I've never done a book review on here before, so I shall do this one briefly to keep the waffle to a minimum.
I have just finished reading the second volume of Tony Benn's diaries, covering 1992 to 2001. The diary covers a fascinating decade in British politics, from the surprise of the 1992 election through 1997 and beyond into Benn's last parliament. The book made me laugh, cry and think a lot about the Labour party and what Blair actually did from 1994.
One realises by reading Benn's book that he does appear to be very wrong about an awful lot. He asserts constantly that Neil Kinnock ruined the Labour party, and even suggests that Kinnock was set out to proactivley do so. These things of course must be considered in the context of who Benn is, he would probably argue that his Labour party has been destroyed, starting with Kinnock.
Benn also suffers from the curse of being terribly nice about everyone. Tory MPs are shown to be jolly good blokes, Ali G (who made a complete fool of Benn) is defended and he will compare Blair to Stalin in one entry and then recount a jovial chat with the PM on the terrace the next. He is remarkable nice about John Major, of whom he is clearly a fan, and even Alan Clarke is very well treated. Perhaps I'm over critical, Benn wrote these diaries in real time, if you like, so they are not dirtied by any hindsight or score settling, and he probably is just very nice, if clearly a bit wet.
I would however have liked to see more about his politics, why he feels that the Labour movement needs to move back to the left, and even some sort of realisation that Britain is a very different place than it was in the 1950s (he mourns a great deal for the past). Reading around Benn also reveals much he doesn't write about. He had a private education (I never knew that), and was not from what one would consider traditional working class stock.
Still, despite all this, the diaries are a fascinating look at the Labour Party and Britain during a decade of change. Benn is a fringe figure during this time, but what Politics there is, combined with his soft and heart warming discussion of his family, make it worthwhile.
