Sir Tony Lloyd, who previously served as shadow housing minister among a host of senior Labour positions, died “peacefully” at home yesterday, his family has said in a statement.
The MP for Rochdale, who was still working a few days before his death at the age of 73, had been diagnosed with an “untreatable” form of leukaemia.
The veteran MP revealed his diagnosis at the weekend and had been treated for blood cancer and received chemotherapy.
The family described him as “our beloved ‘Joe,’ ‘Dad’ and ‘Grandad'”.
Sir Tony first became a Labour MP in 1983 and was a foreign minister between 1997 and 1999, during Tony Blair’s government.
He was later appointed as shadow housing minister and became chair of the parliamentary Labour party.
In 2020, he was admitted to intensive care after contracting Covid-19, standing down from the shadow cabinet to focus on his recovery.
He was knighted in the Queen’s 2021 birthday honours for parliamentary services.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer paid tribute to Sir Tony’s “desire to make the world a better, fairer place”.
He commented: “The death of Sir Tony Lloyd today is a terrible loss. I know the entire Labour Party, and many beyond the Party, join me in sending our deepest condolences to Tony’s wife, Judith, his children, Siobhan, Angharad, Kieron and Ali, and his granddaughters, Carmen and Carys.
“Like them, we will remember his deep commitment to Labour values and his decency.
“We will always be grateful for his dedication to public life, his devotion to his country and his desire to make the world a better, fairer place. In the Labour Party, we will honour his legacy of service to others and his commitment to justice.
“May he rest in peace.”
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