Sad to hear the news of Tony Benn, he was one of those strange Politicians, principled and honest. You always knew where he stood and that he was not going to change his opinion even if you convinced all those around that he was mistaken.

I had the privilege of meeting him several times, when he was Minister for Energy in the late 70's. He was a frequent visitor to Shetland during the initial phases of the offshore oil industry there. Due to Shetland's weather he got stranded a few times and our Military club, which was less than a mile from Sumburgh Airport and Hotel, was a place he could relax without getting set upon by all the other stranded passengers, who were mainly oil or construction workers. Some of who would have been on their first or last night on shore for 3 weeks. Frequently not a pleasant bunch.

Absolutely. No matter what one's politics were, when he spoke, people listened.

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