I see that Terry Fields has died. He wasn't my cup of tea politically but he ought to be mourned because he stood out for something - Militantcy with an upper case M - that has been pretty much expunged from the polity at Westminster. Polarisation, clear and desperate division, is always more interesting than mushy indistinctiveness, which is what we have now.
It might seem a bit homespun and twee to say it but I always was impressed (though not inspired to follow suit) that he kept only that portion of his MP's salary that was equal to what he had earned in the fire brigade, giving the rest to unions and community groups. Not for him to pretty much unlimited perks of the modern politician's life. We'll overlook the facts that he was jailed for not paying his poll tax. He was a signpost, not a weathercock...although the signpost pointed towards permanent revolution rather than settled democracy. Oh well, nobody's perfect.
