Who Was Tony Benn?

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In this video I profile Tony Benn's life and ideas.

At one point Tony Benn was dubbed ‘the most dangerous man in Britain’ by the press, but he ended his life as a public intellectual and a national treasure.

To some he was a dangerous ideologue, to others he was a fraud, but to the left, he represented a lost opportunity. He was the leader Labour never had.

Benn was one of the most influential British socialists of the past 100 years. After serving in government, he came to believe that the Labour Party had betrayed its principles and abandoned the cause of socialism.

Although he was a radical in the context of British politics, he remained committed to the parliamentary road to socialism throughout his life and his thinking owes more to the teachings of Jesus Christ than Karl Marx.

Above all else, he believed in democracy.

He saw the fight for democracy as being the central struggle that that ordinary people have been engaged in throughout history in order to wrest power and control from powerful elites.

As a result he saw the job of socialists as one of constant struggle - to maintain what has been won and to push further the boundaries of democracy.

In the public sphere this meant abolishing the House of Lords, introducing proportional representation, getting rid of the monarchy and leaving the European Union and in the workplace this meant empowering people by transferring ownership and control of industry from bosses to workers.

In international affairs, Benn was a campaigner for peace and human rights. He opposed the Fawklands War, campaigned against nuclear weapons and he gave what is perhaps one of his best addresses to Parliament in response to a bombing campaign launched by Britain and America against Saddam Hussain’s regime in Iraq.

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One minor mistake in my script. Benn challenged Healey for the *deputy* leadership in 1981. I missed out the word "deputy" in my script.

politicoteacher
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more people need to know about benn, he was a massive figure and that speech about iraq remains all too relevant today

monsieurlefrog
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Who was Tony Benn?

A hero. That's who he was

TSWHedgehog
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I am a staunch conservative however that does not mean I do not have the most upmost respect for him.
Our politics may have been very different but I respect him as a man of principles and conviction. He is sadly missed to this day on ALL sides of the house

trueblue
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This is very important information for the present time. The American people will need to be rescued from fascism.

adampowell
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An incredibly talented orator and statesman, but an immature, obstructive ideologue at heart. His challenge to Healey in 1981 and latterly Kinnock in 1988 makes him a traitor to the party as far as I’m concerned, and I’m only glad both attempts ended in humiliating failure. He should be remembered for his practical application of socialist ideals when in cabinet, though his career post-1979 is nothing to be proud of.

charloneill
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A good man, better than most. I'm currently reading his diaries from 1940 onwards.

PBI
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I guess it shows that even people who are correct (IMO at least) on a lot of things can be wrong about something (Benn's opposition to PR).

TheGerkuman
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I heard he liked to frequent a local costume shop

Blubatt
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Love your videos. Will you be doing one on John Major soon? It would be interesting to hear your verdict on him. I know you are on the left and many of my left leaning friends regard him as a good man and that he was (for a Tory) very decent

Ha-lwcn
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I definitely can't 100% agree with his politics. However he was a genuine political leader with conviction and with intelligence and charisma. As a public speaker he was brilliant. He certainly remains one of the major political figures in British history. I sometimes see in current political figures especially in the US the closest to him is Bernie Sanders.

bryedtan
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Not even a minute in and I can tell it’s going to be a good video

joshuaaaron
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I disagree with Ben on some aspects but he absolutely was a hero. Ahead of his time. A knight warning us of the demons puppeting our way of life.

TyrooShino
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A good man, his life story about his hereditary peerage and wanting to give it up is very interesting. However, his far left politics really hurt Labour.

kb
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Bizarre he’s not mentioned in my British politcs a level for history, need to do some extra reading, also in 3:51 Corbyn looks like House 😂

gold_prizm