Brown, spokesman on economic issues; and Tony Blair, who speaks on law and order.

Keywords:
POLITICS

by CNB