Monday, 21st February 2005
"Got up at 6:45 because I wanted to be the first man in the Notting Hill supermarket in Notting Hill Gate. There was nobody hanging about, but I put myself in front of the door, and when the door was unlocked, I got in first. There were a lot of managers all clapping. They had these cup-a-soups, which I love. They also had ice cream. They had little pizzas. They had vegetarian burgers. I was really pleased."
Even radical leftists have their endearing side.
I too had a bit of a soft spot for Tony Benn - who was, after all, and *Old* Leftist (bad enough, true; but nothing like so destructive as the New Leftists we now suffer).
ReplyDeleteAnd he really was an accomplished and compelling public speaker - which is something you Never hear nowadays in the UK, but which made politics so much more interesting.
The ultra-toff socialist Tony Benn and the lower-middle class conservative meritocrat Enoch Powell, would have made for an impressive debate!
Bruce G Charlton
Progressivism seems to me like a "progressive" disease...with every passing decade it requires belief in things that are more and more anti-human, anti-life, anti-everything...Benn was of an era where you could still affirm most of your human heritage and be a leftist. He seems a very affable, endearing kind of chap. The account of the loss of his wife is extremely moving-- I'll admit I shed tears even reading it.
DeleteEven listening to interviews with Enoch Powell, one can take pleasure in his careful reasoning and distinctions. I would not like to have debated him on anything!