--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm more socialist certainly than New…" description: "\"I'm more socialist certainly than New Labour - I'm very old Labour, really.\" — Alan Bennett" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bad/alan-bennett-1922_certainly_i-m-more-socialist-certainly-than-new-la_90113.jpg" --- # I'm more socialist certainly than New Labour - I'm very… ![“I'm more socialist certainly than New Labour - I'm very old Labour, really.” quote by Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bad/alan-bennett-1922_certainly_i-m-more-socialist-certainly-than-new-la_90113.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bad/alan-bennett-1922_certainly_i-m-more-socialist-certainly-than-new-la_90113.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bad/alan-bennett-1922_certainly_i-m-more-socialist-certainly-than-new-la_90113.jpg) > “I'm more socialist certainly than New Labour - I'm very old Labour, really.” [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker aligns with traditional Labour values, distancing from the centrist New Labour shift. **In simple terms:** I'm old Labour, not New Labour. Key Takeaway Political identity can be rooted in historic ideology. Themes politics identity ideology history party Mood defiant reflective Type political personal When to use this quote - debating party direction - expressing dissent within a movement Key Concepts generational loyalty ideological purity Practical Applications - political commentary - party advocacy Questions to Reflect On - What does 'old Labour' mean to you? - How do you reconcile past ideals with present realities? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Labour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labour/) [Socialist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/socialist/) ## Related quotes > [When New Labour came to power, we got a Right-wing Conservative government. I came to realise that voting Labour wasn't in Scotland's interests any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-reid/when-new-labour-came-to-power-we-got-a-right-wing-conservative/) [Jimmy Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-reid/) > [British politics is more nuanced. Part of the problem with New Labour is that they are a moving target.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-bremner/british-politics-is-more-nuanced-part-of-the-problem-with-new-labour/) [Rory Bremner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-bremner/) > [The Sun' and the 'News of the World' fell in line behind New Labour in the run up to the 1997 election, 'The Times'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-neil/the-sun-and-the-news-of-the-world-fell-in-line-behind-new-labour-in/) [Andrew Neil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-neil/) > [I was certainly not inclined to decriminalise. However, during my time in the unit, as I saw more and more evidence of 'what works',…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-critchley/i-was-certainly-not-inclined-to-decriminalise-however-during-my-time/) [Julian Critchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-critchley/) > [There was such a sense of relief on the left when New Labour came to power that certain orthodoxies could not be challenged. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-fox/there-was-such-a-sense-of-relief-on-the-left-when-new-labour-came-to/) [Claire Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-fox/) > [Voting for New Labour is like helping an old lady across the road while screaming 'Get a move on!' Even the Tories, who you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boy-george/voting-for-new-labour-is-like-helping-an-old-lady-across-the-road/) [Boy George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boy-george/) > [I would say that New Labour come closer to institutionalising neoliberalism as a social and political form than Thatcher did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-hall/i-would-say-that-new-labour-come-closer-to-institutionalising/) [Stuart Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-hall/) > [The New Labour political elite has long conspired to secure a so-called 'smooth transition' for Blair's successor. This would amount to little more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcdonnell/the-new-labour-political-elite-has-long-conspired-to-secure-a-so/) [John McDonnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcdonnell/) > [I remember when New Labour got in. I was at Salford Tech studying drama, and everyone was jumping up and down, and I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-peake/i-remember-when-new-labour-got-in-i-was-at-salford-tech-studying/) [Maxine Peake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-peake/) > [The most important lesson of New Labour is this: Every time we made progress we did it by challenging the conventional wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-miliband/the-most-important-lesson-of-new-labour-is-this-every-time-we-made/) [Ed Miliband](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-miliband/) > [One of the characteristics of New Labour - and Miliband is irredeemably of that species - is that, in the guise of a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-jacques/one-of-the-characteristics-of-new-labour-and-miliband-is-irredeemably/) [Martin Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-jacques/) > [At any point in the world's history most architecture is going to be bad but I think there's been a collective mentality since the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-meades/at-any-point-in-the-world-s-history-most-architecture-is-going-to-be/) [Jonathan Meades](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-meades/) > [Well organised displays of spontaneous support is one of the New Labour machine's specialities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcdonnell/well-organised-displays-of-spontaneous-support-is-one-of-the-new/) [John McDonnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcdonnell/) > [Would I describe myself as new Labour? I'm Labour, organised Labour. I think labels have a limited use and that's where you really get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-o-grady/would-i-describe-myself-as-new-labour-i-m-labour-organised-labour-i/) [Frances O'Grady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-o-grady/) > [New Labour was the most short-sighted, self-serving, incompetent, useless, and ineffective government that Britain has ever known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-fox/new-labour-was-the-most-short-sighted-self-serving-incompetent/) [Liam Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-fox/) ## More by Alan Bennett > [“The closest she got to pretence was politeness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/the-closest-she-got-to-pretence-was-politeness/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [An article on playwrights in the Daily Mail , listed according to Hard Left, Soft Left, Hard Right, Soft Right and Centre. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/an-article-on-playwrights-in-the-daily-mail-listed-according-to-hard/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [I'm not good at precise, coherent argument. But plays are suited to incoherent argument, put into the mouths of fallible people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/i-m-not-good-at-precise-coherent-argument-but-plays-are-suited-to/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [The thing I think about is that once you've done it, you then start to think about what you're going to do next. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/the-thing-i-think-about-is-that-once-you-ve-done-it-you-then-start-to/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [At the drabber moments of my life (swilling some excrement from the steps, for instance, or rooting with a bent coat-hanger down a blocked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/at-the-drabber-moments-of-my-life-swilling-some-excrement-from-the/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [There are more microbes per person than the entire population of the world. Imagine that. Per person. This means that if the time scale…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/there-are-more-microbes-per-person-than-the-entire-population-of-the/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [Why do we not care to acknowledge them? The cattle, the body count. We still don't like to admit the war was even partly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/why-do-we-not-care-to-acknowledge-them-the-cattle-the-body-count-we/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [Were we closer to the ground as children, or is the grass emptier now?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/were-we-closer-to-the-ground-as-children-or-is-the-grass-emptier-now/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [But most men regard their life as a poem that women threaten. They may not have two spondees to rub together but they still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/but-most-men-regard-their-life-as-a-poem-that-women-threaten-they-may/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [“BURGESS How do you like Moscow? CORAL Loathe it, darling. I cannot understand what those Three Sisters were on about. It gives the play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/burgess-how-do-you-like-moscow-coral-loathe-it-darling-i-cannot/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [The best moments in reading are when you come across something - a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things - which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/the-best-moments-in-reading-are-when-you-come-across-something-a/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [Your whole life is on the other side of the glass. And there is nobody watching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/your-whole-life-is-on-the-other-side-of-the-glass-and-there-is-nobody/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [The appeal of reading, she thought, lay in its indifference: there was something undeferring about literature. Books did not care who was reading them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/the-appeal-of-reading-she-thought-lay-in-its-indifference-there-was/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [“How do I define history? It's just one fucking thing after another”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/how-do-i-define-history-it-s-just-one-fucking-thing-after-another/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [ There's very little in the substance of \[THE LADY IN THE VAN\] which is not fact though some adjustments have had to be made.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/there-s-very-little-in-the-substance-of-the-lady-in-the-van-which-is/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) [Explore all 188 Alan Bennett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) ## More Certainly quotes > [For not only every democracy, but certainly every republic, bears within itself the seeds of its own destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-not-only-every-democracy-but-certainly-every-republic-bears/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [I would have done well as a gypsy child, I think. A circus baby. I coulda played a great street urchin or ragamuffin. Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-lyonne/i-would-have-done-well-as-a-gypsy-child-i-think-a-circus-baby-i/) [Natasha Lyonne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-lyonne/) > [I mean those people who are interested in good government will certainly contribute in order to make certain there's some counter-balance to those whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-breyer/i-mean-those-people-who-are-interested-in-good-government-will/) [Stephen Breyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-breyer/) > [I'm certainly not a perfect mother, but I'm trying to be what my mother wasn't for me. My mother's battled depression, so I understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-hamill/i-m-certainly-not-a-perfect-mother-but-i-m-trying-to-be-what-my/) [Dorothy Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-hamill/) > [Design certainly has a cosmetic, aesthetic aim. It always aims at making things beautiful. But relevance is just as important. I often say, 'If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yves-behar/design-certainly-has-a-cosmetic-aesthetic-aim-it-always-aims-at/) [Yves Behar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yves-behar/) > [If we can send a guy to the moon we can certainly go a quarter of a mile and not get hurt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-prudhomme/if-we-can-send-a-guy-to-the-moon-we-can-certainly-go-a-quarter-of-a/) Don Prudhomme > [I've certainly seen a lot of my cartoonist friends embrace 'Little Lulu' in a much deeper way because their kids love it so much.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth/i-ve-certainly-seen-a-lot-of-my-cartoonist-friends-embrace-little/) [Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth/) > [Righteousness and faith certainly are instrumental in moving mountains - if moving mountains accomplishes God's purposes and is in accordance with His will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-bednar/righteousness-and-faith-certainly-are-instrumental-in-moving/) [David A. Bednar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-bednar/) > [I have never really been fond of animals. I certainly wasn't an 'animal lover' when I became involved in the movement. I just came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/i-have-never-really-been-fond-of-animals-i-certainly-wasn-t-an-animal/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [Certainly it is not a democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anwar-ibrahim/certainly-it-is-not-a-democracy/) [Anwar Ibrahim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anwar-ibrahim/) > [Spain are certainly one of the best teams in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kieran-trippier/spain-are-certainly-one-of-the-best-teams-in-the-world/) [Kieran Trippier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kieran-trippier/) > [I'm certainly not a white supremacist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-stewart/i-m-certainly-not-a-white-supremacist/) [Corey Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-stewart/) > [I certainly know that on our first tour of America in 1968, David Crosby came to see us backstage at the Fillmore East in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-hayward/i-certainly-know-that-on-our-first-tour-of-america-in-1968-david/) [Justin Hayward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-hayward/) > [Will capitalist economies operate at full employment in the absence of routine intervention? Certainly not. Are deviations from full employment a social problem? Obviously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-yellen/will-capitalist-economies-operate-at-full-employment-in-the-absence/) [Janet Yellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-yellen/) Browse all 1,298 Certainly quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm more socialist certainly than New Labour - I'm very old Labour, really.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Bennett" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/i-m-more-socialist-certainly-than-new-labour-i-m-very-old-labour/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Certainly" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/i-m-more-socialist-certainly-than-new-labour-i-m-very-old-labour/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bad/alan-bennett-1922_certainly_i-m-more-socialist-certainly-than-new-la_90113.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bad/alan-bennett-1922_certainly_i-m-more-socialist-certainly-than-new-la_90113.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bad/alan-bennett-1922_certainly_i-m-more-socialist-certainly-than-new-la_90113.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm more socialist certainly than New Labour - I'm very old Labour, really.” — Alan Bennett", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alan Bennett", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'm more socialist certainly than New...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/i-m-more-socialist-certainly-than-new-labour-i-m-very-old-labour/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/i-m-more-socialist-certainly-than-new-labour-i-m-very-old-labour/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```