Tony Benn - Pit Closures

[@robertstewart239]

Many of us dismissed this man as an outdated joke in the 80s. How wrong we were, and how much of what he said has turned out to be true.

[@robbiemcc4355]

Not me, pity you.

[@goofysmick]

This man tells the truth, not many Tories want to hear the truth.

[@7salfordreds]

Tony Benn put people before profit, because he cares, privatization puts profit before people and before service quality.

[@VanlifewithAlan]

When one is as rich as he is one can afford to put people before profit provided that it does not effect his bank balance. Nationalised industries gave no service, at least now there is choice.

[@roryokeeffe111]

***** 'When one is as rich as he is one can afford to put people before profit provided that it does not affect his bank balance.' Tony Benn campaigned his entire life to redistribute wealth more fairly across society, including measures which meant he was taxed far more heavily. Meanwhile, the Tories took society and turned it into a cash cow for the already spectacularly rich. Ever look around you, at the broken, poor, failing economy we live in today and wonder how we got there? 35 long years of neo-liberal dogmatism, is how. 'Nationalised industries gave no service, at least now there is choice.' There's no choice on the railways. The choice in power is which CEO to pay for the privilege of turning the light on. Prices have rocketed in this country for every single service, wages have stagnated by comparison, and service levels have stayed the same at best, and collapsed at worst.

[@stevendurrant1724]

***** Are all people of fortune obliged to advocate the politics of selfishness then? It they are poor "they would say that", if they are rich "it's easy for them". What a load of doublethink nonsense. Benn could have rested on his laurels or made plenty more money than he did doing other stuff. Good job he didn't, like so many dullards may well.

[@kevindavies6871]

Tony Benn who changed Britain's democracy for ever. A man of fairness and constantly stuck by the values of the Labour Party..

[@CMOT101]

I will say one thing for Tony Benn, he is speaks from his heart and isn't afraid if his comments are popular or not. Unlike all the useless cowards that we have on both sides of the House nowadays. I wish we had more like him on both sides of the political spectrum. We might actually get some straightforward principled and honest debates going on

[@bushman143]

Tony Benn was real labour MP who cared about the working class. He puts today’s bunch in Parliament to shame.

[@patsyparisi2620]

No comparison mate. Benn was a superb speaker. The tories were afraid of him but his party never supported him👍

[@neilsailing]

It just reminds you how far politics have come that we have a bunch of corporate lap dogs running the show. Will miss you Tony...one of the greats . RIP.

[@user-lc7xb5ch5t]

We so need a man like this today

[@monkeycrud]

A true politician (rare). He meant what he said.

[@antoniodorado4878]

Outstanding orator.

[@waseem3967]

Never will this nation have politicians like him again. Never!

[@brandonnow4188]

Tony Benn was right about everything ! Shame he was never labour leader ! That would have been interesting ! 👊

[@kevinnoscoe6284]

“True still has a value”... what words Mr benn 👏🏼🌹👏🏼🌹

[@paulburgess22]

Passion, courage, convictions, integrity. RIP Tony Benn.

[@MegaKrazzy4]

Rest in peace you lion of a man. You will be sorely missed. We're left with scum here in the form of new labour. Tony benn is irreplaceable.

[@kambge]

Not any more!

[@raymondturner1478]

@@kambge lol from 2019

[@kambge]

@@raymondturner1478 new labour is still dead. Look at how people from 18-49 voted overwhelmingly labour. The future is red.

[@raymondturner1478]

@@kambge Exactly. When people grow up they stop voting Labour. Fool. They won't have another Marxist for a while after you were slaughtered.

[@kambge]

@@raymondturner1478 Actually Corbyns moved the Labour party back to the left, all the new candidates bar jess phillips are openly for progressive (social democratic, not marxist) policies, which are the norm for countries like Finland, Sweden, Norway etc and many policies like renationalizing the railways, increasing tax on the 1% are popular with voters, but Brexit and labours image let them down. The financial crash has made thatchers property owning democracy unobtainable for the vast majority of people born from the late 80s, and our climate is breaking down. Politics will eventually shift to the left again in Britain ust as it did after the war.

[@ianhowlett4682]

Whatever your political beliefs, there's no denying that this is a brilliant speech!

[@glenn1340]

What a man!! We won`t see another passionate like him again.

[@robertfarrell6479]

The man with the golden tongue

[@johnnyM809]

A great, great man....a total giant of the Labour movement RIP Tony

[@justliveandletlive]

A legend. The points he made are just as relevant in 2018 as they were then. People or money. Choose.

[@patriciacollier128]

Wow, this is what we need, love him, God bless him, you inspire me so much - RIP my hero 🙏

[@No-Global-Government]

Tony Benn is a remarkable man, a true "hero." I wish we had politicians like him in Canada. We need people like him...

[@kamennaporuba]

Tony Benn... Legend.. Enough said!

[@marira5930]

I feel such a longing to have leaders we can trust, just imagine if a man or woman of integrity, such as Tony Benn were in place right now. I feel sad that we missed the chance. The BBC have much to answer for with their tricks, and lead to ridicule our very best people.

[@SoulRippster]

Stop longing and vote for Jeremy Corbyn... otherwise in 20 years time you'll be longing for Jeremy Corbyn and so on.

[@marira5930]

SoulRippster I am voting for him, one of the very best.

[@djdaforce22]

Yes. Corbyn sat with Benn on the backbenches. Not many about but there is him at least.

[@tom123607]

@Malcolm Tucker omg I totally agree

[@58johnjohn]

Tony Benn was the most honest and principled politician this country has ever had. The best prime minister we never had!! Today's politicians are pygmies in comparison to Benn.

[@politicalphilosophy-thegre3894]

And now Britain is down to 21st in the world by average wages (almost at the very bottom in Europe) and still sinking, no wonder people hated Thatcher.

[@GwynBallinger-t4d]

They don't have politicians like him anymore. Someone who spoke from the heart, with compassion!

[@simonsteam]

Fair Play he was Spot on. he should have been saying this direct to a full house and to maggie.

[@pino18]

A man who actually represents the Labour of the country

[@ChuckHippy]

Tony Benn is a genius. The best Prime-Minister Britain never had.

[@SearchlightsInc]

Could so with more smart, intelligent and compassionate members of parliment such as this gentleman.

[@bigglego]

Ive never heard a politician talking like this in parliment before. Its made me feel emotional.

[@hh-ux1yo]

Wonderful speech

[@CountryQuestion]

The thing that I can never understand about the Conservative party is their inner contradiction. Whilst often promoting so called British values and tradition, they also advocate the destruction of the infrastructure which holds communities together and then excuse their insane destruction as part of market forces. As Benn said himself, "they understand the price of everything and the value of nothing"

[@mrsmchistory]

A true socialist!! Legend! RIP Tony

[@nearlysteviedan1275]

Integrity personified

[@opinionater]

Very very passionate from Tony benn he absolutely put those tories in their place

[@cannockwolf1992]

Actually, realot1, you're right - to be fair, me and my mother have often had the conversation about how much is the poverty in Cuba down to Castro's Communism and how much is it down to western trade embargos. We've also had the conversation about countries like us who have tried a socialist system but have our hands tied by the mafia at the IMF. I have to say, scrutinising your last comment, I actually agree with where you're coming from.

[@markjones6916]

Tony Benn for ever!

[@pauljarvis5459]

Tony Benn fought in WW2. His brother died in the war. He did not need reminding.

[@illegalsmirf]

What a man ... wow.

[@lakshmimittal]

what were they even voting on? Great man, was lucky enough to see him speak a few years ago, before Labour really hit the bricks. Have never actually voted for them, am a classic floater, but would back this guy all the way.

[@madcow664]

a real Britsh hero

[@mrflibble101]

Tony Benn is THE MP. He's one of the only MPs I can honestly say was in it for the people he served, not for the benefits.

[@defunctt]

@basch2020 The rise would NEVER have been sustained. The undermining of British Industry which has never recovered since the axe of Thatcher on the premise of it being uncompetitive has created a country dependent on the value of its currency. Our ability in helping our situation is hindered by the fact that we are over-dependent on foreign imports, with limited ability to alter this after the crippling we received from Thatcher.

[@kamennaporuba]

Tony Benn.. F**kin legend! Enough said.

[@VivekRajcoomar]

oh god i love this man. i wish he were running, bc i would vote for him every day i could.

[@Kevinasp]

I agree with you 100% apart from being a Conservative. The way they handled the pit closure programme was terrible.

[@merklereenactment]

Here Here Tony Benn.. PEOPLE not Profit come first.!!

[@123hero321]

Thatchers funeral should have been privatised. that's what the torys would want isn't it?

[@georgehayes3494]

123hero321 Been watching the great speeches by Dennis Skinner and George Galloway in he Thatcher debate have you?

[@cammyl39]

Not the leader of new Labour but the leader of real labour, Tony Benn for number ten.

[@crumplezone1]

We need like Tony Benn today fighting for us ordinary people, he really was a fantastic orator and I only wish he could have been PM, and he was right about the privitisation of the Gas and electric , the only public company we have now is the NHS but I am as sure as night follows day this too will fall into the hands of private investors so you young uns need to up your game and fight for a fairer future

[@StrayGator]

Was there ever any re-examination of energy policy. If not, it explains why we now face an energy policy.

[@petergreen2552]

Truth still has a value. Wise words from a wise man

[@1wannabee1]

ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!

[@MrGann88]

People are taking notice of him, there's no howling when Mr Benn speaks. He lets nothing get in his way once he has a point to make. He's an absolute legend.

[@Anitagoforadump88]

Where can I find more footage of Benn speeches like this one?

[@StrayGator]

Why dont we? What is wrong with the bureacracy? What we have now is a complete lack of energy policy, and it threatens us to blackouts within the decade.

[@fred13400II]

If Benn looks like Stalin, ALL the Britons are happy in the Uk of today and my name is Mickey Mouse. Thatcherism has been a tragedy in the History of this great country that made up social security. It's a shame.

[@acameronuk1979]

The Deputy Speaker, Dame Janet Fookes, was highly skilled in this post; would have been a good Speaker but would lack the bright colours had she been elevated.

[@Greig1424]

i wish we had politician like him in the UK now all we have is bankers that care about quarterly bonus pay and there new ferrari

[@allaroundme5429]

Shout out to the speaker.

[@Bluntphilly]

Tony Benn, I salute you on you 87th birthday.

[@MrColey95]

there was no economical reasons for closing pits, only political reason. There's still 300 years of coal left. the torys had their own personal agenda of shutting down the industry due to the power of the NUM. which lead to structural unemployment which was completely unnecessary and wrong. t

[@LightYearsFromHere]

You know if Benn hadn't had such extreme views such as abolishing the monarchy and giving in to IRA terrorists... he could have been a great prime minister. The man has talent.

[@haasxaar]

this is great, I am by nature a Tory voter but this is excellent stuff

[@Verderer]

The most pleasing aspect of Red Ed Miliband remaining leader of the Labour party until the next General Election in May 2015 is the certainty of a victory for the Conservative party in that election. In that regard Red Ed Milband is the most precious asset the Conservatives possess.

[@nathanbridle]

This is great. Benn at his best. Do you have the interview from which this came?

[@dermotoblong]

you can call this bloke a dinosaur, but hes aways been very principled and spoken the truth. we've got a likely tory government again now, but dont kid yourself that things have changed. tony benn was a superb politician. when you see that shower of shit we,ve got now, it puts things into perspective.

[@doosht]

Im most definately right of centre but i know a wise man when i see him, and i love Tony Benn

[@themetalicarus]

Yeah... depending on foreign private companies for our over-priced energy supplies. It's pointless advancing anything if it doesn't actually help the people of Britain.

[@nyedoherty1562]

Nobody on the Left like this nowadays.

[@ng53mfz]

"As it happens, they didn't" because the coal industry wasn't privatised until 1994 with over a hundred collieries closed in the previous decade.

[@Mazumune]

tony benn is the best PM we never had. SUCH A SHAME

[@SpokenLiterature]

Who's the guy there to the left of Tony? (Location-wise, not politically obviously).

[@boredcloud]

@Kevinasp I am no economist so let's forget Keynes. You said "she must take a lot of the blame for them being out of power during the last 13 years" My point is, it isn't as if the British people suddenly rejected Thatcher and voted a Socialist government back in again. Labour only got back in again for the last 13 years, by effectively becoming mini-Tories, Blue Labour, whatever you want to call it. So it isn't that Thatcher drove voters away from us, it's that Labour stole her thunder

[@CMOT101]

@TheHayekian As the son of a miner and from a family of miners then I can catagorically say that mining was NOT dead! It was far from it. The industry was destroyed for political reasons not economic ones. This country had 300 years worth of high quality coal left. We flooded the mines making access to that coal impossible and instead of mining it, we now have and continue to import inferior coal at a higher cost. So sorry, way off there.

[@peterowen9183]

You can surf the net all night watching *any* speech by Tony Benn, and every one will make you weep for the current state of British politics.

[@Fedaykin24]

Whilst I understand his passion the fact was the writing was on the wall for the mining industry. Market forces did apply, a cheaper cleaner source of energy was available...gas. Also all the heavy industries that needed coal for steel were collapsing. The closure of pits was going to happen regardless of it being under the Tories or Labour.

[@beewisebeestronger6224]

Ah gas was a good long term bet .....oh wait, Noooooooooooo 😪

[@lukesixtynineuk]

Alex: Its supposed to be for the workers certainly. Unfortunately theyre all filthy tories now. But dont worry. The employees are already back where you want them - Working longer hours, wages going down. You must be very proud of this wonderful country.

[@TomBartram-b1c]

iT'S almost unbelievable that only 20 years ago an opposition party allowed someone to spout protectionism as sensible politics

[@teehee1604]

If these pits really were worth keeping open then they would have been taken over by private investors. As it happens, they didn't, proving that the mines were uneconomical and therefore not worth publicly funding.

[@TheChai26]

He is great speaker I can say only

[@Georgiahulse]

That's probably because he was born a Lord, straight into a family of great wealth and power. I DESPISE the "Upper Class" stock of this country - past and present. The Duke of Devonshire who sits his arse in the big house known as Chatsworth - miles away from Devon, in my home county of Derbyshire, tried to stop walkers from walking across his hundreds of acres of land.

[@UnknownPersononGoogle]

4:23 The Nasty Party never changes.

[@comanchio1976]

@MUDSHARK111 Spot on...especially about her legacy. So when tories go on about 'broken Britain', it's their high priestess who broke it. And now they want to give her a state funeral, invited into Number 10 by Tony and Gordon amid beaming smiles..it's stomach churning.

[@Fedaykin24]

Also Tony Benn did the unforgivable thing of shutting down our space industry and handing the technology to the French. France now has a multi billion Euro high end R&D launcher industry sustaining many jobs.

[@beewisebeestronger6224]

They also own our energy thanks to thatcher 🤣 its working out well

[@StephenForster-gl5fc]

,, personally im originally from the north of England,,my school friends went into the mines and hated it,,i met many who worked underground,,they told me they hardly done any work,they used to scive off,,and said it was an horrendous way to make a living,,the best thing tbst could of happened was to close tbe pits, the mines,,,and if anyone has room to complain,,try working underground yourselves

[@StrayGator]

His ideals killed no one.

[@oppressednation]

@bonfirejovi the 2nd quote should have read "the governor of the bank of england dictates the terms upon which alone the goverment can obtain borrowed money " and my personal one to you is "its no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society"jiddu krishnamurti

[@Kidsgrove49]

Conveniently forgetting that the mining industry started shrinking in the 1950's. Harold Wilson presided over more pit closures than Thatcher. There were 700,000 miners in 1955, down to 250,000 by the time Thatcher came in. Benn knew this perfectly well, yet he thinks that nobody will notice.

[@grahamjohn678]

His argument is about the politically motivated lies and rhetoric that were used to justify the closures, not the numbers.

[@NoAdditves]

The cruelest irony is that so many who lost their jobs and their children, who would've followed in the same line of employment, had find work in the only other area that provided enough opportunities: an expanding public sector. Now, 20 years later, they've been painted as the unnecessary leeches of society once again and directed back to the doll queue. For shame.

[@sonofcy]

Not entirely true, Alan Walters -I think that was his name - was a monetarist fanatic and her most trusted advisor. She adopted his advice and implemented strict monetarist policies and deflated the economy - much like is happening now. It was that that saw off most of the industry, money sucked out of the economy along with extremely high interest rates - very quickly -along with the abolition of subsidy again very quickly. It was a perfect storm and even efficient firms went to the wall.

[@themetalicarus]

There's plenty of cheap coal here, they just won't farm it because there trying to tie us up in so much of this E.U bullshit! Every daily aspect of our lives will be controlled by some foreign commission board if we keep going the way we are.Secondly I would call energy prices in this country anything but cheap right now; they seem to put the price up every other week -- nothing we can do, cos its coming from abroad, and we can't even supply ourselves with coal anymore because of E.U regulations

[@123hero321]

For every job lost in the mining industry, 10 were lost in other dependant industries, think on Thatcherites...

[@theredraven]

After James Callaghan I fail too see how anyone short of a broomstick being elected could be any more of a disaster.

[@harmlessdrudge]

0:49 The phrase "enemy within" was actually coined by Clement Attlee when he warned about Communist subversion in the trade unions.

[@lukesixtynineuk]

I always smile when I read that Socialism removes incentives. So incentives are only financial or self serving? What about the incentive to help others? Or the incentive to care? Why are incentives only for financial self-reward? It can be financial of course but not always.

[@tdp1909]

I'm only watching this cos I sold my video copy today. :( Beginning to think I made the wrong decision...

[@lukesixtynineuk]

How does that differ from what I said? looking after the poor, etc brings them up surely?