On 15 May 1976, Tony Benn stood in Burford Church, Oxfordshire, to commemorate three men who had been executed 327 years earlier. Private Church, Corporal Perkins and Cornet Thompson were members of the Leveller movement, shot in 1649 after Oliver Cromwell crushed a mutiny within the New Model Army. What might have seemed a historical footnote became, in Benn’s hands, a powerful lesson about democracy, power and political participation.
The speech, later published as The Levellers and the English Democratic Tradition, was far more than a history lesson. Benn used the story of the Levellers to argue that democracy is never permanently won and that ordinary people must constantly struggle to hold power to account. More than fifty years later, many of the themes he raised remain strikingly relevant.
The Levellers emerged during the English Civil War as one of the most radical political movements of their age. They campaigned for religious tolerance, greater political representation, equality before the law and regular elections. Their ideas challenged both the monarchy and the emerging authority of Parliament. While they ultimately failed to achieve their aims, their demands anticipated many democratic reforms that would emerge centuries later.
Benn argued that the Levellers represented an important tradition in British history: the belief that political power belongs to the people and not to a privileged elite. In his speech he traced a line from the Levellers through the Chartists, the trade union movement, the suffragettes and the Labour movement. Democracy, he suggested, was not a gift from benevolent rulers but the result of generations of struggle by ordinary citizens.
One of Benn’s central concerns was political education. He believed that democracy could only function properly if people understood how power operated and how decisions affecting their lives were made. Without that understanding, voters could be manipulated by those with wealth, influence or control over the media. His concern was not simply whether people voted but whether they had the knowledge and confidence necessary to participate meaningfully in public life.
That message feels particularly relevant in the twenty-first century. Modern politics operates in an environment dominated by social media, targeted advertising, public relations campaigns and twenty-four-hour news cycles. Information is more accessible than ever before, yet many people feel less informed and less able to influence political decisions. Benn’s argument that democracy requires an informed and engaged public remains as powerful as it was in 1976.
Another important theme was the concentration of power. Benn argued that political democracy was incomplete if economic power remained in the hands of a small and unaccountable elite. He questioned whether citizens could truly exercise democratic control while major economic decisions were taken by institutions beyond public scrutiny. This concern ran throughout his political career and reflected his belief that democracy should extend beyond the ballot box into the workplace and the wider economy.
Today’s debates about multinational corporations, technology giants, media ownership and global finance echo many of those concerns. While the institutions have changed, questions about accountability, transparency and democratic oversight remain central to political discussion across the world.
Benn also saw the Levellers as opponents of entrenched privilege. Their challenge was not directed simply at one king or one government but at systems of power that allowed a small group to dominate society. He admired their insistence that ordinary people should have a voice in decisions affecting their lives and that authority should always be answerable to those it governs.
Perhaps the most enduring aspect of the Burford speech was Benn’s belief that history matters. He rejected the idea that historical events should be treated as distant curiosities. Instead, he viewed them as part of an ongoing democratic tradition. The struggles of the past, he argued, could provide inspiration and guidance for contemporary political movements. This explains why he returned repeatedly to Burford throughout his life and became closely associated with the annual Levellers Day commemorations.
Critics sometimes accused Benn of romanticising the past or projecting modern political ideas onto historical figures. Yet even those who disagreed with his conclusions recognised the power of his central argument: that democracy is not a static achievement but a living process requiring participation, vigilance and debate.
Nearly half a century after he delivered the speech, Britain faces many of the questions that concerned Benn in 1976. Who holds power? How accountable are they? How can ordinary citizens influence decisions that affect their lives? And what role should democratic institutions play in controlling economic and political authority?
The Levellers never achieved the society they imagined. Yet their ideas survived long after their defeat, inspiring later generations seeking greater freedom, representation and equality. Benn believed that was their greatest legacy. Standing in Burford Church in 1976, he argued that while individuals die, ideas endure. The struggle for democracy, he suggested, is never finished.
That message remains as relevant today as it was when Benn first delivered it.
