Henry Plumb, Lord Plumb, who has died aged 97, was the only Briton to have been elected president of the European parliament. He held office from January 1987 until July 1989.
Plumb owed his victory largely to the last-minute support of the Irish MEPs, who appreciated his farming background and generally conciliatory approach, which they considered unusual in a British Conservative, and to the abstention and in some cases support of the French far right under Jean-Marie Le Pen. But Plumb was elected president above all because people across the House liked and trusted him. The bluff, affable, ruddy-cheeked exterior hid a canny pragmatist strongly committed to building bridges in the general interest, and to the European project.
.jpg?w=600)
