Hilary Benn

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Person.png Hilary Benn    "[http" has not been listed as valid URI scheme.WebsiteRdf-entity.pngRdf-icon.png
(politician)
Hilary Benn.jpg
BornHilary James Wedgwood Benn
26 November 1953
Hammersmith, London
Alma materUniversity of Sussex
Spouse • Rosalind Caroline Retey (1973–1979)
• Sally Christina Clark (1982–present)
Member ofLabour Friends of Israel

Employment.png Shadow Foreign Secretary Wikipedia-icon.png

In office
11 May 2015 - Present

Employment.png Shadow Leader of the House of Commons Wikipedia-icon.png

In office
8 October 2010 - 7 October 2011
Succeeded byAngela Eagle

Employment.png Secretary of State for International Development

In office
6 October 2003 - 28 June 2007
Preceded byValerie Amos

Employment.png Member of Parliament for Leeds Central

In office
10 June 1999 - Present

Hilary Benn is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds Central since a by-election in 1999 and has served as Shadow Foreign Secretary since May 2015.

Born in Hammersmith, the son of Caroline and Tony Benn, he studied Russian and East European Studies at the University of Sussex. He then worked for two trade unions, Association of Scientific, Technical and Managerial Staffs (ASTMS) and Manufacturing Science and Finance (MSF). After joining the Labour Party, Benn was elected a councillor on Ealing Borough Council on which he served for several years, and was twice the unsuccessful parliamentary candidate for the Ealing North constituency. After the 1997 general election, Benn was a special adviser to David Blunkett before winning a by-election in Leeds Central in 1999.

Hilary Benn served in the cabinet as Secretary of State for International Development from 2003 to 2007 and Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2007 to 2010. In opposition he served as Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in 2010, Shadow Leader of the House of Commons from 2010 to 2011, and Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government from 2011 to 2015.

Shadow Foreign Secretary

Following the election of Jeremy Corbyn as Leader of the Labour Party in September 2015, Hilary Benn retained the role of Shadow Foreign Secretary in Corbyn's shadow cabinet.

In November 2015, after the Paris attacks that had occurred a few days earlier, Benn initially agreed with Corbyn's position rejecting the proposal for Britain to launch airstrikes against ISIL in Syria and any intervention.[1] Subsequently, Benn supported plans laid out by the Prime Minister David Cameron, and said he would not resign over his disagreement with Corbyn because he was "doing [his] job as the Shadow Foreign Secretary".[2][3] Benn had voted in favour of the Iraq War and the 2011 NATO bombing of Libya.[4]

On 2 December 2015, Benn made the closing speech for the official opposition in the House of Commons debate on airstrikes against ISIL in Syria. The speech opposed the position espoused by Jeremy Corbyn against the government's motion.[5] The speech was applauded by MPs on both sides of the house,[6] a gesture not usually permitted in the Commons.[7] Along with a minority of shadow cabinet colleagues, he voted for airstrikes in Syria and the motion passed by 397 to 223 votes.[8] Benn's speech was described as "one of the 'greatest' in Parliamentary history".[9] Speaking to the BBC the following day, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell compared Benn's speech to that given by Prime Minister Tony Blair in 2003 ahead of the Iraq War. McDonnell described it as an "excellent" piece of oratory, but added: :"The greatest oratory can lead us to the greatest mistakes."[10]

Entering the realm of fascism

On 8 December 2015 Media Lens analysed Hilary Benn's speech, and concluded:

The myth of commercially-controlled media impartiality – vital for retaining readers' support - makes it hard for structurally pro-war media to declare too openly in favour of the West's endless wars. What they can do is celebrate speeches that just happen to be pro-war. To applaud skills of oratory, courage, leadership – to note that numerous politicians and journalists (all with a lucrative, warmongering axe to grind) admired the speech - is a powerful way of supporting war without looking too obviously biased. In his article, Mark Curtis wrote:

"I've been monitoring the mainstream media for 30 years and cannot remember a time like this: literally everything is being thrown at Jeremy Corbyn."

Indeed, the propaganda war being waged on Corbyn and the related support for war and Benn's wretched speech have moved beyond mere bias. The British corporate media are no longer merely channelling distorted news and views to democracy; they are openly working to undermine democracy. In effect, state-corporate power is telling the 250,000 people who voted for Corbyn, and anyone else who supports anti-war politics, that the Corbyn option is not allowed. Democracy is one thing, but his brand of politics goes too far.

When elite interests determine what is and is not politically possible, we are entering the realm of fascism.[11]

Personal life

In 1973, whilst at university, Hilary Benn married fellow student Rosalind Retey. She died of cancer at the age of 26 in 1979.[12] Benn subsequently married Sally Christina Clark in 1982.[13] He has four children.[14]

Like his father, who died in March 2014, he is a teetotaller and vegetarian.[15]

References

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  4. ↑ "Hilary Benn » Voting Record". theyworkforyou.com. Retrieved 2 December 2015.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css must have content model "Sanitized CSS" for TemplateStyles (current model is "Scribunto").
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  7. ↑ Wheeler, Brian. "Why are MPs banned from clapping?". BBC. Retrieved 3 December 2015.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css must have content model "Sanitized CSS" for TemplateStyles (current model is "Scribunto").
  8. ↑ {{URL|example.com|optional display text}}
  9. ↑ Riley-Smith, Ben. "Hilary Benn will never lead the Labour Party, say Jeremy Corbyn's allies". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 3 December 2015. Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css must have content model "Sanitized CSS" for TemplateStyles (current model is "Scribunto").
  10. ↑ "Hilary Benn speech reminded me of Blair - McDonnell". BBC News Online. 3 December 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css must have content model "Sanitized CSS" for TemplateStyles (current model is "Scribunto").
  11. ↑ "Manufacturing Consensus - Hilary Benn's Speech"
  12. ↑ Benn, Anthony (1995). Winstone, Ruth (ed.). The Benn Diaries. Hutchinson. p. 476. ISBN 0-09-1792231.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css must have content model "Sanitized CSS" for TemplateStyles (current model is "Scribunto").
  13. ↑ Benn, Anthony (1995). Winstone, Ruth (ed.). The Benn Diaries. Hutchinson. p. 538. ISBN 0-09-1792231.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css must have content model "Sanitized CSS" for TemplateStyles (current model is "Scribunto").
  14. ↑ McCann, Kate (3 December 2015). "Who is Hilary Benn? Labour's leader in waiting". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 3 December 2015. Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css must have content model "Sanitized CSS" for TemplateStyles (current model is "Scribunto").
  15. ↑ {{URL|example.com|optional display text}}
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