Tony Benn
Tony Benn
Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn, originally known as Anthony Wedgwood Benn or Wedgie Benn, but later as Tony Benn, was a British politician who was a Member of Parliamentfor 47 years between the 1950 and 2001 general elections and a Cabinet minister in the Labour governments of Harold Wilson and James Callaghan in the 1960s and 1970s. Originally a "moderate", he was identified as being on the party's hard left from the early 1980s, and was widely seen as a key...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth3 April 1925
tabloids campaigns thanks
Thanks to the tabloid campaigns I have many death threats and I was very pleased to get another one the other day.
house would-be more-time
If ever I left the House of Commons it would be because I wanted to spend more time on politics.
people political democracy
It is not surprising that more and more people are coming to the conclusion that the ballot box is no longer an instrument that will secure political solutions... They can see that the parliamentary democracy we boast of is becoming a sham.
media essentials one-thing
The one thing that is absolutely essential is that there shouldn't be any governmental control [of the media] directly or indirectly.
views liberty share
I do not share the general view that market forces are the basis of personal liberty.
president want constitution
I don't want to commit myself in advocating a definite republican constitution which will get bogged down with the question of who would elect the President and when.
boards enough combination
The present combination of corporate or commercial control theoretically answerable to politically appointed Boards of Governors is not in any sense a democratic enough procedure to control the power the broadcasters have.
queens stamps obvious
It is obvious I shall have to abandon my hopes of getting the Queen's head off the stamps.
class leader establishment
Middle class Labour leaders are recaptured by the establishment when they die.
white would-be speech
Having served in eleven Parliaments, it would be difficult to describe this as a maiden speech. It would be like Elizabeth Taylor appearing at her next wedding in a white gown.
internet bigs scales
The Internet is only the street corner meeting on a big scale
religious other-worlds politics
Marxism is now a world faith and must be allowed to enter into a continuous dialogue with other world faiths, including religious faiths
jesus names done
It is wholly wrong to blame Marx for what was done in his name, as it is to blame Jesus for what was done in his
politics benefits strategy
In developing our industrial strategy for the period ahead, we have the benefit of much experience. Almost everything has been tried at least once