John Smith (Labour Party leader) John Smith (Labour Party leader) John Smith (13 September 1938 – 12 May 1994) was a British Labour politician who served as Leader of the Labour Party from July 1992 until his death from a heart attack in May 1994. Smith first entered Parliament in 1970 and, after junior ministerial roles as Minister of State for Energy (1975–1976) and Minister of State for the Privy Council Office (1976–1977), he entered the Cabinet at the end of James Callaghan's tenure as Prime Minister, serving as Secretary of State for Trade and President of the Board of Trade (1978–1979). During Labour's time
Labour Leader the Mid Lanarkshire by-election, 1888, following which Hardie became a founder member of the Scottish Labour Party and relaunched "The Miner" as the "Labour Leader". In 1893 the Scottish Labour Party affiliated to the Independent Labour Party (ILP). Hardie became the party's first leader and began using the "Labour Leader" as a forum for the development of policy for the new party. In 1894 he was able to increase the paper's frequency from monthly to weekly. Hardie continued to publish and edit the "Labour Leader" until 1904, when he sold it to the ILP, amid some controversy on the appropriate