RIP Tony Benn

[Beanz]

The greatest Prime Minister we never had.

[ryanman]

RIP.
Sad news.
Need more like him.

[X]

hmmm, I'm not sure.

Born in London, went to elite schools and Oxford University, never had a real job in his life, somehow 'represented' local people in constituencies like Bristol and Chesterfield.

Wanted to withdraw from Suez, was opposed to the Falklands invasion (maybe he thought we should just roll over and let anybody take stuff from us), supported unilateral disarmament (there's the answer)

I'm not particularly political, nor do I have anything against the chap .... But I'd argue that what we need is people who are different from him in politics. He sounds just like all the other metropolitan elite professional politicians that we are saddled with.

[X]

..... And Nigel Benn would have sparko'd Tony.

[Beanz]

I know what you are saying but I think you are oversimplifying things a little. I did not agree with everything Benn stood for but to call him a metropolitan elite professional politician who never had a real job in his life conveniently misses out the fact that he served as a Pilot in the RAF during the War and perhaps his greatest mark on Politics was the rejection of his own hereditary peerage. Leaving Westminster in 1999 to concentrate on Politics summed up the guys enthusiasm for rejecting the establishment and he was one of the few Labour politicians left who had any understanding of what the party stood for originally.

He did not leave the same kind of mark on social reform and society that somebody like Roy Jenkins did and his anti European stance and ill advised chum fest with Saddam was not something that I can admire, but he was a fantastic speaker and writer. So on reflection not quite the greatest Prime Minister we never had at all. Not even the greatest Labour party politician or Leader, just a guy with a big pipe and a great voice. And now he's dead.

The greatest Labour politician called Tony and the only one called Tony who was not a complete and utter smarmy prick.

[Beanz]

He brought us the GIRO.

[Gandalf]

I know what you are saying but I think you are oversimplifying things a little. I did not agree with everything Benn stood for but to call him a metropolitan elite professional politician who never had a real job in his life conveniently misses out the fact that he served as a Pilot in the RAF during the War and perhaps his greatest mark on Politics was the rejection of his own hereditary peerage. Leaving Westminster in 1999 to concentrate on Politics summed up the guys enthusiasm for rejecting the establishment and he was one of the few Labour politicians left who had any understanding of what the party stood for originally.

He did not leave the same kind of mark on social reform and society that somebody like Roy Jenkins did and his anti European stance and ill advised chum fest with Saddam was not something that I can admire, but he was a fantastic speaker and writer. So on reflection not quite the greatest Prime Minister we never had at all. Not even the greatest Labour party politician or Leader, just a guy with a big pipe and a great voice. And now he's dead.

The greatest Labour politician called Tony and the only one called Tony who was not a complete and utter smarmy prick.

The problem with you is that you are against every policy Benn was for and yet accuse me of being middle class? You defend monarchy and defend Benn elitism, and yet want to blame me for being elitist?

You are the most anti-English person I have ever known and I now see your agenda. No, I am a patriot as I have always been and shall always be. You have the agenda because you not on the Tony Benn page. You dissed him as soon as you could.

[Dark Lord Al]

The greatest Prime Minister we never had.

I don't agree Screaming Lord Sutch would have been much better.

[Gandalf]

Galloway on Benn. Very well said.

[Master]

Galloway makes some interesting points that Labour lost 3 elections after Foot came into power. Would Benn have been any worse? I think the right wing media crucified Foot and they would have done the same to Benn. So maybe it was a good thing for Benn himself that he never became leader of the party.