Embarrassment for Benn as he wins praise from Tory Party (again)

Last Updated: January 6, 2016By
Not the man his father was: Hilary Benn MP [Image: Justin Sutcliffe].

Not the man his father was: Hilary Benn MP [Image: Justin Sutcliffe].

Tony Benn must have been spinning in his grave.

In a debate over Saudi Arabian human rights abuses, Tory foreign office minister Tobias Ellwood praised his turncoat son Hilary Benn, saying he “commands a respect and a level of expertise… which… Parliament is very much the wiser for”.

This can only be a reference to Benn’s speech during the debate on air strikes in Syria, in which he rebelled against Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to speak in favour of the Conservative Government’s pathetically weak argument for UK military attacks.

Benn only kept his job as shadow foreign secretary in this week’s reshuffle after hard negotiations with Jeremy Corbyn, and with the support of around 10 other shadow cabinet members – but his reputation among the Labour membership has been seriously tarnished.

Ellwood’s words were an attempt to prolong division among Labour MPs and the party as a whole, for the benefit of the Tories. He knew that mention of Benn’s rebellion is like touching a raw nerve for the Labour leadership, and undoubtedly hoped that praising the man responsible would enflame disagreements within the Opposition party. What he actually did was remind us of the important point:

Parliament was much the wiser for Tony Benn’s wisdom and expertise.

Hilary isn’t the man his father was – more’s the pity.

The minister added that he was pleased to see that Benn had not yet been removed from his position as shadow foreign secretary as part of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s party reshuffle. “After much speculation, I am delighted to see [the shadow foreign secretary] in his place today. He commands a respect and a level of expertise in foreign policy affairs which this House, and indeed parliament, is very much the wiser for.”

Source: Minister defends UK’s approach to Saudi human rights record | World news | The Guardian

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No Comments

  1. John Gaines January 6, 2016 at 9:29 am - Reply

    Benn is offering us the NEW Concierge Politics much in keeping up with the trendy NHS services of Jerry the Runt:

    “It seemed to come out of nowhere. As far as I knew, everything was fine, and I honestly had no reason to think otherwise. She dropped the axe by way of a letter, with plenty of flowery language to dress up the usual clichés: “I feel like I’m giving and giving, but getting little in return.” “I’m just not happy with the way things are working out.” “We both deserve better.

    Then came the real shocker: “We can still see each other, but you’ll have to start paying for my services out-of-pocket.” They walked rings around the pompus idiot.

    I stood beside his equally renegade Pater, as he handed North Sea Oil to the Yank Oil Barracudas at knock down rates, the worst Energy Sec we ever had..

    “The letter was written by my primary care doctor, announcing an upcoming switch from a traditional medical practice to a new model: Concierge Medicine. This was a term I had never heard before, and I’m guessing most of her other patients hadn’t either. (According to the US News & World Report, only 6% of practicing physicians in the USA ran concierge or cash-only practices in 2013.)

    It’s a trend that’s been taking hold in pockets and patches across the United States over the past few years, but it’s still relatively unknown”

    Over there, now over here.

  2. Terry Davies January 6, 2016 at 9:28 pm - Reply

    the kiss of death for benn to have support from a tory.
    shame on the 10 MPs who support him. Corbyn should get rid of them too.
    They are closet tories and like benn will soon face pressure to resign.
    name and shame them is the next move so that voters and activists deselect them soon.

  3. mrmarcpc January 7, 2016 at 2:42 pm - Reply

    His Dad must have been so disappointed in him!

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