The country has lost a stalwart, a political heavy weight and icon to many. A man, who always professed that ideas and not personalities mattered in politics, had become such a household name and political hero that he beat Margaret Thatcher into second place in a BBC poll in 2006.
Tony Benn was an original and the real McCoy of British politics, who stuck to his political convictions and perhaps one of the few politicians that moved to the left of politics after serving in four separate ministerial roles in Labour Governments. After successfully renouncing his kinghood to stand for Parliament in the 1960s, he did not waste time to become an MO at the age of 25 and then went to contest the leadership of the Labour party twice in which he saw the tide of the politics moving away from his ideas to the right.
I remember his contributions in public meetings held in West London during the 1990s on issues of the undemocratic European institutions, the unification of Ireland and the struggle of the exploited workers in the UK and across the developing countries. His brand of intricately weaved words that captured the audience’s attention and the ability to respect what others had to say and to listen to patiently. He was a master in the use of the English language and a real orator, and a master at winning people over with his thoughtful ideas and convictions.
Above all I will remember Tony Benn for his leadership of the Stop the War coalition and his solidarity with the ‘creators of wealth’. His brand of politics is so appealing even in this age of the sound bite and digital age with the proliferation of the social media and 24/7 news outputs.
We have truly lost a great voice of the left and an authentic voice of British politics. His ideas of accountability, democracy and justice will live on and are gathering pace in the modern day politics of the right and the left. I for one, like so many, will miss his ideas and inspiration. My condolences to his family at this difficult time.
Copyright Semra Eren Nijhar – All rights reserved
Semra Eren-Nijhar 