Tony Benn: the aristocrat who fought for workers

He was a hero to the left -- but critics saw him as an extremist who consigned Labour to the electoral wildnerness for years. But today, politicians from all sides have been paying tribute to Tony Benn. .Sign up for Snowmail, your daily preview of what is on Channel 4 News, sent straight to your inbox, here: mailing.channel4.com/public/sn...
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[@nestorsdragon8057]

I like that Tony Benn smiled as he lost the vote, such a gracious man

[@r.mutt.7655]

The only truly honourable politician amid the perfidious throng.

[@heighwaysonthewing]

@Sal Blasker are you saying the Tories have honor ? , if you are I am looking at you the same way I first saw Noel Edmonds in the 1970's and how I look at him now ...

[@davidpemberton8828]

Dennis skinner is in that bracket too

[@deswillie]

Him and the bloke over his right shoulder

[@grahamfay2473]

And Jeremy Corbyn of course is a man of the same convictions. Oh how much of a better society we would have under Jeremy Corbyn.

[@_Ben4810]

Perhaps you've done your homework in these intervening years on just how awful a government minister he was, not least as Minister of Technology where he signed away so much of the North Sea gas & oil extraction & production rights to American oil companies on terms that were truly dreadful for the UK...The oil companies absolutely played him for the buffoon he was & they won & subsequently made HUGE profits at the UK's expense for many decades.

[@keneblana]

Tony Benn was not an aristocrat. The best compliment for him is one of his own, "He said what he meant and meant what he said".

[@patinho5589]

keneblana he was a Lord

[@keneblana]

@Classic Movies I will accept that the man was certainly noble, (strictly in the proletarian definition of the word of course!)

[@jaijai5250]

@Classic Movies he really did have the courage of his convictions, particularly as he denounced his aristocratic title.

[@TheSuperLegoMan100]

@Classic Movies 1. he was an aristocrat for basically a couple months before he fought to get rid of the title. 2. it's misleading to call him an aristocrat, because he did not come from a long line of landed barons or anything like that, his grandfather was a tiler and his father was given a hereditary peerage near the end of his career

[@feonor26]

@@keneblana He was born with a noble title as far as I know, but he got rid of it so he could be elected into the Underhouse or something like that. There are some rules on that issue in the UK but not sure how they are.

[@Szaam]

On the day of his funeral I got up at 5am to travel to London from the West Midlands to pay my respects. I'm proud of myself for doing that. Benn was like no other; I'm yet to discover someone else as engaging and compassionate as him. R.I.P Tony, you're an immeasurable influence on me.

[@johnnyc5765]

John Mulligan I was thinking the same thing. He is the anarchists worst nightmare, socialism with lots of bureaucracy! But yet I do respect him, honourable and gracious, I would rather have him as an “enemy” than Putin, Xi, Trump etc..... With Benn, after a day of disagreement we could still have a beer, then turn away. With Putin and Xi, I wouldn’t even turn my back away....😂😅

[@paulfitzpatrick6536]

Wow take care

[@havennewbowtow8835]

An absolute giant of British politics. A man of unwavering principles, the like of whom we will be blessed to see again.

[@matthewhendy5785]

Never truer words said.

[@morayoung3183]

I love Tony Benn a noble man with respect for the working class that is everyone that works for a better GREAT BRITAIN.

[@Nounismisation]

I really, really miss him. I knew him and did a project with him, but more than that I miss him as a voice, as a reassurance that to think for yourself and find that your conclusions don't mirror the zeitgeist is okay. People ask me 'what was he like?'. Was he nice? Was he honest? He was so many things that in the past I have struggled to answer. My answer today now is simple: he was full of love. Bursting with love.

[@ysgol3]

Dead right Nounismation, and a beautiful comment !!

[@rorymarsh4095]

Thank you for this comment, this man is my political Idol (and I don't like the idea of an idol)...that's how much he means to me. Now living in Bristol, it pleases me to sometimes walk past "Mr Benn House" in the Centre. Jesus; just imagine if he was our PM.... ;'(

[@ahm3dyusuf737]

You are so lucky you met such a great man.

[@John-wz7yu]

This country needs a Tony Benn more than ever,

[@TonyEnglandUK]

Whatever people thought of the likes of Tony Benn, or Enoch Powell, they were honourable and principled politicians who commanded respect and refused to abandon their beliefs just to gain popularity.

[@sboubalouta]

Tony Benn a true internationale! RIP a friend I never knew.

[@QuranicIslam]

I literally, actually, do cry when I think of Tony Benn. RIP great soul 🙏

[@adriftinaboat3452]

Me too. My late socialist working class father who volunteered to fight fascism in 1939 admired him greatly

[@soulsparton]

what a gentleman and an amazing man sadly missed

[@Fernandwinnie]

I am a Scot who believes in Scottish independence….He was a great man, an honest and sincere gentleman whom I had the greatest admiration for. If only we had more like him.

[@usayeed727]

I'm a right winger... But despite his socialist views, I have nothing but the utmost respect for him. He was honest to the core. Hats off to him I hope more can rise who are as honest as he was.

[@lewisner]

I am left wing but I found during the EU referendum that I had more in common with the Right than the "New Left".

[@heighwaysonthewing]

if they did they would get the right wing Tory press to blacked him and his caricature , you know they would , you couldn't have Tony Benn now he wouldn't be allowed , but thanks for your kind words , his Socialist views are what made him great , what he say's would see the people benefit greatly oh well.

[@heighwaysonthewing]

@@lewisner in what way mate interesting as most remain supporters seem to be blaming Labour , they've got a f**king nerve the bastards , they started the whole thing , but yes what is your experience with the new left? and why do you think they are wrong?

[@TheWaveGoodbye-Music]

Left and right divides us brothers and sisters, we all want equality for the workers regardless of colour or background, it’s top verses bottom not left vs right

[@Original_Flanno]

@@TheWaveGoodbye-Music well put.

[@kenwoolley3003]

How different politics were back in the 60s 70s and 80s full of heavyweight politicians on both sides.

[@alberain]

As a right winger, I respect Tony Benn more than most on "our" side. A truly good man.

[@KetwigKeith]

His politics are almost irrelevant when considering him compared to the current lot. He was sincere which would have him above just about everyone now

[@thegrumpyloyal]

A man who would rip into this hypocritical bunch. I met him on a couple of occasions and his calmness in the face of hostility was inspiring!

[@antonybullock2240]

True legend amongst politicians and a giant amongst men. Though he would've never have seen him self as a giant .A truly humble man. How many politicians in British politics stand out such as him. He is a man who set the mark that all should be judged.

[@rc2869]

I saw him speak in Hyde Park in early 1990s. I didn't agree with everything he said or stood for at the time especially Gulf War 1. But I listened and I was educated. Brilliant - my privelidge. In hindsight I heard the greatest orator I will ever encounter. Passion, perception and foresight. Wonderful

[@strawberryblondemilk7249]

Back when a politician could grab the attention of the working class

[@FreakishlyTrue]

Tony Benn would be so proud of Jeremy Corbyn if he were alive today. Labour 2017

[@BillyGoatScruff1000]

When did Jeremy Corbyn die? They've animated him well the past few years, always knew he wasn't quite right though.

[@heighwaysonthewing]

@@BillyGoatScruff1000 Will Jeremy didn't die , Tony did therefor unable to see what he is doing now as he is dead, I think it is called a mixed type conditional , in grammar , ok happy good carry on.

[@ilikezappa3268]

I went to a "Stop the war" meeting . I actually thought the war was a bloody good idea ,but I wanted to see Tony speak to the great unwashed who had gathered . The first few speakers were young and angry ,and launched into the usual naive anti American Grrrrrrr stuff . Ho hum . Tony , on the other hand was a seasoned pro , and warmed up the room with some jokes ,and then made a very eloquent speech . Whatever your political persuasion , you could not help warming to Mr Benn ,who had the utmost integrity in his beliefs . The House of Commons is a greyer place without this remarkable man .

[@olliedwards8069]

Why did you think war was a good idea?

[@fuckfannyfiddlefart]

Great idea, the MILLION DEAD Iraqis and the national debt thanks you for your violent imperialism

[@kerryfry1857]

The greatest example of democracy, a giant of resistance to capitalism. Thank you Antony Neil Wedgwood Benn. A workers hero, with the likes of Paul Robeson and Joe Hill. We are encouraged! ♥️

[@pauladams1814]

Tony Benn simply brilliant history will show he was right all along.

[@flowerofscotland8839]

I know Saddam had faults, but to persistently accuse anyone of having anything, in this case, nuclear weapons, knowing full well they haven't. And repeat it consistently to the world, is one of the nastiest strategies I've known.

[@dantaylor7344]

How many politicians do you know go down a coal mine? One off, true legend

[@strawberryblondemilk7249]

Aye most of them just stand there with a high vis, hard hat on posing with a shovel for the paper

[@BobSaint]

Dennis Skinner worked in it.

[@zainubsydney9178]

What an interesting man. Honarourable man with integrity

[@moffit1]

Massive respect for him

[@marydwyer8466]

A 'hero of the left' definitely - love Tony Benn.

[@Simon-xc6iy]

Tony Benn sadly missed and most people don't know it!!!!

[@kerryfry1857]

I know it. So do loads of people. He's an icon. He knew what needed to be done. We workers need to keep his message alive. Share it in groups you're in. It's easy. He encouraged us!

[@Simon-xc6iy]

@@kerryfry1857 sadly most people don't want to know. Britain is finished. A mess on the right a mess on the left, in fact they are meeting up because they have gone so far out and the others just consume. Let's blame it on brexit or the French.Lol I left many years ago and miss Blighty everyday but where and how I live is for me tangible in work and nature. Living in Blighty now seems to me about hoping whoever in power will dish out aid. Lost the plot. Two words that might have stopped this ever happening JOHN SMITH

[@mrpoliticaltranslator4043]

he wasn't really an aristocrat - his father was self-made and appointed his title on his own merits.

[@JohnSmith-os9mq]

Kind of but his grandfather was a baronet

[@ProfessorChomsky]

Went to see him speak in a smallish venue in Brighton around 1990/1 - mesmerising and although a long time ago and I was only 22/23 I am sure I was left with a feeling of hope and renewal. Tony Benn was a great man x

[@jeffbuckleyfan4214]

The greatest politician in the Uk

[@TonyEnglandUK]

It's a tragedy that this principled man was never Prime Minister.

[@tupachussain7489]

An Honourable Man. Always no matter what oppose war. It always ends up being for the benefit of a few greedy vile rich men.

[@twaito]

I used to hear my dad rage about some of Tony Benn's speeches as a kid in Thatchers 80s. He did inspire me to study politics at A level. Honesty and integrity personified. Its tragic the shite, we the British public vote for an bring into office these days.

[@pamcollins4334]

What a great man!

[@5eek3r0fknowl3dg3]

3:45 turned out the great man spoke the truth, in the end proved to be martyr of defending the truth!

[@Ironsmiler]

Wonder what Tony would have made of the House of Commons today.

[@TonyEnglandUK]

He'd wonder where principles, honour and integrity went.

[@AH-be6bu]

He'd wonder why the house of commons and its adjoining sewage facilities had swapped places.

[@jayh1246]

Why isn’t there any politicians like him any more , just honest

[@feonor26]

Im from Norway and have always admired this man from the moment I became aware of him. A true statesman, a model of how a politician should be. This guy in UK and Mike Gravel in the US are prime examples of how politicians should really be. I hope to see more people in power like them but I doubt it.

[@RobinJames-cs5uq]

Jeremy corbyn was also brilliant and George galloway etc but its scary now how awful so called democracy is in England ive seen it get so much like usa over last twenty yesrs I wish jeremy corbyn had won or been allowed ro be prime minister

[@RobinJames-cs5uq]

And Julian assange wikileaks is one of few true journalists

[@AZ12105]

idk what to say, he seemed like a great soul

[@rhondamckay5925]

Love the bones of this man. Tony Benn. 🖤

[@SoulRippster]

SOCIALISM NOW!!!

[@SRPC21]

Lovely man who was very genuine

[@jamesrichardson3500]

A man of principal. He stood for something. Some things i agreed with some things i did not, but he served this country in a way identity politics can never allow others to do so. A great man x

[@happystarhappystar1477]

I'm tearing up over this looking back to this great man and his great vision. 😪

[@Judewilkinsonjfk]

The Michael Foot election was irritating. Labour were winning by a wide majority until the Falklands war. They say the manifesto was the longest suicide note in history, but it really wasn't. It was rather that Thatcher became so much more popular and entered the political mainstream as a result of her intervention, even though her first years as Prime Minister were relatively unsuccessful.

[@kailashpatel1706]

It was worse then that..between post 1979 and 1981, the Tories were only ahead in two polls over that entire period and labour ahead in the rest..the SDP defection cracked the party apart..

[@SRPC21]

The problem was that the party as a whole massively opposed the Falklands war, saying that the money would be better spent in the country to tackle poverty. They read the room wrong though, underestimating the patriotism and justice working class communities felt about a foreign country invading one of our sovereign lands.

[@swagatochatterjee7104]

Argentina actually won the Falklands War, and the UK lost it. It made a dictatorship collapse in Argentina, and ushered in an age of credit card debts and austerity for the world.

[@swagatochatterjee7104]

@@SRPC21 as an Indian I often wondered what made the working class Britons drool over a strip of land which never brought any wealth to their pockets but the capitalists. Was it a colonial hangover?

[@TonyEnglandUK]

@@swagatochatterjee7104 As a Brit, I have no answer for you, other than Thatcher saw it as an opportunity to buy popularity. The newspapers in Britain relentlessly showered their readers with jingoistic nationalism and it spread like a fever. Years later, Thatcher was voted the most-hated woman in British history and most Brits saw the whole Falklands deal as a betrayal of our own forces and a ludicrous waste of their lives.

[@neilsailing]

They don't make them like that anymore. Would have difficulty naming a politician of note in 2021.

[@mrsfreeeeducation]

RIP Tony Benn

[@hegeliandialecticproblemre538]

What a man

[@sinnyozzy]

A truly honourable, inspirational man!

[@incredibleXMan]

Shoddy journalism. He wasn't blue blooded but inherited his father's peerage which he then renounced.

[@MrSonicAdvance]

He didn't renounce the money though, did he? Champagne Socialist!

[@incredibleXMan]

What money are you talking about?

[@incredibleXMan]

Oh dear read the article not the headline. This was legitimate tax planning.

[@disobeytoday4685]

@@MrSonicAdvance When was the last time anyone paid any attention to a beggar in the street

[@MrSonicAdvance]

@@incredibleXMan So socialists support rich people avoiding paying tax now? Interesting.

[@ds1868]

I would never describe Tony Benn as an aristocrat. His Viscountcy was a recent creation for his father, and although the family background was upper middle class that doesn't make you an aristocrat.

[@davidmatthews631]

What an honourable man. Amazing that is son, who advocates war, is so the opposite. If only Tony hadn’t of had him.

[@scottiescott4201]

Brilliant man wish he was still here for the voice of reason

[@nestorsdragon8057]

"This government has utter contempt for skill"

[@grahamfay2473]

Tony Benn was such a great man who stood up for ordinary people. A true socialist, his name and all that lhe stood for has been shamed by a Labour party under Starmer.

[@JaguarDevice]

No word of his battle to leave the EEC / EU. Interesting omission by Channel 4.

[@charliezz6746]

Exactly convenient how they fail to mention he would have voted and campaigned to leave had he still been alive in 2016.

[@corporealstoryteller9814]

It says "withdrawal from Europe" at 2:51.

[@anthfax]

Lovely man

[@teresaharrison5773]

What a brilliant MP he was putting the people and workers first sorely missed. Take note all MPs who are attempting to thwart, delay and obstruct brexit, you do not speak for the PEOPLE!!! and you do not hold a candle to this man who knew what the European Union was about!!!!

[@tonymccaul7159]

A politician of ideological conviction. An endangered if not now extinct species.

[@fuckfannyfiddlefart]

I love class traitors from the Tory class and hate class traitors from the working class!

[@fairplayer7435]

Great man, huge presence. Proper alpha dog. RIP

[@alidassu8999]

AN AMAZING , CARING HUMAN BEING .A TRUE GENUINE SOCIALIST.THE BEST PRIME MINISTER BRITAIN NEVER HAD

[@sam8290]

What a man!

[@tomlinid]

I wonder what he would think about all the fighting going on in labor today?

[@maryfenton958]

A good man Tony Benn... not so much his offspring!

[@jeanettesteed3326]

A man of principle. None left now unfortunately.

[@olliedwards8069]

He would be disappointed that his son voted for air strikes in Syria

[@ubiquitouswigger]

Nice epitaph to a great person

[@tiziocaio6236]

He was not an aristocrat. He never once sought to counter the general public belief that he was one.

[@jayd4ever]

i would not consider him an aristocrat his father was army officer and tony benn came from east end but he was definitely one of the honest labour politicians and good orator like oswald mosley

[@patinho5589]

Baji Scipio Dārayav Aurelius Julian Venizelos Nalwa He had a lordly title = aristocrat He gave it up so that he could serve in the House of Commons Geez.. the video even covers this

[@matthewhackett1710]

Would those "critics" be "the Media" by any chance. How much influence for good would he be in the Commons now?

[@bloodboughtbigphilr8266]

Respect to a great man and political giant. A true man of principle. Greatly missed. Wish there was more of the auld fella in his son Hillary.

[@morayoung3183]

The conservative policies rest in injustice.

[@ThatGuyThanus]

Great man.. a hero..!

[@simonmhood69]

Labour died with this man.

[@bruh949]

My favourite PM may be Anthony Eden, But Tony Benn, Micheal Foot, Harold Wilson, Hugh Gaitskell, Aneurin Bevan - and now George Galloway, Kate Hoey, Khalid Mahmood, Rosie Duffield, and to a lesser extent but worthy of note Gordon Brown and Keir Starmer are all amazing politicians, ranging from ones I see positively to political heros. I now am a Traditionalist Leftist who is Auth Left, Christian Left, Imperialist Left, Nationalist Left, Eurosceptic Left and so on. We need true Left again. True Socialist.

[@MarkHarrison733]

Brown covered up child abuse.

[@georgemather9082]

I’m more to the right of Benn but i f Benn was alive today, I’d vote for him over any of the current crop. Because, unlike the current crop, he loved Britain and actually meant what he said.

[@josephelias9081]

Total misrepresentation by channel 4.

[@miel1074]

An aristocrat fighting for labour, is like chickens fighting for Colonel Sanders!!!

[@alanwitton5039]

Even I as a life long Tory voter have nothing but the utmost respect for this great man! We'll not see his like again! May he rest in peace!

[@Truerealism747]

Yet his son is centre ground unbelievable

[@GoogleUser-lk6xn]

Don’t agree with his policies but damn he was a honourable man

[@wilsonfisk6626]

Is that Roy Hattersley? 3:02

[@TonyEnglandUK]

It certainly is.

[@davidpemberton8828]

Legend

[@user-zw3bg9vr5g]

❤

[@nixbronowski5822]

Was he the 'Post Master General'?

[@chazs001]

another goodun gone rip tony.

[@shiningdiva_2]

God rest him in peace!

[@conor85882]

Tony Benn OG

[@jonathanmano4152]

STOP THE WAR PLEASE!!! = channel 4: extremist well done good job channel 4 =]

[@artistsometimes2729]

he was not an aristocrat. His father got given a peerage in the Mcdonald government. He is descended from middle class liberal church reformers and MPs, not aristocracy. Get it right.

[@ysgol3]

How many bloody times. HE WASN'T AN ARISTOCRAT !!!!!!!!!!

[@ysgol3]

Yes, he inherited the title from his father because his (Tony's) elder brother was killed in the Second World War. But Tony's father, a former Labour Government Minister, was MADE a Lord in 1940 after he'd retired from the Commons, and he agreed to become one simply to increase the number of Labour peers in the Lords. Nothing to do with the aristocracy at all

[@nestorsdragon8057]

ysgol3 He was by blood, but he rejected it

[@ysgol3]

Nestor and Carlos - His father and grandfather were MPs, his father, a former Labour cabinet minister was made a lord in the 1940s when his Commons career was over, simply to increase the number of Labour members of the House of Lords. In those days the only peerages were hereditary ones, and the family expected that Tony's elder brother, Michael, who intended to go into the church not politics, would inherit it from his father. However Michael was killed in the war, so when Tony's father died in 1960 Tony was, as he himself put it, 'saddled with' a title he didn't want ! Tony, an MP for Bristol, was then dismissed from the Commons ! Tony and his father had discussed what to do when this happened, and Tony fought a principled and heroic court campaign to get the right to 'renounce' his peerage, which he did when he won in court and so he returned to the Commons. Ironically, the next person to use this new right to renounce was Alec Douglas-Hume, who then became an MP so he could succeed Macmillan as Prime Minister in 1963. All this is just one of the reasons so called 'socialists' hated Tony - for example Healey, who was desperate for a peerage (which he of course got) and was furious that Tony Benn had simply binned his own in favour of democracy. Kinnock was the same, though two men of principle who refused peerages were Michael Foot and a much misunderstood, decent man, Ted Heath.

[@ysgol3]

Thank you Carlos, my pleasure.

[@nifralo2752]

@@ysgol3 that still makes him an aristocrat if he is a peer. You seem to be confusing aristocrat for gentry. Gentry own land. The Duke of Buccluch is both gentry and aristocrat. Benn s father and son are aristocrats/peers. But a Laird who owns an estate is gentry

[@morayoung3183]

The Legacy of Tony Ben goes on. The fall of Capitalism proves, INVEST IN THE PEOPLE, THE WORKERS AND THE VULNETABLE IMPROVING YHEIR LIFES AND ANY COUNTRY WILL BE BLESS, GROW AND PROSPER.

[@thehipbip1678]

Tony Benn, Tony Benn is a bad young brother in actual fact

[@MrMickeyone]

Poor you. I wish you better

[@samedz3966]

How he was never PM speaks volumes as to where British politics was/is

[@barrypick5361]

And now we have clowns....

[@jbarral6509]

Iraq war never should've happen Afghanistan however is a different story

[@wilsonfisk6626]

Agreed

[@MarkHarrison733]

Invading Afghanistan was a mistake.

[@TheSuperLegoMan100]

o7

[@tombombadil9123]

Capitalism does rest on injustice. but problem is not the system - it's the people. human nature is the source of all social (and many other) problems

[@Joe-of1ob]

and there in effect you have the answer to precisely why Socialism never will and never has worked