Tony Benn, the nation's hero

In an article principally about Peter Mandelson, Iain Martin also mentioned with disapproval that Tony Benn is the nation's cuddly old leftie, in spite of such unpalatable views such as praising Chairman Mao (presumably a long time ago). I can see why Tony Benn has achieved this status. Most importantly, his socialist programme has lost credibility, so he is not a danger. But unlike the present generation of politicians, he is an honest speaker, who says what he thinks, unlike the party apparatchniks that dominate New Labour.

Some of what he thinks also resonates with the public today, such as his call for more democracy or attacks on spiralling inequalities. The point is, which many socially liberal, pro-laissez-faire conservatives won't appreciate, that the bedrock natural conservatism of Britain is very resentful of highly-paid elites - financiers, politicians, civil servants, etc. They would like a more equal society but they don't want socialism. When Benn talks about liberty, he is at odds with the police-state mentality of the current Labour Government. His view on diversity quotas are unconventional in comparison with the accepted party line on the left. He doesn't hate Christianity, which incurred the spiteful wrath of A.C.Grayling when they were both on Question Time a couple of years ago.

When Benn talks about democracy, ordinary people or right and left cheer because they are sick of being patronised by career politicians; sick of phoney consultations; sick of being called racist when they protest against immigration; sick of liberal piety and identity politics; sick of "progressive" social policies such as unrestricted abortion or morality-free sex education; sick of highly-paid bankers too and the mantra that everything should be left to the market. To the ears of middle Britain, Tony Benn, divorced from the socialist agenda, is an old-style, honest Briton campaigning for liberty, decency and a reduction in the extremes of inequality found acceptable by Conservatives and New Labour.

The irony of Martin's article is that he quite right criticises Mandelson for his disdain of ordinary people's concerns, being a member of today's globalised elite, but can't understand why people hold affection for this soldier of the old Left. Benn's faults are of a different age.Tony Benn praised Mao but Mandelson and his generation sought to continue the cultural revolution in the West by stealth and manipulation. Mandelson sought to make his crypto-jacobin party acceptable to the British people by pretending that New Labour had a similar set of beliefs to them; Tony Benn tells what he thinks, and though we may disagree with much of it, we admire him for his honesty and integrity. Politics has changed since the 70's and 80's. It is no longer capitalism vs socialism, but liberal morality and the managerialism it entails against small-scale conservatism and a belief in a truly representative democracy. Anyone who sees Benn and Mandelson as part of the same phenomenon misunderstands the mood of today, which is desperate for honest politicians who treat the electorate like adults, not children: Peter Mandelson is with them; Tony Benn is with us.