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| Tony Benn: An Appreciation |
Tony Benn: An Appreciation.
Member of Parliament for 47 years, Benn described himself as "one of the few UK politicians to have become more left-wing after holding ministerial office." He also stated "I was brought up to believe that when you were elected to parliament, you were elected to control the statute book, the purse and the sword. But I have sat in a commons that has abandoned control of the statute book to Brussels, control of the sword to the White House and the purse to the IMF."
Admired for his integrity and honesty, two words rarely associated with our politicians, he was (and still is) an inspiration to people. In fact, there's even a group on Facebook with close to 3,000 fans called Tony Benn Encouraged Me. How wonderful.
He also inspired those close to him, including Chris Mullin, friend for 35 years, writer and former politician.
Tony Benn: An Appreciation, is a talk by Mullin, where he pays tribute to Benn's life, offering a sympathetic but not uncritical assessment of him from the post-war era.
“One of the most mesmerising and divisive figures in the mainstream of postwar British politics.” The GuardianDuring his long political career Tony Benn went through many incarnations: pillar of the Labour establishment, Cabinet minister, tabloid bogeyman, serial dissident and “reviled prophet of capitalism's demise” (The Guardian), he eventually, in his old age became considered a national treasure. Celebrated as a radical left-wing politician, he was both loved and loathed in equal measure by countless voters who had never met him.
Mullin has written in various publications about Tony Benn, in one he shares the following anecdote.
Once, in the early 80s, I walked beside him near the front of a huge demonstration organised by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, called in protest at the government's decision to allow the Americans to station a new generation of nuclear weapons in their British bases. The arrival of Cruise missiles had given CND a new lease of life and, in an attempt to broaden their base, Benn had been missed off the list of platform speakers and instead that old cold war warrior Denis Healey had been invited to speak.
No sooner had Healey started speaking than the crowd, more than 100,000 strong, began baying for Benn. Eventually, the organisers realised that they had no choice but to invite him on to the platform. Up he climbed and within minutes, he had set the crowd alight.
Chris Mullin, former MP and writer, has been a minister in three departments and chairman of the Home Affairs select committee. His writings include three highly acclaimed volumes of diaries, "A View from the Foothills", "Decline and Fall" and "A Walk-On Part"; as well as the novel "A Very British Coup", which was made into an award-winning television series.
The event this Friday comprises of a talk, followed by a question and answer session.
Event Details:
Title: Tony Benn: An Appreciation
Company: Lakin McCarthy
Date: Fri 13th June 2014
Time: 7:30pm
Advance Tickets: £14 [£12]
Tickets On The Door: £15 [£13]
TOM’s Friends 15% Discount
