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The Stansgate title should not be revived, nor the pretender “elected” to the Lords

Benn in the House of Commons, still from Last Will and Testament trailerTony Benn was devoted to his family, and so far as one could tell, it was always reciprocated at least in his lifetime. The devotion took many forms but I am concerned here with the impact of that devotion on the family’s public face and on political matters. In a family in which four generations have so far been members of parliament and a fifth looks set to follow, it would be surprising if there were not signifiant differences of opinion between them on occasion.

Tony was careful never publicly to criticise any of his family for the political views they held or advocated. Hilary Benn famously conformed to that practice by going no further than describing himself as “a Benn, but not a Bennite.” When his daughter-in-law, Nita Clarke, became Assistant Political Secretary to Tony Blair with responsibility for trade unions, Tony Benn made no public comment, which must surely have involved the suppression of regret, disappointment, even anger. I don’t know whether anything was said in private but I suspect Tony was capable of withholding criticism even in private (something my children would certainly testify is quite beyond my capability).

But I now discover that Tony did make very clear what he thought about the peerage. In a speech he was never allowed to deliver, but had wanted to do so at the time he inherited the peerage on the death of his father. Benn asked the Speaker, Sir Harry Hylton-Foster, for permission to address MPs from the Bar of the Commons, but permission was declined and he was barred from the Commons. In the speech he was to make (later published in Democracy by Peter Kellner) he intended to say this:

Whatever Parliament may ultimately decide about it I am asking that the Stansgate peerage which was created for a special purpose, having now served that purpose, should be allowed to lapse completely and for all time – preserving no privileges for the future. This is the united view of the whole family including my wife, my eldest son, my brother, my mother and was shared by my beloved father.

Stephen Benn was not even ten years old at the time so he should not be criticised for failing to stand by his agreement with the wishes of the rest of his family.  But his father made very clear his desire that the Stansgate peerage “should be allowed to lapse completely and for all time – preserving no privileges for the future“.

The privileges which have now been claimed by Stephen Benn are twofold: the honorific title conferred as an honour not upon him but upon his grandfather, and the “right” to be “elected” to the House of Lords which his father wanted abolished. Neither have any legitimacy. Both are an affront to the views and stated wishes of Tony Benn in renouncing the peerage which he was finally permitted to do two years after being prevented from making that speech.

Stephen Benn and any of his family who choose to style themselves “Viscount” or “Lady” are of course entitled so to do. They should just be aware that doing so deserves no respect. It is said (I hope wrongly) that he wishes to be “elected” in any by-election that may take place as a representative of the hereditary peers in the continuing House of Lords. If so and Labour hereditary peers have any decency and respect for the wishes of Tony Benn, they would not elect anyone in any such circumstances.

And the sooner the House of Lords disappears altogether, there better.

 

 

4 Comments

  1. swatantra says:

    Agree entirely. Out of respect for his father, Stephen must reconsider. I like most of the population believed that the title had been consigned to the dustbin, as all heritary titles should be. Its a disgrace to allow this patronage of the Crown to continue. We should also erospectively consign the Attlee title to the bin as well, along with the Life Peers when we win in 2015, so that Lord prescott becomes plain Mr Prezza.

  2. Robert says:

    Well one day we will get rid of it the sooner the better to stop these people filling their boots.

  3. James Martin says:

    Stephen Benn is a tosser. He may as well just build a toilet on his dad’s grave and spend all his time sitting on it as it would have the same effect as this disgraceful action.

  4. Robert says:

    Well the sons are never what the father was, so it’s not unexpected is it.

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