Alistair Darling has died aged 70 after a brief battle with cancer. Lord Darling, who served as chancellor under then prime minister Gordon Brown, has died at the age of 70, following a spell in hospital.
His family confirmed the news about the Labour peer on Thursday, calling him "the much-loved husband of Margaret and beloved father of Calum and Anna". A statement issued on behalf of the family said: “The death of Alistair Darling, a former Chancellor of the Exchequer and long-serving member of the Labour cabinet, was announced in Edinburgh today.”
“Mr Darling, the much-loved husband of Margaret and beloved father of Calum and Anna, died after a short spell in Western General Hospital under the wonderful care of the cancer team.” From 2012 to 2014, Darling was the chairman of the Better Together Campaign, a cross-party group that successfully campaigned for Scotland to remain part of the United Kingdom in the 2014 independence referendum.
Lord Darling was appointed Chancellor by Gordon Brown after he took over from Tony Blair in Number 10 back in 2007. He ran the Treasury throughout the global banking crisis, and stayed in post until Mr Brown lost the election in 2010. Darling was a vocal advocate for the Remain campaign for the EU referendum on 23 June 2016.
He began as chief secretary to the treasury in 1997 following Labour's landslide victory. He also worked in work and pensions, transport and trade. He was a member of parliament from 1987 until he stepped down in 2015. Darling joined the Labour Party aged 23, in 1977. He became a solicitor in 1978, then changed course for the Scots bar and was admitted as an advocate in 1984.
Darling was nominated for a peerage in the 2015 Dissolution Honours, becoming Baron Darling of Roulanish and taking his seat in the House of Lords on 10 December 2015. He retired in 2020.
