Tony Benn dead

apollo8

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-26573929

Banjo String

I'll always remember him for his Ali G interview. Tony took no crap.

Skid X

He was always interesting to listen to, even if you didn't agree with him. One of the most passionate and eloquent parliamentarians of the last century. RIP.

Tabnabs

Whenever I hear his name, another face always springs to mind

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVFcIJWe0zE

RIP, sad to hear he died, a man of interesting character.

Banjo String

Tabnabs wrote: »

Whenever I hear his name, another face always springs to

Dev?

Lapin

If there were more people like Tony Benn around, the world would be a much better, and fairer place. R.I.P.

Beefy78

Skid X wrote: »

He was always interesting to listen to, even if you didn't agree with him. One of the most passionate and eloquent parliamentarians of the last century. RIP.

Absolutely. I didn't always agree with his politics but always respected his opinions and willingness to stand up for what he believed in. If only all politicians were like that.

Jonny7

A great politician and according to Twitter, a fine boxer - RIP, will be missed

antodeco

RIP.

Secondly, if you say the thread title in a Jamaican accent, followed by "for ages", sounds like some form of interrogation answer!

Nunu

Not going to lie, I thought this guy had died.image.jpg

Legs.Eleven

Ahhhhhhhhhh fcuuuuuuk!! No, no, no!! RIP to one of the greatest politicians there ever was.

20Cent

A famous quote by Tony Benn very relevant to Ireland today.

5 questions of power:

What power have you got?
Where did you get it from?
In whose interests do you use it?
To whom are you accountable?
How do we get rid of you?

A great man who held fast to his principles of egalitarianism and social justice. He was the first peer to turn down a title, and that action speaks volumes of words, especially in the class ridden Britain of the time.

Son Of A Vidic

He was a man of class who stood head and shoulders above his peers. I'll always remember him as an incredibly decent, honorable man who possessed immense principles and dignity. Sadly, I feel we will never see his like again in any parliament.

RIP Tony.

notnumber

Benn there,done that.

endacl

Daycent aul' skin.

RIP

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

A rare breed. A politician who lived up to the ideals he espoused and an honest man.

anncoates

Almost quaint to remember a time when left wing politicians actually were left wing.

RIP.

MadsL

One of the heroes of my CND days. RIP Tony.

Stained Class

Kallie Hundreds Ketchup wrote: »

A rare breed. A politician who lived up to the ideals he espoused and an honest man.

A very principalled man alright. He believed in what he was doing & carried it through, no matter what.

I respected that in him.

However, INMHO he was a crank, well intentioned as he was, he destroyed a lot of lives in Britain in the '70 & '80s.

He just didn't get that the extreme left were nothing more than troublemakers & was the only mainstream polotitian to entertain them.

Bad move.

He unwittingly fanned the flames that destroyed manufacturing in Britain.

But hey. He had his say.

Stavros Murphy

The old guard are dropping like flies.

Stained Class

Stavros Murphy wrote: »

The old guard are dropping like flies.

Ah shure most people don't make 88 or whatever he was.

He lived long enough to become some sort of 'National Treasure'.

I believe he was well intentioned, but he was just a well spoken crank at the end of the day.

Nothing he said ever added up.

maxx_power

Stained Class wrote: »

Ah shure most people don't make 88 or whatever he was.

He lived long enough to become some sort of 'National Treasure'.

I believe he was well intentioned, but he was just a well spoken crank at the end of the day.

Nothing he said ever added up.

he was a RBB of his day

posh socialist , he never really had to make leadership descisions of any kind , a neighbour of mine is from Yorkshire , he claims the miners were on more than double what most people were earning back in the eighties , same guy praised thatcher for allowing people to buy council homes

tony benn supported the greedy miners and opposed the idea of people buying their own homes of the local authority

maxx_power

Stained Class wrote: »

I'd well believe that. I'd almost call him the Shinner if Britain......

But, I think Ol Tony had good intentions at the back of it all.

He was one of those brainy & articulate guys that had a certain amount of charisma, but yet hadn't got a clue about the people he was supposed to be representing.

he was a socialist who came from privilege and who liked to theorise about happy clappy outcomes to the challenges facing the world

he was an ideologue who could afford to be

most likely decent but not the kind of man id ever vote for , akin to the bulk of the irish labour party

Uriel.

Banjo String wrote: »

I'll always remember him for his Ali G interview. Tony took no crap.

Good God, Ali G was such an annoying character. I had forgotten just how annoying until I saw that.

Stavros Murphy

Tony Benn, the drinking mans Maggie.

Karl Stein

maxx_power wrote: »

he was a socialist who came from privilege and who liked to theorise about happy clappy outcomes to the challenges facing the world

I wonder which soon-to-be-banned re-reg you are...?

Btw only an absolute idiot would disregard the achievements of socialism. Socialism has answered many many challenges. Clean water supply, sewerage systems, mass vaccinations, mass transit, rail systems, motorways, electrification of entire countries, public education, universities, public funding of research and development, public health systems, communication satellites, the internet etc etc...

Femme_Fatale

Yeh, it's weird the way people who endorse the above, which doesn't mean they object to private enterprise, are viewed by some as big trotskyite, freedom-hating commies.

Karl Stein

Femme_Fatale wrote: »

Yeh, it's weird the way people who endorse the above, which doesn't mean they object to private enterprise, are viewed by some as big trotskyite, freedom-hating commies.

Propaganda. There are two types of people who deny the achievements of socialism.

1. Idiots.
2. Liars.

nacho libre

I sighed when i read about his death. I don't recall having this reaction upon reading about the death of another politician. He said recently he did not fear death and that attests to a life well lived. RIP

Tony EH

I don't have many heroes and there's precious few that are involved in politics, that's for sure. But, I believe that Tony Benn was one of the few characters involved in political life that was a man of principle. A decent man, who spoke his mind in a genuine manner and not just as a mouthpiece for his party.

His type are were always a rare breed and with his passing, are closer to becoming extinct.

SeanW

Charles Rocher wrote: »

Propaganda. There are two types of people who deny the achievements of socialism.

1. Idiots.
2. Liars.

Well, Stalin was certainly a go-getter ...

Pelvis Parsley

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSv3PNBHCBM

gallag

Sad :-( loved his sauces.

Tony EH

SeanW wrote: »

Well, Stalin was certainly a go-getter ...

It's generally wise not to confuse Socialism with either Communism or Stalinism (his own particular brand of the former).