I am saddened by news of the death of Russell Johnston, one of the true characters of Liberal and then Liberal Democrat politics over nearly half a century.
My first encounters were as a Young Liberal Democrat in the late eighties, attending various European Liberal events. He was, at that time, one of the two Liberal Democrat members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (Lord Mackie of Benshie being the other), and radiated an enthusiasm for Europe that so many of his generation shared.
He had, by then, already served as a member of the European Parliament and was the leading figure within the Party on foreign affairs. In 1990, I found him in the bar at Shannon Airport, and was moved to buy him a drink (this was a bit of a 'bloke' thing, I suspect) for which he was most gracious.
Of course, in anorak circles, he will go down in history for winning the tightest four-way marginal in history in 1992, when he won his seat with just 26% of the vote. The fourth-placed Conservative gained 22.6%...
Latterly, he wasn't the most frequent attender in the Lords, although he was always there when his vote was needed.
In many ways, the place of his death speaks volumes about his life. He believed passionately in a European ideal and there are many who will hope that the torch he carried for so many years finds a worthy bearer.
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