02 October 2007

My Political Influences

A while back JRD from Some Random Thoughts tagged me with a meme to list my top five political influences. Sorry for not doing this sooner JRD!

This one was rather harder than I thought. In the main my influences are those which got me interested in politics and social affairs as a 17 year old back in 1980. Not all of those who influenced me were politicians.my

So here goes.

1. Margaret Thatcher (an influence does not have to be a positive one!)

2. John Pilger (Although I don't care for a lot of what Pilger has to say, Cambodia: Year Zero had a profound effect on me)

3. Peter Watkins (For the War Game)

4. Tony Benn ( for his independent mindedness)

5. John Lilburne (Gerald Winstanley, Robert Owen, and British other proto-socialists. They may have failed to achieve their goals but they contributed in their own way to a non-Marxist basis for British socialism)

10 comments:

JRD168 said...

Ah, the diggers and the levellers. I have great fun teaching them at school. Quite what my 12/13 year old charges make of them I'm not so sure!

I've followed this round a few sites and Maggie comes up fairly regularly along with Tony Benn. Not too often they have much in common I'd reckon?

Anyway thanks for replying, it's interesting to see where other people are coming from.

Harry Barnes said...

1955 to 1962.

1. The Iraqi Working Class.
2. GDH Cole.
3. Nye Bevan then Frank Cousins.
4. The early New Left.
5. Ruskin College.

jams o donnell said...

It's certainly an interesting JRD. Seeing Been and Thatcher together as influences on people who became interested in politics in the 80s is no big surprise. For we lefties Benn appealed, and Thatcher revolted! Antipathy to Thatcher must have influences a lot of people.

Thanks for sharing your list Harry. I must admit I'm not fa,iliar with GDH COle.It's wonderful to think that these influences took you to Parliament.

The Lone Beader® said...

I remember that I chose to do a report on Margaret Thatcher for a Social Studies class when I was a kid... Interesting woman...

jams o donnell said...

She certainly is a fascinating woman. Her tenure as Prime Minister was divisive, to say the least!

bob said...

Good list - probably an overlap with mine.

Hey, aren't you supposed to tag some more folks!

jams o donnell said...

You're quite right Bob. You can be one of them!

bob said...

Thanks. I feel I bullied you into that. I'm not going to put Thatcher, even though she probably was a huge influence on me - negatively. I'll not Pilger either, even though his Cambodia: Yr Zero also had a huge impact on me. Benn was my hero when I was a teenager, but I'm not sure he was an influence on me. Lilburne is a cool choice. Watkins I've never heard of.

I love Harry's list too: "the Iraqi working class" - great answer.

jams o donnell said...

Go for it Bob. I agree. Harry's choices were great

bob said...

OK, done it. Here it is.