Issue 13 - March - 2014
Tony Benn Dead: Labour
Politician And Passionate Voice
Of The Left Dies Aged 88
Veteran Labour politician Tony Benn has
died at home at the age of 88, his family said
today.
The former cabinet minister died this morning
at his home in west London surrounded by
family members.
In a statement his children Stephen, Hilary,
Melissa and Joshua said: "It is with great sadness that we announce that our father Tony
Benn died peacefully early this morning at his
home in west London surrounded by his family.
"We would like to express our heartfelt
thanks to all the NHS staff and carers who
have looked after him with such kindness in
hospital and at home.
"We will miss above all his love which has
sustained us throughout our lives. But we are
comforted by the memory of his long, full and
inspiring life and so proud of his devotion to
helping others as he sought to change the
world for the better.
"Arrangements for his funeral will be announced in due course."
Benn was admitted to Charing Cross Hospital
in London at the beginning of February after
feeling unwell, and returned home on March
4. His death comes just days after the loss of a
left-wing hero of a later generation, RMT
union boss Bob Crow.
Labour leader Ed Miliband paid tribute to an
"iconic figure of our age".
He said: "He will be remembered as a champion of the powerless, a great parliamentarian
and a conviction politician.
"Tony Benn spoke his mind and spoke up for
his values. Whether you agreed with him or
disagreed with him, everyone knew where he
stood and what he stood for.
"For someone of such strong views, often at
odds with his party, he won respect from
across the political spectrum.
"This was because of his unshakeable beliefs
and his abiding determination that power and
the powerful should be held to account.
"He believed in movements and mobilised
people behind him for the causes he cared
about, often unfashionable ones. In a world of
politics that is often too small, he thought big
about our country and our world.
"Above all, as I had cause to know, he was an
incredibly kind man. I did work experience
with him at the age of 16. I may have been
just a teenager but he treated me as an equal.
It was the nature of the man and the principle
of his politics."I saw him for the last time a
couple of weeks ago in hospital. He may have
been ailing in body but was as sharp as ever
in mind. As I left he said to me 'Well, old son.
Let's have a proper talk when you have more
time'."As he said of his wife Caroline at her
funeral, he showed us how to live and how to
die."All of my condolences go to his children
Stephen, Hilary, Melissa and Joshua and his
wider family. In their own ways, they are all a )