Cyril Smith

Cyril Smith

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Cyril Smith

Sir Cyril Smith, MBE (born June 28, 1928, Rochdale) is a former British Liberal Democrat politician. He served as Liberal (later Liberal Democrat) Member of Parliament for the constituency of Rochdale from 1972 until retiring in 1992.

Cyril Smith addressing the Liberal Party Assembly in 1987; party leader David Steel can be seen to the left

His larger-than-life personality (and stature) and considerable political acumen have made him one of the most popular MPs in British history. His nickname, "Big Cyril", was also the title of his autobiography. A common joke on the size of the Parliamentary Liberal Party in the early 1970s was that only one taxi would be needed to transport the entire party; after Smith's election, the party could fill two taxis. Another famous joke of the time described Sir Cyril as "a man who has had more dinners than you've had hot dinners", an insult he took with commendable good grace.

Smith was educated at Rochdale Grammar School for Boys then began work at a mill in Littleborough, Greater Manchester, owned by the Harveys, a notable Liberal family. Smith joined the Liberal Party in 1945 and was a member of the National Executive Committee of the Young Liberals in 1948 and '49. Between 1948-50, still at a very young age he was Liberal agent in Stockport but following the poor general election results experienced by the Liberal Party in 1950 and 1951, he soon crossed over to the Labour Party. He became a councillor and took particular pride in his record in education for having overseen the introduction of comprehensive education in his district with markedly less controversy than in surrounding areas. He was first elected to Rochdale council as a Labour candidate in 1950 and became mayor in 1966. That year he was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the Queen's Birthday Honours List and he was knighted in 1988.

Always a natural dissenter, Smith left the Labour Party after a dispute with his council colleagues, and with four other Labour councillors set up the Rochdale Independent Party. By 1968 however he was ready to re-join the Liberals. His defection, and subsequent election as a Liberal MP, caused some surprise after his prominent role in opposing Ludovic Kennedy, the Liberal candidate in the 1958 Rochdale by-election.

Having been Liberal candidate in Rochdale at the 1970 general election when he took the party to second place, Smith won the seat at the 1972 by-election with a large swing from Labour to the Liberals, the final tally giving Smith a majority of 5,171. He won the seat on five further occasions. In June 1975 Smith was appointed as the Liberals' Chief Whip and faced much pressure from the press in the wake of a sexual scandal involving party leader Jeremy Thorpe. Smith resigned from the Whips' Office on health grounds. Unlike many Liberal Democrats he voted in favour of capital punishment.

In February 2006 Smith was taken to hospital after a fall at his Rochdale home. According to his brother, Cyril Smith had been weakened by dehydration and low potassium levels. Although retired, Cyril Smith is still active in his community, frequently visiting schools. His hobbies include collecting autographs.

During the summer of 2008 he came under fire for his alleged part in supporting asbestos production in Rochdale in the 1980s.In November 2008 the British daily newspaper The Mirror called for Smith to be stripped of his knighthood.

References

Big Cyril: Autobiography (1977) ISBN 0-491-02261-1. Smith's autobiography.
Reflections from Rochdale: As I Saw it and as I See it (1997) ISBN 1-85187-340-6. A later slimmer autobiographical work.
Cyril Smith, entry by Tim Farron in Brack et al (eds.) Dictionary of Liberal Biography (Politico's, 1998)