Years of Hope: Diaries, Letters and Papers, 1940-1962

Tony Benn Diaries #1

by Tony Benn, Ruth Winstone (Editor)

Tony Years of Hope Diaries, Letters and Papers 1940-1962 {The Benn Diaries}

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Diary, Autobiography

442 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Anthony Neil Wedgwood "Tony" Benn, PC, formerly 2nd Viscount Stansgate, was a British Labour Party politician. He served as a Member of Parliament from 1951 until 2001, and was a Cabinet Minister under Harold Wilson and James Callaghan in the 1960s and 1970s. After his retirement from the House of Commons, he continued his activism and served as president of the Stop the War Coalition.

Reviews

[Matthew Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Years of Hope is the first memoir published by Tony Benn. Bookended by two significant bereavements in Benn's life (both personal and political), it shows the early formations of some of his fundamental principles alongside attitudes he would later relent.

At one end of the book is the death of his older brother, Michael, who died whilst fighting as an RAF pilot during WWII. In the early yearsof the book, Benn didn't keep a diary consistenly; instead it is made up of clippings from correspondence, in particular letters between him and Michael. The letters show both the love and admiration he had for him, as well as Michael's influence politically. His death in war undoubtedly entrenched Benn's anti-war views. The experience of being a soldier influence Benn in other ways too - throughout his life he would talk of the discussions that were had when fighting wasn't going on, as soldiers talked of their hope of a better World. Benn was always fond of describing a discussion in which one young soldier exclaimed something along the lines of "before the war we had mass unemployment, but since the war begun we have had full employment. If we can have full employment shooting Germans, then why can't we have full employment building hopsitals, schools etc.?"

Shortly after the war, Tony Benn became MP for Bristol South East and in many ways appears a fairly conventional young Labour politican. He was reverent, fascinated by the political personalities of the day, bewitched by parliament, excited at crossing paths with Attlee or Churchill in its corridors. He places himself firmly in the centre of the party, disdainful of the tactics of the Bevanites and certain of the need for unity, whilst keen to impress the leadership. That's not to say he's without his convictions, however. Particularly striking is his early commitment to colonial liberation. His involvement with the Movement for Colonial Freedom features throughout this volume and his frustration with the Labour Party on colonial issues is notable, and his interventions admirable.

The second signicant bereavement is the death of his father, the first Viscount Stansgate. Upon his death, Benn inherited his title and was kicked out of the Commons, which lead to a lengthy but formative battle for his right to remain an MP and to renounce his peerage. Benn was unable to keep a regular diary through most of this period and so the episode is largely told through oral history interviews he gave to David Butler. This challenge really seems to bring Benn's political characteristics to the fore: tenacity, conivction, doggedness and diligence. His strength of character and certainty in his actions, as well as a good understanding of parliamentary history and ability to make his case, meant that, in the end, Benn renounced his peerage, remained an MP and set a new precedent in British parliamentary politics.

[Alistair Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chronologically this is the first of Tony Benns extensive diaries albeit about the sixth to be published. This diary is somewhat different to his later ones in that it isn`t just a diary per se, he didn`t religiously keep one at this point in his life but includes letters, prints and contemporary documents. This book covers his later teens, service in the RAF during WW2, the death of his older brother who was killed in action (and whos death quite apart from the effect of the personal loss Benn felt set the scene for a later struggle in his life as he would now inherit his fathers title and become the 2nd Viscount Stansgate) , the Labour party and politics in the post war period and Benn`s entry into Parliament.
There are warm anecdotes and closeness of the family is clear along with the respect he held for his father , the main political themes that drove Benn are also apparant and set early on.
The latter part of the diary is told in the form of an oral history interview following the death of his father as Benn didn`t keep his diary in the months following this loss. The battle, ultimately successful in the Peerages Act 1963 that he fought to renounce his title and the absurdity of the system is laid bare, Benn was immediately barred from the Commons on his fathers death as he was now a peer, re elected by his constituency a long running battle ensued resulting in his opponent who polled less than half the number of his votes sent to the commons in his place, the speaker issuing orders to "bar you from the chamber my Lord", and the ultimate success of the "persistent commoner".
You don`t have to agree with Benns politics to enjoy his diaries and mourn the passing of an honorable, intelligent and above all honest man.
There are photographs to illustrate the text and as with all his diaries they are illuminating, funny, wise and detailed offering a window into what was actually going on over decades of political life.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Covers the early years, including some very funny notes written from school, and his RAF wartime service. The political diaries are mainly from the 1950s when he was MP for a Bristol seat. Lots of Labour Party in-fighting seen at close quarters, first-hand account of the Commons during the Suez crisis, interesting impressions of the great names who were coming to the end of their careers and early views of people yet to become famous (Harold Wilson, Jim Callaghan, Ted Heath - all future prime ministers) - and others yet to become notorious (Enoch Powell, John Stonehouse, John Profumo). There are some amusing asides too (how to get two teas at a Buckingham Palace garden party) and interesting background on how things were done (TV in a fairly early era of political broadcasting, for instance). Tony Benn clearly always had a lively interest in the new technology of the day - he even contemplated having a microfilm reader at home, and books on microcards. The final part of the book is taken up with the death of his father (at which point the diary stops for a bit but the story is continued from contemporary interviews), which led to the two-year long peerage case, his disqualification from the House of Commons, his initial failure to repudiate his title and the eventual change in the law which allowed him to resume his Commons career.