Tony Ben is on Newsnight tonight

I have always liked him (as much as you can like a politician)


He looks old ad tired but to me the guy is alright

Wasn't he in hospital just recently?

If im not mistaken he was recently in hospital for a stroke or something...i do believe he has had a stroke previously too.

dawnbreak wrote: Like him or loathe him,the guy is living breathing history.He's outlived nearly all of his political peers and has an archive of every word he has ever written or spoken,thousands of cd's ,cassettes and reel to reel tapes and reams,books and shelves of written word,he is quite a unique character in a very bland political scene these days.

I'll have to wait for the bbc i-player to kick to see but I do know he has been in hospital recently. I saw him speak in London a couple of years back and thought at the time he did look frail but he still had the passion for what he believed in when he spoke. One of the few I have time for, and like jiggly says he is history remember writing essays at college way back about Tony, part of the course even back then.
Sure you've all seen this and I am iffy about these charities but I think he had a point with this re double standards and Beeb - one of the last of a dying breed...

Goldenprince13 wrote: Who was he stroking to get so excited that he needed hospitalising ?

I used to the loathe the guy. But in the last few years I have completely reversed my opinion of him.
He is the last of the true statesmen and probably the only person who lends any positivity to the word "Politician"

Wise Haven wrote: I'm in full agreement with you,age is catching up with him now but he still has his principles and integrity and a quick,dry,ready wit.

I like some of his speeches, but a number of politicians talk sense and seem sincere - but only when they are not in power! I have heard many great speeches and largely agreed with many of these parasites, but as soon as they get voted in, all the promises and empty rhetoric fades away while they continue on in the same way as the last lot.

The only time you can really trust a politician, is when they are in opposition and rubbishing the current cabinet, often many truths are spoken in these circumstances and they point out how "wrong" or "unjust" or just plain stupid the current system is, but it makes no difference in the end, they all toe the line when they get to number 10.

A typical example - I remember agreeing with Tony B Liar when he made a great speech in opposition attacking the quangos as a licence to print money for the corrupt elite, I couldn't agree more. Then of course as soon as he set foot in number 10, he did everything he could to actually promote this same gravy train, by the time he left government there were 10x more of these ngo's in existence, the very same organisations he had sworn to eliminate while in opposition, unfortunately typical politicians behaviour.

A lot of truth in that post. Worth bearing in mind.

Is the thread still up where Tony Benn is being interviewed in his home or was that another one of the mysterious threads on this place that lasts a few days then gets replaced by another similar one?

humanspirit wrote:
tony-benn-seriously-ill-in-hospital post #6 I think you're after mate.

Rather than anything iffy going on with posts, (Which I would take from the implication of your question), "Tony Benn seriously ill in hospital" and "Tony Benn on Newsnight" are very different stories, happening on different days.