It was probably inevitable that the former Labour MP Harry Barnes, who has died aged 89 of cancer, would have very well delineated political views when he arrived in the House of Commons. He was already middle-aged, and had spent much of the previous three decades studying politics, first as a mature student and then working as an extramural lecturer on the subject, teaching others who were likewise seeking a second chance at education later in life.
Barnes, who represented North East Derbyshire from 1987 until 2005, was a serious politician, a man of principle and conviction, but also someone who recognised the need for political flexibility in evolving circumstances.
