You ask the questions

(Such as: Tony Benn, icon of socialism, if you were a young man again, would you join the Labour Party?)

Tony Benn, 72, entered the House of Commons in 1950 and was Labour MP for Bristol South-east between 1963 and 1983. He was chairman of the party from 1971 to 1972 and has stood twice as a candidate for the Labour leadership. He is married to Caroline Benn, teacher and author; they live in London and have four children and many grandchildren.

Who is your greatest hero?

Manjit Heer, Coventry

I most admire those who have taught us about the world we live in, to help us understand it, and those who have worked hard to improve the conditions of life for others. These people are far more important, historically, than kings and queens, presidents, prime ministers, chancellors or generals, whose main interest sometimes seems to have been limited to the acquisition and retention of personal power.

If you were a young man starting your political life again, would you join today's Labour Party?

Anon

I joined the Labour Party on my 17th birthday and, if I am allowed to, I hope to die in it - but not yet. The Labour Party was set up by those who wanted to use democracy to create an economic system that would put people before profit and, with all its weaknesses, it remains our best hope of doing just that. I am not a member of New Labour, and I would not have joined it had it existed when I was young; and I doubt whether it will still be there when I die.

What political books have had the greatest influence on you?

Patrick Fox, Basingstoke

The two books which have most influenced my life are the Bible and Das Kapital, written by the last of the Old Testament prophets - Karl Marx. Although I have not read either of them all the way through, they contain a great deal that helped me to understand the nature of the moral, economic and political choices that we have to make.

What is the biggest regret of your political career?

James Cribben, Hertfordshire

My greatest regret is that it took me so long to learn what life is all about - and I expect I have a lot more to learn in the future.

Do you like Margaret Thatcher?

Kevin Rawlings

I try not to see politics in personal terms. Although I believe that Mrs Thatcher's policies inflicted terrible damage on this country, I am quite able to respect her as a person. She said what she meant and meant what she said, which is not always the case with political leaders.

How many cups of tea do you drink a day?

Amy Browne, Chelmsford

I normally drink a mug of tea on the hour, and more often if necessary. As a teetotaller and vegetarian I find that tea and my pipe, which always goes out, meet almost all my needs for stimulation and sustenance.

Do you regret the demise of Soviet-style socialism in central and eastern Europe?

Simon Robson, Belgium

I never supported the Soviet style of Communism because under the dictatorship of the proletariat, democracy was abandoned. We also have to remember that the existence of an anti-capitalist superpower helped us to defeat Hitler, assisted the colonial liberation movements and possibly frightened Western governments into making concessions to working people - in the form of the welfare state - for fear that the West might go Communist.

Do you agree that it should not be illegal to criticise religious belief, and that therefore the blasphemy laws should be repealed?

Bill Disbury, Caithness

In 1989, with all-party support, I introduced the Religious Prosecutions (Abolition) Bill, which would have repealed the blasphemy laws. These laws are obsolete. They protect the Christian faith but not other religions. I firmly believe that these laws should go. We should all respect the faith of others as members of the same human family.

Is there anything more important than politics in your life?

Jake Nichols, Stroud

If politics is understood - as it should be - to mean the study of the deep, difficult, interesting and challenging problems we face and how best to solve them, I can think of nothing that interests me more.

Do you still have the wooden bench outside your house on which you proposed to your wife?

Jonathan Hamilton, Chelsea

Yes, I do. Every Christmas we sit on it and gather round it for our 20- strong family photograph. The original wood on which we sat 50 years ago, the night I asked Caroline to marry me, has had to be replaced, but part of the original has been carefully kept and is fixed to a board and kept safely inside the house. The cast-iron frame that holds the wood is as sound as ever.

Do you ever regret having given up your peerage?

Peter M Walker, Stoke

No, but I am embarrassed to have lived in a country where an MP could be expelled from Parliament, after 10 years in the Commons, on the grounds that his blood had turned blue. I learnt one important lesson, namely that you can never get justice from the top. It was only when I stood as a disqualified candidate in the by-election called to find my successor, and was sent back with an even bigger majority by my electors, that the bigwigs gave way and changed the constitution to allow me to get rid of the peerage.

What was the last book you read?

Miranda Woods, Sussex

Last summer I read Primary Colors, a novel written about an American presidential election, and if that is what modern politics is all about, please count me out.

What's the most interesting conversation you've had in the last month - and with whom?

Sophia Boyle, Cambridge

The so-called important people are not necessarily the most interesting. Like all MPs I do a weekly surgery, at which almost a thousand people come to see me every year. My most interesting talks take place with those who tell me about their problems and how they believe they can best be solved.

If you watch television, what's your favourite programme/s?

Jeremy Teal, Sheffield

Rory Bremner and the two Johns - they are brilliant.

Could you be good friends with a Conservative voter?

Anon

Inevitably anyone's best friends tend to come from among those who share the same interests and approach to life. But there is no political loyalty test either, and obviously many of the people I have known longest come from very different political positions. My only test is whether they are ready to engage in a genuine dialogue, really believe what they say, and are not just saying it in the hope of advancing their own careers. I might add that there are some people with whom I might agree, but whom I would not particularly want as friends.

You're allowed four people from any period of history around your dinner table. Who would they be?

Stephanie Knox, Cheltenham

Jesus, Rosa Luxembourg, Mahatma Gandhi and a woman from the Greenham Common Peace Camp. But, with so much food for thought on offer, I might not bother to cook them a meal, or even find time to eat one, if someone else had cooked it.

After being swept to power, Tony Blair promised, "I won't let you down." Has New Labour let the voters down?

Hewell

I doubt whether those who wield corporate power, enjoy great personal wealth, own newspapers or work in the City of London, and who, together, put massive pressure on New Labour to abandon socialism in return for its backing in the 1997 election, do now feel, in any way, let down. But we should remember that history is made from below by people who organise and campaign. It is up to the millions who did vote Labour - and do feel let down - to step up their pressure on the Government to bring about the changes which we need, and believed we were voting for.

Are you still keeping your diary, the published sections of which are an invaluable resource for historians?

Keith Flett, London Socialist Historians Group

I am indeed keeping up my daily diary, and now keep a video record to go alongside it, which adds a great deal to the written or dictated version. My first diary entry was in 1934 when I was nine, and the whole thing must now run to 12 or 13 million words. Of this only a 10th could be included in the seven published volumes, which were independently edited by Ruth Winstone.

The next volume, to be called Free At Last, which covers the Nineties, will go to the publishers in 2001. It will be drawn from my experiences in this decade, with, I hope, further volumes to come later. The last entry will probably read: "St Thomas's hospital. I am not feeling very well today."