Anthony Neil Wedgwood Tony Benn, PC ( born 3 April 1925 ) formerly 2nd Viscount Stansgate has died today – 14 March 2014. He was a British Labour Party politician who was a Member of Parliament (MP) for 50 years and a Cabinet Minister under Harold Wilson and James Callaghan. Benns paternal grandfather was John Benn, a successful politician who was created a baronet in 1914, and his father William Wedgwood Benn was elevated to the House of Lords with the title of Viscount Stansgate in 1941. At this time, Benns elder brother Michael was intending to enter the priesthood and had no objections to inheriting a peerage. However, Michael was later killed in an accident while on active service in the Second World War, and this left Benn as the heir to the peerage. He made several attempts to renounce the succession, but they were unsuccessful. In November 1960 Viscount Stansgate died and Benn automatically became a peer and was thus prevented from sitting in the House of Commons. The Peerage Act 1963, allowing renunciation of peerages, became law shortly after 6 pm on 31 July 1963. Benn was the first peer to renounce his title, which he did at 6.22 pm that day. During his lifetime, Benn topped several polls as the most popular politician in Britain. He has been described as one of the few UK politicians to have become more left-wing after holding ministerial office. After leaving Parliament, Benn became involved in the grass-roots politics of demonstrations and meetings, and was the President of the Stop the War Coalition for the last decade. He was a vegetarian from the 1970s until his death. May He Rest In Peace !!
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 09:21:34 +0000
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