LONDON (AFP) ― Political foes and allies paid tribute to Tony Benn, the totem of the British left who spearheaded the movement against the Iraq war, following his death on Friday aged 88.

A Labour cabinet minister in the 1960s and 1970s, Benn was a widely respected orator who clashed with his party’s leadership over its drift away from the radical socialism he espoused.

Benn also forced a change in the law allowing hereditary members of parliament’s upper House of Lords to renounce their titles, after he was disqualified from his seat in the elected lower House of Commons on inheriting his father’s Viscount Stansgate title in 1960.

After recently spending a month in hospital he died peacefully at his west London home surrounded by his family, his four children said in a statement.

“We are comforted by the memory of his long, full and inspiring life and so proud of his devotion to helping others as he sought to change the world for the better,” they said.

In one of his final interviews, given a few weeks ago to BBC radio, Benn said: “I think it has been a very satisfying life.

“I made every mistake in the book but making mistakes is how you learn.

“But as long as you say what you believe and believe what you say, that’s the test of authenticity.”

The well-spoken politician was typically pictured puffing on his pipe and drinking from a huge mug of tea.

Prime Minister David Cameron said Benn was a magnificent writer, speaker and campaigner, with a strong record of public and political service.

The Conservative leader said: “There was never a dull moment listening to him, even when you disagreed with everything he said.”

Labour leader Ed Miliband, who at 16 did work experience with Benn, paid tribute to an “iconic figure of our age.”

“He will be remembered as a champion of the powerless, a great parliamentarian and a conviction politician,” he said.

Miliband said he had visited Benn recently in hospital.

“As I left he said to me: ’Well, old son ― let’s have a proper talk when you have more time’.”

More than half a century after entering parliament, Benn retired in 2001, only half-joking that he wanted to “spend more time on politics.”


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