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If I were the American President I would rather be popular than have the power the destroy the world because however many puppets they have all over the Middle East - Saudi Arabia, Egypt and so on - they haven't got support from the people.

Tony Benn

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Tony Benn
Age: 88 †
Born: 1925
Born: April 3
Died: 2014
Died: March 14
Autobiographer
Diarist
Former Member Of The European Parliament
Politician
Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn
Rather
Popular
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East
Many
Haven
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Saudi
World
Middle
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Arabia
American
Egypt

More quotes by Tony Benn

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No medieval monarch in the whole of British history ever had such power as every modern British Prime Minister has in his or her hands. Nor does any American President have power approaching this
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I opposed the Suez war, I opposed the Falklands war. I opposed the Libyan bombing and I opposed the Gulf war and I never believed that any of those principled arguments lost a single vote - indeed, I think they gained support though that was not why you did it. What has been lacking in Labour politics over a long period is a principled stand
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When I think of Cool Britannia I think of old people dying of hypothermia.
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Most things in life are moments of pleasure and a lifetime of embarrassment photography is a moment of embarrassment and a lifetime of pleasure.
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The one thing that is absolutely essential is that there shouldn't be any governmental control [of the media] directly or indirectly.
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The present combination of corporate or commercial control theoretically answerable to politically appointed Boards of Governors is not in any sense a democratic enough procedure to control the power the broadcasters have.
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If ever I left the House of Commons it would be because I wanted to spend more time on politics.
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When we have a majority we will do it. I think the days of the Lords are quite genuinely numbered.
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The thought that my mother would suddenly be a foreigner would upset me very much.
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An educated, healthy and confident nation is harder to govern.
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If we can find the money to kill people, we can find the money to help people.
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Britain is the only colony in the British Empire and it is up to us now to liberate ourselves.
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When I saw how the European Union was developing, it was very obvious what they had in mind was not democratic. In Britain, you vote for a government so the government has to listen to you, and if you don't like it you can change it.
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The Civil Service is a bit like a rusty weathercock. It moves with opinion then it stays where it is until another wind moves it in a different direction
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The House of Lords is the British Outer Mongolia for retired politicians.
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It is not surprising that more and more people are coming to the conclusion that the ballot box is no longer an instrument that will secure political solutions... They can see that the parliamentary democracy we boast of is becoming a sham.
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Workers are not going to be fobbed off with a few shares...or by a carbon copy of the German system of co-determination.
Tony Benn
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I think to understand how the democratic process works is the most important thing, so people don't get frightened by it, and get put off, and give up.
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Remember, imperialism is always presented as humanitarian: the white man's burden, the cross going round the world, the poor benighted natives, the sun never sets. . . So you have to be very careful about humanitarianism.
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The crisis that we inherit when we come to power will be the occasion for fundamental change and not the excuse for postponing it
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