biography
| name: |
Benn, Anthony (Neil) Wedgwood
|
| |
known as Tony Benn
|
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (1925– )
|
| biography:
| British statesman, born in London, UK, the son of Viscount Stansgate. He studied at Oxford, and became a Labour MP (1950–60). He was debarred from the House of Commons on succeeding to his father's title, but was able to renounce it in 1963 having fought a campaign to introduce a law allowing such an action, and was re-elected to parliament the same year. He was postmaster-general (1964–6), minister of technology (1966–70), and assumed responsibility for the ministry of aviation (1967) and ministry of power (1969). He was Opposition spokesman on trade and industry (1970–4), and on Labour's return to government became secretary of state for industry, minister for posts and telecommunications, and secretary of state for energy. Representing the left wing of Labour opinion, he unsuccessfully stood for the deputy leadership of the party in 1981. He lost his seat in the general election of 1983, but returned to represent Chesterfield from 1984 until he stepped down at the general election in 2001. He unsuccessfully challenged Neil Kinnock for the party leadership in 1988. Among his many publications on politics is The Benn Diaries 1940–90 (1995). |
|
|
