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Donald Macintyre's Sketch: Commons pays tribute to Tony Benn, ‘the most dangerous man in Britain’ Donald Macintyre's Sketch: Commons pays tribute to Tony Benn, ‘the most dangerous man in Britain’
(about 14 hours later)
His description was matter of fact. But the impact was oddly dramatic. Pointing towards the entrance, Hilary Benn recounted how 15 of the staggering 16 parliamentary elections his father had won had “enabled him to walk through those doors and take his place in this chamber. One of them – the by-election he fought after the death of his father – did not.”His description was matter of fact. But the impact was oddly dramatic. Pointing towards the entrance, Hilary Benn recounted how 15 of the staggering 16 parliamentary elections his father had won had “enabled him to walk through those doors and take his place in this chamber. One of them – the by-election he fought after the death of his father – did not.”
The Bristol South East electors had returned Tony Benn by a huge majority in 1961 even though he was ineligible as a hereditary peer. And, as his son continued, “He was barred from entry to the Chamber on the instructions of the Speaker because, it was alleged, his blood was blue. His blood was never blue. It was the deepest red.”The Bristol South East electors had returned Tony Benn by a huge majority in 1961 even though he was ineligible as a hereditary peer. And, as his son continued, “He was barred from entry to the Chamber on the instructions of the Speaker because, it was alleged, his blood was blue. His blood was never blue. It was the deepest red.”
The eventually successful fight to get back to the  Commons had “a marked and profound effect on his life”. It was why he had supported struggles against apartheid and the death penalty, for the miners, and for peace because “it was war that had taken from him his beloved elder brother Michael”.The eventually successful fight to get back to the  Commons had “a marked and profound effect on his life”. It was why he had supported struggles against apartheid and the death penalty, for the miners, and for peace because “it was war that had taken from him his beloved elder brother Michael”.
Not all the speeches from his comrades on Labour’s left were as good as Diane Abbott’s and Dennis Skinner’s. Typically for a Thursday, the Commons chamber was hardly packed. The internecine struggles in Labour during the 1980s were if, not forgotten, replayed in only minor key. But the highly unusual event worked.Not all the speeches from his comrades on Labour’s left were as good as Diane Abbott’s and Dennis Skinner’s. Typically for a Thursday, the Commons chamber was hardly packed. The internecine struggles in Labour during the 1980s were if, not forgotten, replayed in only minor key. But the highly unusual event worked.
Benn’s daughter Melissa and his other two sons Stephen and Joshua watched as the venerable Sir Peter Tapsell – who said he was the only MP left to have voted to allow Benn to renounce his peerage in 1963 – paid a graceful tribute along with fellow Tories William Cash and Edward Garnier and the two Labour inheritors of his Bristol and Chesterfield seats, Kerry McCarthy and Toby Perkins. In private, said Tapsell, Benn was “a gentle, sweet, charming man, with perfect manners ... listening to him, one was sometimes in danger of being intellectually swept towards some of the wilder shores of politics”.Benn’s daughter Melissa and his other two sons Stephen and Joshua watched as the venerable Sir Peter Tapsell – who said he was the only MP left to have voted to allow Benn to renounce his peerage in 1963 – paid a graceful tribute along with fellow Tories William Cash and Edward Garnier and the two Labour inheritors of his Bristol and Chesterfield seats, Kerry McCarthy and Toby Perkins. In private, said Tapsell, Benn was “a gentle, sweet, charming man, with perfect manners ... listening to him, one was sometimes in danger of being intellectually swept towards some of the wilder shores of politics”.
Harriet Harman described how once Benn, spotting her as an exhausted young mother stranded in the Commons because the whips would not let her leave, had sent her home, telling her: “You do not have to worry about the whips; I never do.” Skinner was convinced that his leftward journey began with the early 1970s extra-parliamentary struggles against the Industrial Relations Bill and at Upper Clyde Shipbuilders. “He was shaped by events all his life.”Harriet Harman described how once Benn, spotting her as an exhausted young mother stranded in the Commons because the whips would not let her leave, had sent her home, telling her: “You do not have to worry about the whips; I never do.” Skinner was convinced that his leftward journey began with the early 1970s extra-parliamentary struggles against the Industrial Relations Bill and at Upper Clyde Shipbuilders. “He was shaped by events all his life.”
Tapsell had recalled Harold Wilson’s famous remark that Benn “immatures with age”. But saying that for criticising markets, Benn had been described as “the most dangerous man in Britain”, Ms Abbott asked: “After the collapse of Lehman’s, can we say that he was completely wrong?” But she also recalled that when teased about his son Hilary being “fractionally less left wing” than he was, “he would smile serenely and say: ‘Benns move left as they get older’.” could afford to pay to protect their children. Tapsell had recalled Harold Wilson’s famous remark that Benn “immatures with age”. But saying that for criticising markets, Benn had been described as “the most dangerous man in Britain”, Ms Abbott asked: “After the collapse of Lehman’s, can we say that he was completely wrong?” But she also recalled that when teased about his son Hilary being “fractionally less left wing” than he was, “he would smile serenely and say: ‘Benns move left as they get older’.”
Although the vaccine was not available on the NHS, thousands of parents paid for their children to be immunised. Around 85 per cent of private sales were recorded in some of the wealthiest regions of the UK, including London, the South-east and Cheshire. Although the average cost of the required doses is around £300 for children aged six months to two years, some private practices have been charging upwards of £600.
With poorer areas often having the highest infant mortality rates and being associated with higher levels of meningitis, the lack of the MenB vaccine on the NHS was seen as leaving the most vulnerable at risk, in what one leading medical researcher told The Independent was “an unnecessary life-threatening lottery”. The Department of Health’s decision to make the vaccine universally available through GPs makes it likely that a critical “herd immunity” from MenB will result.
The Bexsero vaccine is produced by the Swiss multinational Novartis, following 17 years of research by the company. Rino Rappuoli, the global head of vaccine research at Novartis, writing in The Lancet medical journal, called the mathematical models used in the JCVI’s initial efficiency calculations “primitive”.
The new vaccine is estimated to cover 88 per cent of MenB disease in the UK. Over the past decade there have been more than 10,000 cases recorded in England and Wales.
The death rate is 5 per cent, with those who survive often facing neurological damage, the surgical removal of limbs and severe skin damage.  Although vaccines and immunisation programmes for other strains of the disease have been successful, MenB remains a major health fear. Recent statistics estimated that around 1,200 annual cases resulted in 120 deaths. Although these numbers would have formed a key part of the JCVI’s calculations, there was criticism from some independent advisers that “significant non-cyclical fluctuations” and the “unpredictability” of MenB rates had not been correctly factored in.
The first meningitis vaccine was introduced against Hib meningitis in 1992. Other forms of the disease, including meningitis C, have since been substantially reduced or dwindled to a handful. However, meningococcal meningitis and septicaemia remains the leading infectious cause of death for children under the age of five in the UK.
The adoption by the NHS of the Novartis vaccine, which took almost two decades to develop, will also be welcomed by pharmaceutical companies. The first decision by the JCVI to assess the vaccine on purely cost-efficiency grounds was thought likely to discourage future complex vaccinology research in Europe.
The Department of Health declined to comment ahead of the announcement.