It is the mark of a person when, in the hours after their death, tributes come from less expected corners. Here are some of the early ones, from across the political spectrum and beyond…
First, from the world of politics…
https://twitter.com/sebastianepayne/status/1076571700370829312?s=21
“I am deeply saddened and shocked by the news about Paddy. He was motivated by values of compassion, decency and a profound commitment to make the world a better place… He will be hugely missed by his many friends and admirers.”
Tony Blair’s statement https://t.co/670JHUABpM
— Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (@InstituteGC) December 22, 2018
Absolutely devastated to hear of the death of Paddy Ashdown. I'm actually crying. He has been a very good friend to me over the years and would always go out of his way to help me. What a bastard cancer is. A liberal light has gone out tonight. pic.twitter.com/7G3akpqEVl
— Iain Dale ⚒️🇺🇦.🇮🇱 (@IainDale) December 22, 2018
Saddened by the loss of a towering political figure who was a strong European and a dedicated constitutional reformer. Paddy Ashdown had endless energy, was prepared to cross party lines and served the UK and international communities with distinction. Thoughts with his family.
— Gordon Brown (@GordonBrown) December 22, 2018
I am so very sorry to hear of the death of my old friend Paddy Ashdown and before the ghastlies get at him , he was a formidable Royal Marine ,a bold and effective Liberal Leader and a first class administrator.#abigbeastgoesfartoosoonRIP
— Nicholas Soames (@NSoames) December 22, 2018
Shocked at the passing of former leader of the liberal democrats Paddy Ashdown, whilst we had our political differences he was a staunch defender of human rights and social justice, a truly sad evening for all who fight for social justice in our country. R.I.P Paddy xxxx pic.twitter.com/sqrsKmmsce
— Angela Rayner 🌹 (@AngelaRayner) December 22, 2018
But, of course, Paddy had a far wider impact on the world around him…
We are deeply saddened to hear of the death of our friend and loyal supporter, Lord Paddy Ashdown. He will be remembered as a strong advocate for Bosnia, serving as the country's High Representative & doing his best for the victims & survivors of genocide https://t.co/1apuIvs2O6 pic.twitter.com/MIkcZe603d
— Remembering Srebrenica (@SrebrenicaUK) December 22, 2018
So sad to hear the news of Paddy Ashdown. I saw the huge international respect he won for his inspirational leadership in Bosnia. His combination of prodigious energy, infectious enthusiam and total integrity came through in everything he did. And his capacity for friendship.
— Peter Ricketts (@LordRickettsP) December 22, 2018
Paddy Ashdown was a friend of the Syrian Revolution. He supported us in bringing the Assad regime to justice, he supported us in humanitarian aid and vouched for aid drops in Syria – and openly berated those who didn't care for Syrian lives. RIP Lord Ashdown.
— Razan Saffour (@RazanSpeaks) December 22, 2018
On behalf of everyone at Unicef, we are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Paddy Ashdown. Supporting the organisation for more than 8 years as President & Ambassador, Lord Ashdown was a passionate advocate for children everywhere. Our thoughts go out to Jane & his family. pic.twitter.com/WxAUbcZaXh
— UNICEF UK (@UNICEF_uk) December 22, 2018
and in some more unexpected places…
We send condolences to Paddy Ashdown’s family and friends. We often saw him in our reading rooms researching. He was latterly the President of @FriendsTNA and was a passionate supporter of our work.
— The National Archives (@UkNatArchives) December 22, 2018
But, for now, I’ll finish with a typical Paddy anecdote. If it had been anyone else, you probably wouldn’t believe it. But Paddy…
Paddy Ashdown, a true Liberal hero, RIP. When he was High Rep in Bosnia his team had a tip off about an incoming car bomb. Paddy's HQ was next to a petrol station, but he told his team to stay calm: "Don't worry. I tried to blow up a petrol station once – it didn't work."
— George Parker (@GeorgeWParker) December 22, 2018
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8 Comments
It was Major’s that actually made me burst into tears. Incredibly generous, as you would expect from him.
It’s all those supposedly hard-headed journos saying such generous things about him.
And Nicholas Soames. Of all people. That was unexpected.
And the Archbishop of Canterbury too.
It’s certainly a measure of the man that he has united the words of journalism, politics and the church.
A politician from an age when politics seemed to bring forth men of substance and with a hinterland. He will be badly missed, we need more Paddies in politics, we can but hope men/ women like him arise.
Just such an iconic figure. The leader when I was born. Hard to imagine the political scene without him.
Lots of worthies used come to Southwark in the 1990s to have photo opportunities on high rise estates and then go away again. Ashdown’s visits had rather more depth. This is from his book “Beyond Westminster”:
“And the local council hasn’t helped much either. They painted out the graffiti which covers the Gloucester Grove estate stair wells, ignoring warnings from the fire brigade about fire resistant paint. Someone set fire to a pile of refuse at the bottom of one of the stair well towers, turning the inside into a raging chimney of burning paint. An unwary resident, opening a passage door to the lift, was met by the fire ball which pursued him, forcing him to fell down the corridor and out of the window to his death”.
This was written in 1993, almost a quarter of a century before the Grenfell disaster.
The world has just got a little darker.
Paddy was a great, good and inspirational man.
Nothing from Jezza or the Maybot then?
Such a sad, sad day. In these days of self-serving, clueless political pygmies, he stood tall as a statesman who always put the nation’s interests first.
May’s tribute is decent enough. Jezza’s is all him about himself and ‘damaging government policies’.
Paddy was and still must be an inspiration to us all. He helped lead us from 22 MPs to 46 MPs in only two general elections and make the South West a Lib Dem Heartland we could all be proud of, reaching out to left of centre voters who learned to trust him to deliver those social ambitions we still aspire to.
Partly through ambition (to build a long term future for Liberal Democracy), partly through the sheer passion of his vision, but also through dogged determination to make it happen despite all that the Tories could throw against us, he gave us a hard edge to face down and defeat those people who would destroy what is good in Britain, and not let us settle for second best.
We need his like. I will miss him terribly.