Thoughtful, polite and Left-of-Centre, he was the Eurosceptic whom federalists found it hardest to dislike.
This old-style socialist turns out to be much more of a small-c conservative than his many critics are willing to admit.
Had he been on the Left, he would have been regarded as one of our towering public intellectuals. But he committed the ultimate sin: he was a Thatcherite.
But the Conservatives need fundamental change.