Lord O’Neill of Clackmannan obituary

Labour defence spokesman who helped to move the party away from a policy of unilateral nuclear disarmament in the 80s

Martin O'Neill, latterly Lord O'Neill of Clackmannan, was an able Labour politician who as shadow defence secretary in the late 1980s played a crucial role in moving the party away from the policy of unilateral nuclear disarmament under Neil Kinnock.

A well-liked figure across all sections of the party, O'Neill, who has died aged 75, was appointed as deputy spokesman on defence by Kinnock in 1984 as the policy transition began to evolve, though Labour still went into the election three years later on a unilateralist platform.

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