RIP Tony Benn

[Cricko]

[video=youtube;P451tKd0FOQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P451tKd0FOQ&feature=share[/video]

 

[Cricko]

Apparently in failing health he sold his £3 million house to move into a 750,000 apartment. Shame really, he could have kept the house and put his old mate Scargill up for a few months.

LMFAO get real have you checked out the recent Tory party and their hand outs..If you want a reasonable argument your bait is in the wrong pond.

 

[Uncle Leo]

Was he?

He probably had a decent house, but that's because he was old and has held down a good job for a long time.

His diaries sold very well too. I'd guess he probably was a millionaire. And as you say his house - in Holland Park - would have been worth a few quid.

Still, many leading politicians these days are. Cricko put up that link about the coalition millionaires, but I'm sure there are plenty in the shadow cabinet with a nice few quid to their name too.

 

[Cricko]

His diaries sold very well too. I'd guess he probably was a millionaire. And as you say his house - in Holland Park - would have been worth a few quid.

Still, many leading politicians these days are. Cricko put up that link about the coalition millionaires, but I'm sure there are plenty in the shadow cabinet with a nice few quid to their name too.

Yup bang on James...they are all in it for themselves these days and it has created a "look after number 1 syndrome"..Dark days mate, but I will always stand up for those less fortunate than us.

 

[steveo]

LMFAO get real have you checked out the recent Tory party and their hand outs..If you want a reasonable argument your bait is in the wrong pond.

Get real? Who said anything about the Tories? What does this have to do with them? I merely mentioned Benn was a millionaire. Nothing to be ashamed of. Are you saying Tony Benn was not a millionaire?

 

[Berrichonne shrimper]

Blimey the left are dropping like things that drop,best you get a check up Barna.

 

[callan]

champagne socialist born with a silver spoon in his mouth....how does / can a guy with such a head start in life truly claim to be a socialist?
Over rated politician...rip none the less.

 

[Pubey]

champagne socialist born with a silver spoon in his mouth....how does / can a guy with such a head start in life truly claim to be a socialist?
Over rated politician...rip none the less.

Pretty much ever major politician in our history has been born with a silver spoon in their mouth. No more than the current cabinet which is predominantly composed of an exclusive Oxford club.

I'm sure TB was a socialist because it was clear in everything he said and did, and I'm not sure why someone who was privileged when they were born can't take up the fight for social justice, equality and ensuring that people in power are accountable.

 

[maninasuitcase]

champagne socialist born with a silver spoon in his mouth....how does / can a guy with such a head start in life truly claim to be a socialist?
Over rated politician...rip none the less.

He may have been born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but he gave up his peerage and a seat in the Lords so he could be an MP.

Benn campaigned on socialist issues right up until the end, so I guess that does make him a socialist.

 

[callan]

He may have been born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but he gave up his peerage and a seat in the Lords so he could be an MP.

Benn campaigned on socialist issues right up until the end, so I guess that does make him a socialist.

really?


he was the most confused socialist ever, apparently anti war despite being a fighter pilot!

 

[Cricko]

really?


he was the most confused socialist ever, apparently anti war despite being a fighter pilot!

People change over the years through circumstance and living the actual life....I at one time was close on voting Conservative...thank **** I realised that was just about looking after one's self and **** everybody else and I owed more to people than that.

We should all be equal and not controlled by men and money.

 

[Pubey]

really?


he was the most confused socialist ever, apparently anti war despite being a fighter pilot!

I don't get why people think that you can't change your views or beliefs over time? Plenty of people drift right as they age, but not everyone. Also, I don't think it's fair to call Benn a champaign socialist, he was the most down to earth person when it came to campaigning and debating. I don't think it's hypocritical to defend your country as a young person in WW2 and then be against sending young people to Iraq and Afghanistan - actually it makes sense that a veteran would be against sending people into combat.

 

[callan]

People change over the years through circumstance and living the actual life....I at one time was close on voting Conservative...thank **** I realised that was just about looking after one's self and **** everybody else and I owed more to people than that.

We should all be equal and not controlled by men and money.

sadly all men are not equal....Tony Benn is testament to this, born rich...died rich...had power in between.

 

[callan]

I don't get why people think that you can't change your views or beliefs over time? Plenty of people drift right as they age, but not everyone. Also, I don't think it's fair to call Benn a champaign socialist, he was the most down to earth person when it came to campaigning and debating. I don't think it's hypocritical to defend your country as a young person in WW2 and then be against sending young people to Iraq and Afghanistan - actually it makes sense that a veteran would be against sending people into combat.

You can change your views....you cant change the social circumstances into which you were born.

 

[Pubey]

You can change your views....you cant change the social circumstances into which you were born.

But if you can't change the social circumstances into which you were born then why should they ever influence the way that you are viewed/judged?

 

[steveo]

Also, I don't think it's fair to call Benn a champaign socialist, he was the most down to earth person when it came to campaigning and debating.

But if socialism is based on individuals not owning anything, why would he own a £3m house?

Also, he wasn't a WW2 veteran but a trainee pilot who lost his brother, also a pilot in 1944, which must have been tough and possibly shaped his view of war.

 

[callan]

But if you can't change the social circumstances into which you were born then why should they ever influence the way that you are viewed/judged?

He can be judged on the basis that he was born with all the trappings of wealth / power, which he never gave up....despite claiming to be for the working man.

 

[Crabby Shrimper]

I'm certainly not a socialist, but I do believe that politics is the worse off for losing Tony Benn. No matter how good a politicians intentions (and I don't believe that many modern politicians are anything other than people doing what they need to keep their job) they need someone opposing them. I feel far more comfortable with people who I disagree with, but are sincere about it, than people who I agree with but don't trust.

Oh, and Pubey, re politicians born with a silver spoon, I think John Major is a good example that wasn't.

Also, regarding being an ex fighter pilot (whether he was or not, I don't know) Sometimes we have to do things we don't like to protect us and others from something even worse. wasn't Michael Foot trained as a resistance volunteer? Potentially undertaking that kind of role isn't the normal actions of a pacifist, yet I'm sure few here would describe him as a war monger (funnily I can't imagine Tony Blair ever putting himself in the literal firing line, but he had no problems with sending others)

 

[Pubey]

I'm certainly not a socialist, but I do believe that politics is the worse off for losing Tony Benn. No matter how good a politicians intentions (and I don't believe that many modern politicians are anything other than people doing what they need to keep their job) they need someone opposing them. I feel far more comfortable with people who I disagree with, but are sincere about it, than people who I agree with but don't trust.

Oh, and Pubey, re politicians born with a silver spoon, I think John Major is a good example that wasn't.

Also, regarding being an ex fighter pilot (whether he was or not, I don't know) Sometimes we have to do things we don't like to protect us and others from something even worse. wasn't Michael Foot trained as a resistance volunteer? Potentially undertaking that kind of role isn't the normal actions of a pacifist, yet I'm sure few here would describe him as a war monger (funnily I can't imagine Tony Blair ever putting himself in the literal firing line, but he had no problems with sending others)

Good call.

 

[steveo]

No matter how good a politicians intentions (and I don't believe that many modern politicians are anything other than people doing what they need to keep their job) they need someone opposing them.

This from Boris sums it up well
"'Tony Benn was a great democrat - even if his economic policies were eccentric. He once told me, the key question to ask anyone in power: "Who elected you - and how can I vote to remove you from office?"