Bristol and Tony Benn go way back. The heroic Labour MP, who died in 2014, won his first ever seat for the party in the now-defunct Bristol South East constituency in a 1950 by-election. Those residents of Bristol made Benn the youngest ever parliamentarian for a whole day, until Thomas Teevan was sworn in. Benn held the seat until it was dissolved into Bristol East in 1983.
As Minister of Technology in Harold Wilson's 1960s government, Benn was also involved in the development of Concorde, which, of course, is heavily linked with Bristol Aircraft in Filton where the supersonic plane made its final journey to in 2003.
Benn is most famous, though, as Labour's longest-serving MP and as one of Labour's most outspoken and courageous party members, whose passionate brand of socialism, which he could be heard espousing from the stages around Glastonbury, and unwavering convictions won him support across the UK and respect from his political rivals.
The Cube and Bristol Radical Film Club are paying tribute to tea-junkie Benn by screening Skip Kite's wonderful film-cum-eulogy Will and Testament on April 6 at 8pm – a film that manages to celebrate a national treasure while also displaying Benn's own discomfort at the very idea.
More film on Time Out Bristol.