The University of Westminster hosted a two-day conference to celebrate the legacy of Labour politician Tony Benn in honour of the centenary of his birth. The conference began with a special event where Jeremy Corbyn and Yanis Varoufakis joined Benn’s daughter Melissa to discuss his contribution to politics.
The Benn Legacy: A Conference on Benn’s Legacy of Inclusivity and Change took place on 11-13 April at the University of Westminster’s Marylebone Campus and featured a series of panel discussions and sessions on the late Labour MP and activist Tony Benn’s contributions to politics and society. The conference was organised by Professor Pippa Catterall, Professor of History and Social Policy at Westminster’s School of Humanities, with writer and Benn biographer Jad Adams.
The conference kicked off on 11 April with a special event hosted by Benn’s daughter, author and advocate Melissa Benn. She was joined by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and former Greek Minister of Finance Yanis Varoufakis to discuss her father’s legacy in today’s political climate.
Throughout the conference, discussions were held on a wide range of topics related to Benn’s life and legacy. On the first day, Professor Catterall chaired the opening plenary session on The Benn Archive at the British Library alongside the British Library team, who discussed Benn’s extensive archive of over 2,500 boxes of material including 22 million words of his diaries. This was followed by a series of events on Benn’s contributions to history, industry and socialism.
Professor Pippa Catterall
The second day saw acclaimed journalist and author of Vulture Capitalism Grace Blakeley deliver a session titled From Capitalist Planning to Democratic Socialism: What Benn Can Teach Us About How to Democratise the Economy. This was followed by a panel chaired by Melissa Benn called Tony Benn and Socialist Education, which featured a discussion on the political thought of Benn’s wife Caroline DeCamp Benn from Westminster Visiting Lecturer Dr Caroline Watkinson. Later in the day, Part-Time Visting Lecturer at Westminster Jay Dunstan delivered a talk on Technology, Employment and the Path to End Discrimination.
About the conference Professor Catterall said: "The aim of empowering people and giving them more say in and control over decisions which affect their lives was a running theme of Tony Benn’s career. His was a very English radicalism which celebrated protests against those in power and authority going back to the Levellers and beyond. At the same time, the conference drew attention to the frittering away under Thatcher of the benefits of North Sea oil that Tony Benn had tried to secure when Energy Secretary in 1975-79. His legacy is extensive and varied, not least in the enormous archive of material that the archivists at the British Library told us will become increasingly available to researchers over the next year. Now, when so much decision-making seems remote and unaccountable and power often concealed within the opaque financial structures Yanis Varoufakis spoke of at the opening session, the relevance of that legacy remains important.”
This event directly contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 10: Reduced Inequalities and 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. Since 2019, the University of Westminster has used the SDGs holistically to frame strategic decisions to help students and colleagues fulfil their potential and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable and healthier society.
Find out more about Politics and International Relations courses at the University of Westminster.
Dr Caroline Watkinson
British Library team
Opening event
Grace Blakeley
Revolutionary tea towels on sale
Conference merchandise
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