Tony Benn & the early Labour Party
Tony Benn was a politician, writer and diarist who served as a Member of Parliament for the Labour Party for 47 years between 1950 and 2001.
In 2013, a year before his death aged 88, Benn joined us in the Queen Elizabeth Hall as part of our The Rest Is Noise festival. In conversation with the writer and activist John Rees, Benn discussed the founding and early years of the Labour Party.
This video from that event showcases a few highlights from the talk, as Benn discusses the origins of the Labour Party, its connection with the suffragette movement and the challenges presented by the First World War. He also takes a look at the impact of Nationalism on politics, and reflects on the Labour Party’s work that he is most proud of being a part of, during his life in politics.
‘At the beginning of the century, there was a strong ingredient in the Labour Party that said we’re engaged in a class battle, not a gender battle… the rights of women were integral to the rights of everybody at work’
Tony Benn on the Labour Party and the Suffragette Movement