Second World War veteran and political commentator Harry Leslie Smith has died aged 95.
Mr Smith, who spent part of his childhood in Bradford and returned to the city regularly, most recently to speak at the Bradford Literature Festival in 2016.
A champion of human rights and the welfare state, he appeared at the Labour Party conference in 2014 to speak about life before the NHS.
A post on his Twitter account, which has more than 250,000 followers, announced his death on Wednesday morning.
Mr Smith had been critically ill in hospital in Ontario, Canada, where he had lived since emigrating in the 1950s.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn paid tribute to Mr Smith at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday afternoon.
Mr Corbyn said: “He was an irrepressible campaigner for the rights of refugees, for the welfare state and for our National Health Service. He was passionate about the principle of healthcare for all as a human right. We thank Harry for his life and his work.”
Mr Corbyn was also among the many paying tribute on Twitter, the social networking website where Mr Smith found fame late in life.
We will all miss Harry Leslie Smith - he was one of the giants whose shoulders we stand on.
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) November 28, 2018
A World War Two veteran who dedicated his life to fighting for our National Health Service, a peaceful world and for countries to meet their moral responsibility by welcoming refugees. pic.twitter.com/1RW63dSa6Y
What a man. What a life. My thoughts to all the family and friends of the world’s oldest rebel, the remarkable @Harryslaststand
— Tracy Brabin MP (@TracyBrabin) November 28, 2018
A bit of Bradford has gone https://t.co/CS3FwzogXz
— Ralph Berry🌹🚃 (@CllrRalphBerry) November 28, 2018
We had the honour of welcoming @Harryslaststand to the festival in 2016 and to have received his friendship & support ever since. We are heartbroken to hear that he has passed away today at the age of 95. He was an inspiration to us, and to so many others https://t.co/pAYftNf3aG pic.twitter.com/tNFtiYCllK
— BradfordLitFest (@BradfordLitFest) November 28, 2018
Sad news to hear of the passing of @Harryslaststand a man of real integrity & who constantly stood up for the rights of the most vulnerable & marginalised. I remember the support he offered the rally against cuts to housing benefit for young people in Bradford #istandwithharry
— Richard Dunbar (@rdunbar83) November 28, 2018
Mr Smith, an RAF veteran, survived the Great Depression and Second World War, and rose to prominence in 2013 after writing an article for the Guardian declaring that he would no longer wear a poppy as he felt the centenary of the First World War was being politicised to justify more recent conflicts.
He used his newfound social media following to speak out against austerity.
The son of a coal miner, Mr Smith has spoken of growing up in the "barbarous" and "bleak" time of the 1920s and 1930s, saying "it was an uncivilised time because public healthcare didn't exist".
He suffered the loss of his sister Marion at the age of three from tuberculosis and would go on to support his family aged seven when he took up work as a barrow boy for a brewery in Bradford.
The then shadow health secretary Andy Burnham was moved to tears by Mr Smith at the 2014 Labour Party conference, where he received several standing ovations as he told his story.
He called voting for Labour and the creation of the health service after the 1945 general election one of the proudest moments of his life.
"People ... who because of the welfare cuts and austerity measures are struggling once more make to ends meet, and whose futures I fear for," Mr Smith said.
"Today we must be vigilant. We must never ever let the NHS free from our grasp because if we do, your future will be my past.
"My life is your history and we should keep it that way."
The global financial crisis of 2008 prompted Mr Smith to take a "last stand" against what he saw as the excesses of capitalism and erosion of public services.
He became a sought-after commentator, writing for national newspapers from his left-wing perspective and his book, Harry's Last Stand, was released to critical acclaim in 2014.
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