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    ortonianMax Read
    3/14/14 10:15am

    Tony Benn was a great MP and activist, but also a constant reminder that the lower classes are under-represented even in left-wing politics. I saw him at the Bishopsgate Institute with Owen Jones last November and felt like I was observing the socialist baton being passed down from one generation of the chattering classes to another. A sense of timeliness lends itself to the context of that occasion now.

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      raincoasterortonian
      3/14/14 9:29pm

      You can't fault the man for an accident of birth. He did, after all, go to court to renounce his title.

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      ortonianraincoaster
      3/14/14 10:04pm

      I'm not faulting him. I'm faulting the system for remaining this way. I'm lamenting a setup which results in few people from working class backgrounds entering political careers both in the House of Commons and in the media. I'm annoyed that even the people who have become figureheads for socialism in the United Kingdom today also happen to be from comfortable, middle-to-upper class backgrounds.

      As for renouncing his title, Ben didn't do that because he wanted to live like a prole. He didn't even do it because he disagreed with the principle of hereditary peerages. He did it because when his brother passed and he inherited his peerage, he had no choice. He was automatically disqualified from the House of Commons. The Peerage Bill was rushed through parliament in 1963 just for him - so he could renounce his title and continue the job he preferred.

      I'm annoyed for having to write this because I admired the man greatly, but the romantic notions which distorted certain details of his life and achievements while he was still alive have gone into overdrive today.

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    Max ReadMax Read
    3/14/14 9:51am
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      Smut KaleidoscopeMax Read
      3/14/14 10:03am

      Wilding is a great middle name and I might just save it for my own offspring.

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      Sean BrodyMax Read
      3/14/14 10:17am

      Quality Youtube clip there, Max.

      Thank you.

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    Attack of the WibblesMax Read
    3/14/14 9:53am

    The one thing that amazed me was people partying in the streets after her death.

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      Sean BrodyAttack of the Wibbles
      3/14/14 10:23am

      With respect, no one that lived through it was a little bit surprised.

      She tore that country apart.

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      seductionAttack of the Wibbles
      3/14/14 10:46am

      A lot of them were moron kids not even born during her terms who did not realize she brought a country out of rot and decay. She may have well not been perfect, but at least she tried. The left did nothing.

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    Sean BrodyMax Read
    3/14/14 10:13am

    I always liked Tony. A very decent sort.

    https://twitter.com/Gillespie1Alan…

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      Sean BrodySean Brody
      3/14/14 10:21am

      For anyone interested in the rise of Thatcherism, there is an outstanding BBC doco that is still on Youtube.
      It's an incredible story. Starts, as most things do, with some chickens.

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    raincoasterMax Read
    3/14/14 9:28pm
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      boredofeducationMax Read
      3/14/14 10:05am

      Before all the haters come out, I'd like to say (as someone who marched with him during the 80s coalminers' strikes) he was an enormously generous man who saw the good in everyone - and was respected and liked by colleagues across the political spectrum. It's sad that my friends here have never heard of him but hold Thatcher in reverence. If we judge a person by the way they treat their fellow man, it should be the other way around. Everything about this man's life can be summed up in two quotes: " If we can find money to kill people, we can find money to help people." and (on Thatcher) "Her whole philosophy was that she measured the price of everything and the value of nothing."

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        raincoasterboredofeducation
        3/14/14 9:30pm

        Haters? Tony Benn has haters?

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      wardonkey123Max Read
      3/14/14 10:52am

      Homie could give a speech

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