Why Tony Benn is my hero in British politics

The past week marks a sad one for millions of hardworking people across Britain and around the globe, who stood up against the onslaught of Neoliberal economic policies.

Tony Benn was a radical politician and
a loving grandfather

Tony Benn, hated by many during his parliamentary years and endeared by a large cross-section from the political spectrum when he "concentrated on politics" after retiring from the front-line, passed away at the age of 88.

The past week also witnessed the unexpected death of Bob Crow, the Rail and Maritime Transport (RMT) union leader - a darling to his members and a political foe to those on the other side of the negotiating table, be it Labour, Tory or the Lib-Dems.

Both were old-school in their thoughts and actions, but they used the strength of their life force literally shouting in favour of the ordinary, often forcing the powerful to part with some of their privileges, be it financial or otherwise.

Tony and Bob also had their share of differences. Bob was never afraid of defending his salary, which was reported to be £145,000 but he suggested it was closer to £90,000. Bob thought he was worth it because RMT's members had received pay rises every year even during austerity, good pensions and good holiday allowances. Tony on the other hand shunned his hereditary peerage to uphold the supremacy of parliament and its electors.

Westminster was never tired of making fun of their political caricature, and yet their success lies in the broad consensus across the political community that Tony and Bob stood for what they believed in.

I am not sure if history would have assessed Bob differently had he lived a long enough life like Tony. He departed his worldly stage as a fighter and as someone who was probably born to rebel. Tony was much more astute in his political thoughts and imagination. He might have been branded a maverick and 'dangerous' during his parliamentary days, and yet many of Tony's thoughts on gay marriage, nuclear disarmament and Ireland became mainstream in the contemporary and are close to popular imagination.

Bob Crow was an old-school trade unionist who scared
many pinstriped modern-day bosses

Strike calls given by Bob's union - the RMT- might have caused a lot of discomfort for me personally and many others over the past few years, and yet it gave me immense pleasure when he held the pinstriped bosses by the horn. No wonder the willy movers in City Hall hated Bob, but they knew the beast in him couldn't be overlooked. He was more of a Socialist bully at a time when the interests of the working class were overlooked on the pretext of business motives.

Tony Benn, on the other hand, was a cerebral politician, uncompromising in his belief even at the cost of being isolated. He might not have been a smooth operator in real politics during his parliamentary years but later on people from all political hues saw in him a grandfatherly figure who probably set the benchmark of conviction politics at a time when compromises happened by the fall of a hat.

In his family life, Tony was a loving grandfather. He once told me that Indian grandparents are luckier as they can see their grandchildren grow up as against in the West where the elderly are visited occasionally.

I didn't know then but now I know another reason behind Tony's liking for India. His father William Wedgwood Benn was appointed Secretary of State for India by Ramsay MacDonald in 1929, a position he held until 1931.

I will cherish my brief interaction with Tony Benn, probably one of the greatest conviction politicians I have ever come across, his firebrand speeches and radical thinking.
 

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