I got to know Tony Benn well when I worked as a researcher to the Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPs in the mid-2000s. I’d first met him when he was about to stand down from Parliament “to devote more time to politics“, a promise which he fulfilled. He filled venues around the country with […]
Posts Tagged ‘Bennism’
On Luke Akehurst’s charge sheet against Benn
Mar 18th, 2014 by Duncan Hall.I was not at all surprised to see an article on Labourlist, by Luke Akehurst, rehashing many of the old arguments about “the damage” that Tony Benn allegedly did to the Labour Party. Akehurst presented a “charge sheet” against Benn (and, by implication at least, against Bennites). Every point on his “charge sheet” is – […]
The Wilderness Years
Oct 13th, 2012 by Jon Lansman.If you haven’t seen The Wilderness Years, a BBC series of four hour-long documentaries broadcast in 1995, it’s well worth watching – and you can by following the links below. Documenting the period of Labour’s history from losing the 1979 election to the election of Blair as Labour’s Leader, it relies entirely on archive footage […]
Owen Jones and the prospects for neo-Bennism
Oct 12th, 2012 by David Osler.The Daily Express was once the largest circulation newspaper in the world, Frederick Forsyth was once this country’s best-selling novelist, and Labour leftism was once a force that could not ignored. All of these statements, dear younger reader, are astounding but true. So I was highly amused to see that the website of the has-been […]