 Originally considered a moderate within the party, he was identified as belonging to its left from the early 1980s onward, and was widely seen as a key proponent of democratic socialism.Benn inherited a peerage on his father's death (as 2nd Viscount Stansgate), which prevented him from continuing to serve as an MP.He fought to remain in the House of Commons, and then campaigned for the ability to renounce the title, a campaign which succeeded with the Peerage Act 1963.