Tony Benn

“It's the same each time with progress. First they ignore you, then they say you're mad, then dangerous, then there's a pause and then you can't find anyone who disagrees with you.”

“A faith is something you die for; a doctrine is something you kill for. There's a great difference.”

“We are not just here to manage capitalism but to change society and to define its finer values.”

“All progress has been brought about by people who have been prepared to say 'no' to authority.”

“Broadcasting is really too important to be left to the broadcasters.”

“Making mistakes is how you learn.”

“What power have you got? Where did you get it from? In whose interests do you exercise it? To whom are you accountable? And how can we get rid of you?”

“I think there are two ways in which people are controlled. First of all frighten people and secondly, demoralise them.”

“I am not a weathercock on a steeple that turns with every wind that blows, but I am a signpost that points in a direction.”

“The House of Lords is the British Outer Mongolia for retired politicians.”

“If we can find the money to kill people, we can find the money to help people.”

“All war represents a failure of diplomacy.”

“Hope is the fuel of progress and fear is the prison in which you put yourself.”

“There is no moral difference between a stealth bomber and a suicide bomber. Both kill innocent people for political reasons.”

“The real case for democracy is not that it is a system that is bound to succeed, but that it is a system that is bound to make mistakes, and when it does, it's correctable.”

“If I rescued a child from drowning, the press would no doubt headline the story: 'Benn grabs child'.”

“It is said that power corrupts, but actually it's more true that power attracts the corruptible.”