Page "Tony Benn" Paragraph 9

Benn's children have been active in politics ; his first son Stephen was an elected Member of the Inner London Education Authority from 1986 to 1990.

His second son Hilary was a councillor in London, and stood for Parliament in 1983 and 1987, becoming the Labour MP for Leeds Central in 1999.

He was Secretary of State for International Development from 2003 to 2007, and then Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs until 2010.

This makes him the third generation of his family to have been a member of the Cabinet, a rare distinction for a modern political family in Britain.

Benn's granddaughter Emily Benn failed to win East Worthing and Shoreham in 2010, becoming the Labour Party's youngest-ever candidate in the process.

Benn is a first cousin once removed of the late actress Dame Margaret Rutherford.