Tony Benn seriously ill

[blake 3:17]

Labour veteran Tony Benn was last night fighting for his life after spending a fourth night in hospital.

The 88-year-old former Cabinet minister is understood to be *seriously ill after being admitted at the weekend feeling unwell.

A family spokesman last night said: "Tony Benn was taken to hospital on Saturday evening after feeling unwell.

"He is currently receiving treatment."

Just last year Mr Benn revealed he did not fear his demise after suffering a stroke, explaining that losing his wife Caroline to cancer 14 years ago had helped him cope with the prospect. He said: "I'm not *frightened about death.

"I don't know why, but I just feel at a certain moment your switch is switched off and that's it. And you can't do anything about it.

"I think experiencing my wife's life and then death has encouraged me to feel like this."

But he admitted that he still misses the American educationalist and wanted to be buried next to her by the River Blackwater in Essex.

Mr Benn entered Parliament in November 1950 and served as Minister of Technology, Industry and Energy in the Wilson and Callaghan Cabinets.

He opposed joining the Common Market, was pipped to the Deputy Leadership by Dennis Healey and backed the Miners' Strike.

Mr Benn finally stood down from Parliament in 2001 to "spend more time on politics".


http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/labours-tony-benn-seriously-ill-3134955

[Dr Doom]

strike breaker

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

strike breaker

such compassion you have there.

But yeah, i'm not sure this is huge news in revolutionary circles, the man's always been overrated as a 'leftist'.

[Criminalize Heterosexuality]

such compassion you have there.

Pretty sure that's not how you would have responded to an analogous statement about Thatcher. A bourgeois minister's a bourgeois minister, even if they come from a party some parts of "the left" can't let go off.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

Pretty sure that's not how you would have responded to an analogous statement about Thatcher. A bourgeois minister's a bourgeois minister, even if they come from a party some parts of "the left" can't let go off.

Thatcher's different. She died on my birthday, I had to celebrate.

[The Feral Underclass]

I've seen him talk a few times.

He's 88. 88 year olds die.

[The Feral Underclass]

I for one am looking forward to reading Owen Jones's smug, tear-soaked eulogy in the Independent when finally dies. Ugh.

[bricolage]

if pete seeger dies and tony benn dies too, then who will the left get to perform at their union rallies?!?

[bricolage]

but nah I'm not in to this celebrating people's deaths too much. with thatcher there were parties and it was funny but sure we all knew how politically limited it was and how really all we had to celebrate was an old lady dying peacefully and a world a million miles from communism. but the rest of the time I just don't see the point. I'm not into the abject mourning and I'm not in to the childish celebrating. people get old and people die, it's sad but that's what happens to humans. the next day we still have to go to work and we still have to pay our rent.

[Criminalize Heterosexuality]

but nah I'm not in to this celebrating people's deaths too much. with thatcher there were parties and it was funny but sure we all knew how politically limited it was and how really all we had to celebrate was an old lady dying peacefully and a world a million miles from communism. but the rest of the time I just don't see the point. I'm not into the abject mourning and I'm not in to the childish celebrating. people get old and people die, it's sad but that's what happens to humans. the next day we still have to go to work and we still have to pay our rent.

Well, I never said that we should celebrate Benn's death. But we shouldn't mourn it, either. There is quite a difference between the death of a revolutionary communist and a Labour sell-out.

[bricolage]

Well, I never said that we should celebrate Benn's death. But we shouldn't mourn it, either. There is quite a difference between the death of a revolutionary communist and a Labour sell-out.
nah I agree. I'm just musing about deaths in general...

[The Feral Underclass]

I for one am looking forward to reading Owen Jones's smug, tear-soaked eulogy in the Independent when finally dies. Ugh.

I tweeted this on the CA account, and got a response from Owen Jones


@AnarchoCommies You all sound lovely, full of warmth and humanity, so well done on that

Lol. What a self-righteous twat.

[Sentinel]

From what I've heard and figured out, he was kind made of the same wood as Palme in Sweden. Ie someone who back in the day really believed in achieving socialism throught reforms - rather than merely paying such an approach lip service and fully supporting capitalism. Now someone in Britain might think differently and I won't start debating that with them, clearly not knowing enough.

Benn did however vocally oppose the expelling of marxists from the labour party, recognising us as a legitimate current deserving a platform in the mainstream workers movement. I can respect someone like that, even though they may not be a comrade in the actual sense of the word.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

I tweeted this on the CA account, and got a response from Owen Jones



Lol. What a self-righteous twat.

oh god, he copied me word for word almost.

Owen, I am your father. :w00t:

[The Feral Underclass]

Well that escalated quickly.

[The Feral Underclass]

From what I've heard and figured out, he was kind made of the same wood as Palme in Sweden. Ie someone who back in the day really believed in achieving socialism throught reforms - rather than merely paying such an approach lip service and fully supporting capitalism. Now someone in Britain might think differently and I won't start debating that with them, clearly not knowing enough.

Benn did however vocally oppose the expelling of marxists from the labour party, recognising us as a legitimate current deserving a platform in the mainstream workers movement. I can respect someone like that, even though they may not be a comrade in the actual sense of the word.

He also supported bringing in troops to break strikes, did deals with the South African apartied government and supported police violence against squatters.

[Sentinel]

Well that is shit. Quite different from Palme when it comes to South Africa, btw. But yeah these are opponents to revolution, supporters of the bourgeois state, so. Even the best are of course ultimately on the other side of the barricades than us.

[ed miliband]

From what I've heard and figured out, he was kind made of the same wood as Palme in Sweden. Ie someone who back in the day really believed in achieving socialism throught reforms - rather than merely paying such an approach lip service and fully supporting capitalism. Now someone in Britain might think differently and I won't start debating that with them, clearly not knowing enough.

Benn did however vocally oppose the expelling of marxists from the labour party, recognising us as a legitimate current deserving a platform in the mainstream workers movement. I can respect someone like that, even though they may not be a comrade in the actual sense of the word.

yeah, that isn't true of benn at all.

he started out a moderate / right-winger in the labour party, climbed up to numerous ministerial positions in various labour governments (which isn't too hard when you're from a family of political elites), and then moved further to the left when he left office. his idea of socialism is basically british radical liberalism + nationalised industries and public healthcare, etc. he's also explicitly said - i think, but can't find the source at this present time - he doesn't think of socialism as something to be achieved (gradually or otherwise), but as something you 'do' - so the nhs, for him, is an example of socialism. in other words, he's not particularly radical at all.

and all that is without getting on to the fact that the various governments he was a minister in did the aforementioned shit - using the army against strikers, shutting down more mines than thatcher, deals with apartheid south africa. and yet benn, for all his left turns, remained utterly committed to parliamentary democracy, the bourgeous state and so on.

[Sentinel]

yeah, that isn't true of benn at all.

he started out a moderate / right-winger in the labour party, climbed up to numerous ministerial positions in various labour governments (which isn't too hard when you're from a family of political elites), and then moved further to the left when he left office. his idea of socialism is basically british radical liberalism + nationalised industries and public healthcare, etc. he's also explicitly said - i think, but can't find the source at this present time - he doesn't think of socialism as something to be achieved (gradually or otherwise), but as something you 'do' - so the nhs, for him, is an example of socialism. in other words, he's not particularly radical at all.



Thanks for the info, sounds like his occasional leftwing rhetoric and actions were calculated populist moves then, and that he wasn't the kind of person I had imagined him to be (authentic, idealist left social democrat).


and all that is without getting on to the fact that the various governments he was a minister in did the aforementioned shit - using the army against strikers, shutting down more mines than thatcher, deals with apartheid south africa. and yet benn, for all his left turns, remained utterly committed to parliamentary democracy, the bourgeous state and so on.

Yeah, I never had a doubt he was the kind of person who would support those institutions no matter what, ie not one of us. I've never had a problem with respecting people of opposing ideologies within the left as persons, including social democrats. It may be a weakness, but it doesn't matter - as long as I know where they stand when it matters.

That said, after hearing all this my respect to Tony Benn is significantly smaller than before.

[Comrade Jacob]

This isn't a good thing, it means that the house of commons overall has shifted more to the right. I understand he isn't a 'leftist' but for an MP he was more good than bad. imo, although I have heard him being a social-democrat, I don't know fully.

[The Feral Underclass]

He hasn't been an MP since 2001


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

I'm sure that he is, in some ways, an idealist. He seems to believe very much in what he advocated (social democracy).

But in order to evaluate him fairly, you'd have to take into account his scabby actions in office, too. He doesn't really front up that well when you consider such actions.

Still, there are worse characters around.

[bricolage]

what's the story about when he threatened to send in the army against striking workers? I remember devrim mentioning it a few times on here.

[hatzel]

For some reason the fact that Tony Benn is also a Mr Benn means that whenever somebody mentions Tony Benn I automatically think they're talking about Mr Benn :confused:

[Queen Mab]

Do you mean Mr. Bean?

[blake 3:17]

There is a Mr Benn http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr_Benn

[blake 3:17]

@Sentinel - the comparison to Olaf Palme might be kind of right.

Benn moved pretty consistently, if slowly, to the left, with the unusual characteristic of being radicalized by being in government.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Benn#Move_to_the_Left

I got interested in him in the early 2000s working with some left social democrats who had some healthier perspectives than the sectarian lefts did.

There's some interesting interviews and writings that I can't seem to find on line. Will take a look in a research library & see if I can find the references.