I was never a great fan of Anthony Wedgwood-Benn; he wasn't known as 'The most dangerous man in Britain' for nothing.
However, he was a great 'parliamentarian', a great speech maker, and a man of enormous principle (not always in tune with forward thinking).
With Tony Blair's proposed knighthood still very much in the news, and over a million signatures already on a petition against it, I am posting this wonderful speech of Benn's from 1998, when the UK parliament was about to vote in support (or not) of Blair's disastrous attack on Iraq.
Probably his best speech ever! Well worth listening to, and only 2 mins.
31 comments:
What a great speech. He says all that needs to be said in two minutes.
Hilde in Germany
Yes, clear and to the point. Well said Wedgie!
It's a great speech. Shame it wasn't acted upon. (ps - my husband signed the petition against Blair's knighthood. He NEVER signs petitions.)
I did too, I thought it was disgraceful.
A wonderful speech, tis a pity that it didn’t get the result that should have happened. As for Blair’s knighthood, an absolute bloody disgrace.
I agree on all counts.
What do I know about the antiquated honours' system of the British, so correct me if I am wrong. I was under the impression that, like so many "honours", they are bestowed automatically on every prime minister (post job), regardless of merit. As far as I understand there is a queue yet to be cleared - Cameron, Johnson (whenever the latter's time comes).
U
That speech is a wonderful example of not just eloquence, but true statesmanship. A man of principle. Reminds me of another one. The Prime Minister who never was. And what a beauty he would have been. Know who I am talking about?
U
Me?
Wilson, Brown, May; I'm sure there are others who would never be offered such an honour.
His son, Hilary Benn, speech in the Syrian debate, is also one worth listening to (2015) whether one agrees with him or not. It is one of the great speeches in Parliament of recent times.
They are not at all of the same political ilk, but he's very good. I always thought he'd make a good opposition leader, but he doesn't seem to want the job.
What a wonderful speech, I was moved by it, thankyou.
Briony
x
I've now just watched it. I did notice that the only people NOT to applaud were his own front bench (Corbyn, Watson, & Co).
I wasn't a great fan of his, but I certainly am of that speech. Superb.
Tony Benn was a great man. I saw and heard him speak on three occasions. Once I was right in front of the dais - no more than ten feet away from him. Did you see who was behind him in that video clip? One of your other socialist heroes -Jeremy Bernard Corbyn.
Is he the one with glasses and silk scarf?
Think you will find that Wilson was offered “such an honour”. Wait a while and I think you will find Brown and May will follow suit given the Blair blockage is now cleared. But of course Cameron will need to proceed May.
A very compelling speech. A real shame it was not acted on. What went wrong?
Blair and The Labour Party went wrong!
Ah well; c'est la vie. I wonder when mine will come?
Thank you for posting that speech. It was the most powerful 2 min. of anything I've watched in a very long time.
Superb. He was very passionate about war and its results.
Tony Benn drank his tea out of a pint mug. I do too, but sadly I'll never have that eloquence.
I head that speech last year on radio 4
Statesmanlike for sure
It was a very impressive speech and really shows how parliamentary speeches have deteriorated since.
That's an excellent speech. I often wonder about all those "small" wars, how the mothers feel, and how soon might they fizzle out if the other countries didn't all jump in to help.
His bone china, with the family coat of arms, was out of sight in the cupboard.
It's a classic. I quite expect it'll be played many many times over.
There's a wonderful speech by Michael Gove, on the state of the Labour Party. It's a bit longer than the above, but quite wonderful too. I can't think of many others!
He made a very powerful point, and you could feel the passion in his voice. And, of course, he was RIGHT.
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