(Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images – via London24)

Like him or loathe him Anthony Neil Wedgewood Benn was a one off in politics, formerly 2nd Viscount Stansgate which he renounced to enter the House of Commons as an MP eventually rising to Chairman of the Labour party and holding two cabinet positions during the Wilson and Callaghan years died this morning aged 88.

Tony Benn as he chose to be known was instrumental in the creation of the Peerage Act 1963 and lent his name to the left wing of the labour party in the term Bennite. After he retired from formal political involvement he became more involved in grass-roots movements and became president of the Stop the War coalition. He was also considered to be one of the country’s most popular politicians in several polls throughout his long and distinguished career.

Tony Benn was one of the politicians who was not in favour of the Health act 2006, indeed like his contemporary Harold Wilson he was an avid pipe smoker, in 2008 our Secretary wrote inviting him to write a piece for our front page. His reply was kind, agreeing 100% in respect of the smoking ban. And though he never took never took up the invitation he did express regret that there were too many other more pressing matters to attend to despite his opposition to the ban. In part, he said “At least when they imprison me for my pipe I can smoke in jail”

We don’t presume to make this article an obituary but simply to note his sad departure from this life celebrating his views on freedom of choice, especially in regard to smoking.

There is an entertaining little episode described here:

(New Statesman Article Link no Longer Available)

We sat in a non-smoking carriage, but Benn opened his briefcase and took out an old BR sticker that read “smoking” and placed it smack on top of the “non-smoking” sign on the window pane. He held up his pipe: “No one minds, do they?” he asked of the carriage at large. A chorus of “Go ahead Tony” greeted him: rules simply don’t apply to Benn.

Maybe he did think that rules did not apply to him though it would certainly have been very much contrary to his lifelong anti-elitist principles. On the other hand, what this certainly demonstrates is that the vast majority of people have no significant objections to ‘environmental tobacco smoke’ (ETS).