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A week of tragic news for working people of this country, ends with the announcement this morning of the death of former Postmaster General and stalwart campaigner for working people, democracy and political accountability; Tony Benn.
 A man famous for his diaries and the fact he recorded every speech he ever made, partly because of the news media distortion and lies often accompanying reports about his stand on political issues and worker’s defence of their rights; he died at the age of 88 after a long illness.
Many Labour Party supporters over the years have said that he was the true heir to the Labour leadership, and sadly narrowly missed being elected as deputy leader in 1981.
Had he succeeded in becoming party leader, there is now doubt the party would have gone back to its roots of being a true party for working people, say his supporters.
Inheriting his father's title of a peerage, he campaigned to have the law changed so he could renounce the title and sit in the House of Commons following a win as labour MP for Bristol West and subsequently being barred from sitting in the Commons because peers were not allowed to do so.
The Peerage Act 1963, allowing renunciation of peerages, became law on 31 July 1963 and just 22 minutes later he became the first peer to renounce his title.He was famous within the party ranks for coining the phrase 'blairites' and once said he had come to the conclusion that Britain was ruled by vested interests and that elected MPs wielded little power:
"If the British people were ever to ask themselves what power they truly enjoyed under our political system they would be amazed to discover how little it is, and some new Chartist agitation might be born and might quickly gather momentum."
Commenting on the sad news of the death of Tony Benn, CWU general secretary Billy Hayes, said:
"Tony Benn was a Labour colossus, whose principles remained unshakeable throughout his life.He was an honorary member of the CWU because of his role as postmaster general, and he never stopped fighting for the rights of all workers.It was a huge privilege to work so closely with Tony Benn, who was a sincere friend of the union. Britain has today lost one of its greatest politicians."
Source: CWU / BBC News
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