The Most Dangerous Man in Britain?:The Political Writing

TONY BENN: FIREBRAND? NATIONAL TREASURE? A SOCIALIST FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

Once dubbed the ‘most dangerous man in Britain’, Tony Benn, Labour MP for over fifty years, was the most distinguished socialist politician of his era. A char­ismatic orator, a lifelong campaigner for peace, and a charming disruptor of the mainstream, Benn became a national treasure in his retirement, a status some­what at variance with his firebrand politics. This collection of his key writings contains arguments on constitutional reform, the economy and foreign affairs – popular and influential policy positions which became known as ‘Bennism’ and set the template for democratic socialism in the 2020s.

The introduction, written by his daughter, the writer Melissa Benn, offers a per­sonal portrait of a man whose politics informed his every action. Also included is a previously unpublished interview with Tony Benn conducted towards the end of his life.