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TONY BENN, 1925-2014
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TONY BENN, 1925-2014  Tony Benn died yesterday – below are some of his more memorable quotes. As a Labour Party member, he became an iconic figure in British politics. He was an MP for over 50 years and a cabinet minister for over 10 years. In a BBC poll, Tony Benn was chosen as the UK’s ‘political hero’, beating Margaret Thatcher into second place. “If we can find the money to kill people, we can find the money to help people.” Born Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn, he became Viscount Stangate following the death of his father. Tony Benn later renounced his peerage so that he could serve as an elected MP in the House of Commons. “We are not just here to manage capitalism but to change society and to define its finer values.” As a committed socialist, Tony Benn was often vilified by the right-wing press. He claimed that the “most socialist thing we ever did was the most popular thing we ever did, the NHS.” As a cabinet minister, Tony Benn pursued policies for greater nationalisation of industry and greater state planning of the economy. He also championed the Anglo-French project to build the Concorde plane. "When you think of the number of men in the world who hate each other, why, when two men love each other, does the church split?" Tony Benn claimed that he “loathed” the European Union, which “is really dominated by Germany”. He was also highly critical of the power of the civil service, big business and the mass media, which he believed undermined parliamentary democracy. He argued that democracy was essential to ensure that power passed the “wallet to the ballot”. "If one meets a powerful person - Adolf Hitler, Joe Stalin or Bill Gates - can ask them five questions: what power have you got?, where did you get it from?, in whose interests do you exercise it?, to whom are you accountable?, and, how can we get rid of you? If you cannot get rid of the people who govern you, you do not live in a democratic system." He was a republican and consistently argued for the abolition of the monarchy. When in charge of the Post Office, Tony Benn proposed that the Queen’s head should be removed from the country’s stamps, a proposal that was vetoed by the Queen. “Ideas are more powerful than guns.” Though he fought in the Second World War as a RAF pilot, Tony Benn was a frequent opponent of Britain’s wars, including the Falklands War. He headed the Stop the War Coalition that campaigns against the “imperialist wars” in Iraq and Afghanistan. He believed that Tony Blair was guilty of "a war crime" for misleading the House of Commons over the invasion of Iraq. “There is no moral difference between a stealth bomber and a suicide bomber. Both kill innocent people for political reasons.” Tony Benn was described as "one of the few UK politicians to have become more left-wing after holding ministerial office." In 2001, Tony Benn stood down as an MP “to spend more time on politics"! Outside politics, Tony Benn was a pipe-smoking vegetarian atheist. He appeared in a Doctor Who DVD and regularly performed at the Glastonbury Festival. "All political careers end in failure; mine just happened to end earlier than most." I don’t agree with all of Tony Benn’s views, especially those on the European Union, but I greatly admired his integrity and ability to discuss important issues often ignored by spin-conscious politicians. Were you a fan of Tony Benn? What politicians do you most admire? |
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I sure was a fan of Tony Benn. Don't have a favourite politician in mind. Have a great weekend hugs V Become a blog watcher sweet_vm
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I have to be honest, did not know much about him. Favorite politician? Frankly none. I served the OFFICE of the President of the United States as a military member, but have zero respect for any of them in the last 20 plus years. And even at the state and local level, I refuse to shake their hands during events. None have shown an inkling of integrity in my lifetime, that I am aware of. My philosophy is Get Rid of Incumbents (GRIP) during elections. Maybe someday by mistake will find someone with integrity.
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Liked and admired him. Loved his quote "I'm leaving Parliament so that I can concentrate on politics".
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I was not familiar with Mr. Benn until this post but it sounds like he and I were both fans of Ayn Rand.
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1. Yes and no, he was one of the most posh socialists I ever knew, hardly a 'common man', but his politics were fantastic, and he was resolute when upholding his own principles. 2. I admire statesmen rather than pollies, those few men who come along every few decades and make a real difference, as opposed to those self-seeking nest featherers who seem to populate our political offices
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ps - I meant to add that I was extremely disappointed at how ungracious David Cameron was in his remarks the other day. He is one of those nest featherers I refer to.
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I sure was a fan of Tony Benn. Don't have a favourite politician in mind. Have a great weekend hugs V 
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Tony Benn is or was a legend. I've forgot what tense I should use!
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I have to be honest, did not know much about him. Favorite politician? Frankly none. I served the OFFICE of the President of the United States as a military member, but have zero respect for any of them in the last 20 plus years. And even at the state and local level, I refuse to shake their hands during events. None have shown an inkling of integrity in my lifetime, that I am aware of. My philosophy is Get Rid of Incumbents (GRIP) during elections. Maybe someday by mistake will find someone with integrity.
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He was also very good at producing a great quote.
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Liked and admired him. Loved his quote "I'm leaving Parliament so that I can concentrate on politics".
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Tony Benn was 'armless compared to Zaphod Beeblebrox! 
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I can honestly say that I've never heard of Tony Benn before but I admire all the quotes attributed to him above and for the most part feel the same way. Another quality person gone from our midst. I generally don't admire politicians because they seem to care more about their image than the people they are voted in to serve. They weren't volunteered, they campaigned long and hard and often with lies or half-baked policies. In spite of some of her inconsistencies, I admired Julia Gillard most of all the politicians who has been in a position to impact my lifeddirectly... She had so many feckless arseholes striving to undermine her at every turn and she still successfully pushed through some very humanitarian initiatives. She didn't lie about the carbon tax as is widely supposed, she had new insights about the environmental benefits of one after she was in the top position and had access to all the essential information to make a more informed decision. With all the negativity that was regularly thrown at her, she retained her composure and got on with the job as best any thwarted politician with good intentions can.
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I was not familiar with Mr. Benn until this post but it sounds like he and I were both fans of Ayn Rand.
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I too like the politicians who have beliefs and who try to lead rather than follow public opinion.
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I've not visited your blog before - Good post. I admired Tony Benn for his beliefs but over many issues I would have taken an alternative position. I found much of his politics to be negative (i.e. We shouldn't have done XXX rather than We should have done YYY). I am also very conscious that in giving up his peerage he gave up the title and the rights but not the very substantial wealth his family had accrued. To my mind he was, in that respect, no different to many other politicians: Determining the fate of the masses from their Ivory towers. Curiously, I admire a lot of politicians. The traits I look for are believable honesty and an ability to understand that they are not perfect. Against nearly every fibre of my being, I see many admirable traits in David Cameron! This is always the problem left-wing politicians face - if they are rich, should they give it up? Right-wing politicians don't have this dilemma as they justify inequality.
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I hoped you would have liked him. Tonyy Benn wrote some quite interesting diaries when he was in government.
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1. Yes and no, he was one of the most posh socialists I ever knew, hardly a 'common man', but his politics were fantastic, and he was resolute when upholding his own principles. 2. I admire statesmen rather than pollies, those few men who come along every few decades and make a real difference, as opposed to those self-seeking nest featherers who seem to populate our political offices
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