John Morrison Cole (23 November 1927 – 7 November 2013) Donald Macintyre, in an obituary in The Independent, described him as "the most recognisable and respected broadcast political journalist since World War II." Cole took on the task of reorganising the paper's "amateurish" system for gathering news. Colleague David McKie wrote that one of his strengths was "to ask the awkward question that punctured glib assumptions and casual simplicities." He had little previous television experience but proved a "natural broadcaster." Reporting through most of the premiership of Margaret Thatcher, he became a familiar figure on television and radio. An astute observer of the political scene, Cole was one of the earliest to forecast Thatcher's resignation as prime minister in 1990, Cole was trusted by both politicians and the public. His distinctive Northern Irish accent – lampooned by Private Eye and Spitting Image, who made a puppet representing him – led the way for BBC broadcasters with regional accents.
He retired as political editor in 1992 (aged 65), compulsory at that date,
In 2007 he wrote an article for the British Journalism Review, blaming both politicians and the media for the fact that parliamentarians were held in such low esteem, being particularly scathing of Alastair Campbell's influence during Tony Blair's premiership. and received the Richard Dimbleby Award from BAFTA in 1993.
Personal life
In his private life Cole was a supporter of the Labour Party, and was a believer in the trades union movement. He considered that the combating of unemployment was one of the most important political issues. He was a British Republican, and a committed Christian, associating in the latter part of his life with the United Reformed Church at Kingston upon Thames. He was described by colleague Peter Preston as "warm, generous and the kind of colleague we all wished to be."
Death
Cole suffered health problems in retirement including heart problems and two minor strokes. In 2009 he was diagnosed with cancer. He subsequently developed aphasia. The Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond said that Cole was "an extremely able journalist but also extraordinarily helpful and generous to a young politician."