Tony Benn was one of the twentieth century's most charismatic politicians. Tony and Caroline had four children— Stephen, Hilary, Melissa, a feminist writer, and Joshua—and 10 grandchildren. [188] He was described as "one of the few UK politicians to have become more left-wing after holding ministerial office". Benn was a prolific diarist. Benn later attributed the collapse of the Wilson government to cuts enforced on the UK by global capital, in particular the International Monetary Fund. [132], On 21 June 2005, Benn presented a programme on democracy as part of the Channel 5 series Big Ideas That Changed The World. street fighter', You may not agree with our views, or other users’, but please respond to them respectfully, Swearing, personal abuse, racism, sexism, homophobia and other discriminatory or inciteful language is not acceptable, Do not impersonate other users or reveal private information about third parties, We reserve the right to delete inappropriate posts and ban offending users without notification. long, full and inspiring life and so proud of his devotion to [160] Benn died at home on 14 March 2014, surrounded by his family, less than a month shy of his 89th birthday. It did not give a cause for death. Tony Benn and the Five Essential Questions of Democracy ... who responded to Benn’s death Friday at age 88 with mourning for the loss of an “iconic ... struggled and persevered in the cause … Robert Edwards met Mr Benn at his Notting Hill home. [88] A supporter of the Scottish Parliament and political devolution, Benn however opposed the Scottish National Party and Scottish independence, saying: "I think nationalism is a mistake. [25] As a pilot officer, Benn served as a pilot in South Africa and Rhodesia. His family said in a statement that Benn died peacefully at his home in west London on Friday. driving force behind the decision to hold the first referendum in unwavering principles; always open to new ideas; stellar political A member of the Labour Party, he was Member of Parliament for Bristol South East and Chesterfield between 1950 and 2001. [54][55] The Peerage Act 1963, allowing lifetime disclaimer of peerages, became law shortly after 6 pm on 31 July 1963. [52] Continuing to maintain his right to abandon his peerage, Benn fought to retain his seat in a by-election caused by his succession on 4 May 1961. [173] Nine volumes of his diaries have been published. Whatever your thoughts on death may be, I hope you enjoy these random humorous quotes about mortality, death, … During Benn's time as energy minister from 1975–1979 he supported the United Kingdom's use of nuclear power. In their book The Plan, Carswell and Hannan write that "Historically, it was the left that sought to disperse power among the people. Jetzt eBook herunterladen & bequem mit Ihrem Tablet oder eBook Reader lesen. If we do not speak up now against the filthy and obscene racialist propaganda ... the forces of hatred will mark up their first success and mobilise their first offensive...Enoch Powell has emerged as the real leader of the Conservative Party. By Peter Dominiczak 14 March 2014 • 07:09 am. William Benn was given the title of Viscount Stansgate in 1942: the new wartime coalition government was short of working Labour peers in the upper house. of socialism who encouraged me to join Labour in 1977: wonderful [127] In February 2004 and 2008, he was re-elected President of the Stop the War Coalition. "[99] Ultimately Kinnock won the contest, formally replacing Foot as party leader in October of that year. Now it is trying to use prostitution as a way to make deportation of the vulnerable more acceptable. You have the satellites coming in now—well, it is the multinational church all over again. political orators from an age when the public meeting was a part of The death of Tony Benn is devastating to me, obviously to his family and to millions all around Britain and the world who recognized him as a friend, … I've made a million mistakes and they're all in the diary. His second son Hilary was a councillor in London, stood for Parliament in 1983 and 1987, and becoming Labour MP for Leeds Central in 1999. people's rights”. He was an active member of the Fabian Society and served as Chairman from 1964 to 1965. The Shadow Cabinet voted to support a referendum on 29 March 1972, and as a result Roy Jenkins resigned as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party. [115] Jonathan Freedland writes in The Guardian that "For [Tony Benn], even benign rule by a monarch was worthless because the king's whim could change and there'd be nothing you could do about it. heartfelt thanks to all the NHS staff and carers who have looked Later in his diary, (25 October 1977) Benn wrote that he "loathed" the EEC; he claimed it was "bureaucratic and centralised" and "of course it is really dominated by Germany. (1925 – 12 January 1942), The Hon. His most recent public appearance was in December when he spoke An election court found that the voters were fully aware that Benn was disqualified, and declared the seat won by the Conservative runner-up, Malcolm St Clair, who was at the time also the heir presumptive to a peerage. He was an influence on the politics of Jeremy Corbyn, who was elected Leader of the Labour Party a year after Benn's death, and John McDonnell, who was Corbyn's Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer. the Viscount Stansgate (17 November 1960 – 31 July 1963), Anthony Wedgwood Benn, Esq. It did not give a cause for death. [76] In response, Benn later recalled that: "I retorted that their policy was a siege economy, only they had the bankers inside the castle with all our supporters left outside, whereas my policy would have our supporters in the castle with the bankers outside. . ", Diane Abbott said: "Admired so many things about Benn: You can also choose to be emailed when someone replies to your comment. The employees of these and similar agencies are, today, the unaccountable crown office-holders against whom earlier generations of radicals would have railed. The former prime minister Gordon Brown also paid tribute to a “ Are you sure you want to delete this comment? [33] In the 1977 edition, Benn's entry disappeared entirely,[34] and when he returned to Who's Who in 1983, he was listed as "Tony Benn" and all references to his education or service record were removed. [11] (Indeed, he did not read The Communist Manifesto until he was in his 50s. first Briton to renounce a hereditary peerage. [106] He became a leading figure of the British opposition to the War in Afghanistan from 2001 and the Iraq War, and in February 2003 he travelled to Baghdad to meet Saddam Hussein. I'm not ashamed of making mistakes. He presented a left-wing view of democracy as the means to pass power from the "wallet to the ballot". after him with such kindness in hospital and at home. [49], In November 1960, Lord Stansgate died. Leader of the Opposition and Labour leader Ed Miliband, who knew Benn personally as a family friend, said: I think Tony Benn will be remembered as a champion of the powerless, as a conviction politician, as somebody of deep principle and integrity. [111] In 1992, Tony Benn also received a Pipe Smoker of the Year award, claiming in his acceptance speech that "pipe smoking stopped you going to war". And that is unacceptable. Short series have been played periodically on BBC Radio 4 Extra. [39] This makes him the third generation of his family to have been a member of the Cabinet, a rare distinction for a modern political family in Britain. Tony and Caroline had four children—Stephen, Hilary, Melissa, a feminist writer, and Joshua—and 10 grandchildren. [154][155] In February 2013, Benn was among those who gave their support to the People's Assembly in a letter published by The Guardian newspaper. death. 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