Six years ago Tony Benn left the House of Commons "to devote more time to politics." These days he sees himself as an "untrained classroom assistant to the nation," encouraging people to take charge of their own political destinies. Benn tells the author that education is a fundamental part of that process. Education, whether it takes place in the classroom, at public meetings or on demonstrations, is "fundamental" in helping people turn their ideas and passions into change, and, for Benn, a "broadly based lifelong educational system is the main life-force of a working democracy." Benn says the loss of one million adults from publicly funded provision over the past two years suggests "a total misunderstanding of the function of education in the world in which people live." Democracy, according to Benn, demands not only freedom of information and the knowledge of how to access it, but also that people's talents and capacities are recognised.