Latest messages of condolence for death of Phil Mitchinson

From Wales

Like so many people who have sent messages to Marxist.com, I was deeply shocked and saddened to hear about the untimely death of Phil Mitchinson at the ridiculously young age of 38.

Phil had a fantastic brain, and had that remarkable ability of grasping complex theory and applying them to contemporary situations, blowing away the reformist mists which fog political debate today. An article by Phil or a brief explanation by him would contain far more foresight and understanding than a bin full of Guardians, Observers or New Statesmans.

I have known Phil for just over twenty years, although it is my loss that I didn't really recognise his qualities until the period of the split. It was this time that Phil really grew in my eyes. I was living in Cambridge at the time and knew little about the split. On my return to Swansea, the contrast between the false hopes and promises of the old organisation and the reality at which the new organisation stared could not have been greater. Whilst one promised an organisation with thousands of members and even more contacts, Phil's assessment was that we would gain ones and twos over the next period. For Phil, it was never a question of numbers, always a question of understanding.

For a now all too brief period Phil would speak to the handful of comrades in Swansea every week. Looking back now, what a privileged position we few were in! The pints I bought for him (he would rarely say no) were a small price to pay for such outstanding revolutionary understanding. Personal and political circumstances dictated he moved to London, but he still kept regular appointments with us older comrades in South Wales. We must have deeply frustrated him at this time as we failed to capitalise upon his work in the area. However, whatever frustrations he personally held about us, he would always patiently explain with the good humour so many have written about. Even so, whilst not exactly writing us off, he knew that the future of Marxism in Britain lay with the youth and quite correctly, he devoted more time to the more active layers of the working class. In his less frequent visits to South Wales, his talks would take on an increasingly internationalist flavour. He was intensely proud of the strides forward Marxism had made internationally, some of which quite frankly put Britain in the shade.

It was one of the rare privileges of life to see a young man such as Phil develop into a reliable and insightful revolutionary. The last article I read by him was on the Labour leadership "Blair's Departure Date: Yesterday is not soon enough" - a truly astonishing piece of writing which cut through the morass of reformist political chatter. As another comrade pointed out: he was the revolutionary we all wanted to become.

His attention to detail was also astonishing, whether it be quoting a newspaper, a poem or his favourite book (or so he said) Jack London's "The Iron Heel". Similarly, in his personal life, despite travelling around Britain and Europe and sometimes beyond, he found time every Christmas to send me and my family a card.

I have always felt close to Phil, we shared the same birthday and my partner's son shares the same birthday as one of Phil's sons, Jack. It was my privilege to know Phil as a comrade and a friend. I hope he looked upon me in the same way. It goes without saying that we are all devastated and feel very deeply for his sons Jack and Sam and his partner Mandy.

Mark Ludlam

From Lebanon

Dearest Comrades,
My greatest condolences for comrade Phil as I read the horrible news on Monday. I was totally depressed from the news, and sadly very few in Lebanon know him because they do not follow the website.
Best Regards and Anti-Reformist yours,
Marxist From Lebanon

From Morocco