One of my heroes - I loved his ability to clearly explain his beliefs on every subject he was asked about - in a way that was both intellectual and understandable by all. As others have said, his greatest gift was to get people who totally disagree with his political views to stop and think "you know, that makes sense".
The greatest memory was one Question Time on BBC1 when there were three guests and an empty chair. It was explained that Tony Benn had been caught in traffic but was on his way. He arrived mid question, quite out of breath and David Dimbleby told him what they were discussing as he sat down. He then asked Tony if he'd like to share what he thought "or would you prefer a couple of minutes to catch your breath?".
Benn completely ignored the offer, and immediately addressed the question, at length, without missing a beat. Not many of today's chinless wonders could do that. If any at all.
