Peter Knight

Peter Knight, who died peacefully this week at the grand age of 88, was the face of the Labour Party in Lutterworth and South Leicestershire for fifty years. He served on the Town Council for nearly 40 years, the District Council, and was twice County Councillor. I was his agent for the County Election in 1989 when we lost by 6 or 8 votes. I still have nightmares about the count. Four years later we triumphed - an amazing, astounding victory. I have different dreams about that night.


Peter was chair of Lutterworth Branch on and off over the years. I tended to alternate with him for a decade or so. I could do the business well enough, and I had electoral successes of my own, but Pete was the one person everybody around here knew as LABOUR. And it wasn't just in Lutterworth. Pete was born in Leire and always maintained strong links with the rural community. He was big in Gilmorton. No offence to North Kilworth but PETE WAS BIG IN NORTH KILWORTH! You turned up with Pete in some of the villages and you didn't have to knock on doors. People came out to talk to you.


We fell out, quite badly, in the late nineties, but we made up eventually and I am proud that we did. It would be wrong to say that Pete taught me all I know about politics. In politics, as in most other things, I tend to be an autodidact. But Pete taught me everything I didn't know, and that was exactly what I needed.


The other thing we had in common was the magistracy. I don't know how long Pete served on the Bench but it must have been thirty years. I am now in my third decade as a magistrate. I probably wouldn't have put myself forward had it not been for long chats in hazy pubs with Pete Knight. Sitting in court is probably the only public service thing I do nowadays and I wouldn't miss it for the world. So that's something else I have to thank Pete for. Well... that and the housing research trip to Denmark, but let's not go into that...


I wish I had a photo to go with this post. I will find one.


Pete will be hugely missed, by his family of course, but by all those who knew and worked with him. And that's a hell of a lot of people.


Roger Wood