Clement richard attlee, 1st earl attlee, kg, om, ch, pc, frs was an english statesman and labour party politician who served as prime minister of the united kingdom from 1945 to 1951. Popperfotogetty images when war came, attlee threw in his lot with churchill. Clement richard attlee, 1st earl attlee, kg, om, ch, pc, frs 3 january 1883 8 october. Clement richard attlee, 1st earl attlee, kg, om, ch, pc, frs 3 january 1883 8 october 1967 was a british statesman of the labour party who served as prime minister of the united kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and leader of the labour party from 1935 to 1955. Contrasts attlee s reticent disposition with the large personality of winston churchill, the man he deposed as prime minister. As prime minister, he enlarged and improved social services and the. Clement richard attlee, 1st earl attlee kg om ch pc frs 3 january 1883 8 october 1967 was a british labour politician who served as prime minister of the united kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and was voted the greatest prime minister of all time in a 2004 poll of british politics professors.
Attlee was a symbol of the victory for labor party. John bew, paints a picture of a great but humble man, a man who re built our country from the ashes of the 2nd. Bew mines contemporary memoirs, diaries, and press excerpts to present readers with an illuminating and intimate look into attlee s life and career. Clement attlees labour government came to power in july 1945 and they had the conceit and the ignorance to believe that they could run the food supply better than the market. The reader may decide how prevalent that mindset is today. Even the jacket blurb for bews book spends several sentences talking about churchill, before going on to argue that in fact attlee may have been the more consequential leader. Clement attlee, was a british labour party politician and the countrys first postworld war ii prime minister. As deputy prime minister during churchills wartime coalition and prime minister during labours creation of the welfare state from 1945 to 1951, clement attlee was near to the heart of decisionmaking during the critical decade of the century. Clement attlee was a renowned british statesman and labour party politician. Clement attlee was a slightlybuilt, bald, pipesmoking and unassuming. Gwleidydd llafur seisnig oedd clement richard attlee, iarll 1af attlee 3 ionawr 1883 8 hydref 1967 oedd yn brif weinidog y deyrnas unedig o 1945 hyd 1951 llyfryddiaeth hunangofiant. Clement attlee download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. Clement attlee the labour party in perspective 1937. He was thrice leader of the opposition 19351940, 1945, 19511955 the son of a london solicitor, attlee was born into a middleclass family.
Clement richard attlee, 1st earl attlee, kg, om, ch, pc, frs 3 january 1883 8 october 1967 was a british politician who served as prime minister of the united kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and leader of the labour party from 1935 to 1955. His government is acclaimed as the success story of postwar britain. From 1935 to 1955, he served as the leader of the labour party. It is the sort of minibiography of which many were published in the year of churchills death. John haney a biography of the english labor leader and politician who served in churchills war cabinet and was prime minister from 19451951. His memoirs, as it happened 1954, are distinguished more for. Churchills droll insult about labour prime minister clement attlee, seen above in 1945, announcing the news of the japanese surrender. Clement attlee biography childhood, life achievements. John bews citizen clem, about clement attlee, the founder of the nhs, was named winner of the. Clement attlee simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want.
Clement attlee might be described as one of britains unsung prime ministers. Contrasts attlees reticent disposition with the large personality of winston churchill, the man he deposed as prime minister. Attlee could not have walked down the steps of his plane on nov. He won a landslide victory in the 1945 general election, defeating churchill, and while prime minister of the united. Coming from an upper middle class background, attlee was converted to socialism through working in the east end of. It was in this role that attlee deployed his skills at the highest level for the first time. Clement attlee complained to his brother, tom attlee, about the unwillingness of the government to do really tackle unemployment. In the present book, thomassymonds shows how attlee was able to get to and then stay at the top of british politics for as long as he did his 20year leadership was the longest of any political party in the 20th century through a combination of real ability and some remarkable luck. Yet there is a discrepancy between the monumental change that the attlee government introduced and the apparently minuscule stature of the man who presided over that change. Sep 04, 2016 clement attlee in the garden of 10 downing street, london, in august 1945. This concise thematic biography explores his life and achievement. May 01, 2018 clement attlee was churchills loyal opposition when it was expected that politicians could disagree without being disloyal. After he won the british election, attlee was inaugurated as the prime minister. Clement richard attlee, 1st earl attlee kg om ch pc frs 3 january 1883 8 october 1967 was a british politician.
A man for all seasons the life and times of clement attlee. Attlee was an extremely powerful, and effective, deputy prime minister. Citizen clem by john bew is a cradle to grave biography of clement attlee, prime minster of the uk from 194551. Jun 15, 2017 john bews citizen clem, about clement attlee, the founder of the nhs, was named winner of the. He is a healer, and capable of giving comfort to those in need he will frequently offer a shoulder for others to cry on. Clement attlee had become prime minister in july 1945 after the labour party won the general election held at the end of the second world war. The left never understood clement attlees british patriotism, but the nation did. Jan 03, 2018 never mind churchill, clement attlee is a model for these times. Clement attlee has to be classed as the finest peacetime prime minister our country has ever had. Clement richard attlee, 1st earl attlee kg om ch frs pc 3 january 1883 8 october 1967 was prime minister of the united kingdom from 1945 to 1951.
Attlee asked me what form i was in at my not particularly. Bew mines contemporary memoirs, diaries, and press excerpts to present readers with an illuminating and intimate look into attlees life and career. Clement attlee remains the enigma of british 20thcentury history. Bews brilliant book focusses on clement attlee the man and not just the famous, radical 194551 governments he led, which have dominated other historical accounts due to their monumental. He was thrice leader of the opposition 19351940, 1945, 19511955.
At some point in the early 1950s, i cant now remember precisely when, attlee and his wife came to dinner with my parents. How attlee starved the british people bruce on politics. Clement attlee was leader of the labour party from 1935 to 1955, and served as britains prime minister from 1945 to 1951. The man who made modern britain by john bew oxford university press, 670 pp. Mar 11, 2014 attlee pushed churchill to establish a new body, the lord presidents committee, as an informal cabinet for domestic issues and helped to make it the core of the whitehall machine. Clement attlee 20 british prime ministers of the 20th century 20th century pm by david howell 15 sep 2006 4.
The labour party in perspective by clement attlee, left book club, 1937. He was the leader of britains labour party from 19351955 and deputy prime minister of the uk during the wartime coalition against nazi germany 194045. Sourced quotations by the british politician clement attlee 1883 1967 about government, people and thought. Allies in war, adversaries in peace by leo mckinstry is published by atlantic books. Clement attlee, foe of zionism and israel, dead at 84.
He was born on january 3rd, 1883 with the full name clement richard attlee. This readers digest publication consists of 64 pages of anecdotes, observations, and illustrations as reported over the years by readers digest. Clement attlee was one of britains most significant political figures. Educated at haileybury and university college, oxford he became a barrister in 1906. Educated at oxford, he was called to the bar in 1905.
John bews epic biography of clement attlee looks at what drove a shy man from londons suburbs to transform the labour party and postwar britain. He was considered as the first prime minister from labour party who could serve in five years. Winston churchill was tossed out of government at the end of wwii while he was negotiating at yalta, and replaced by clement attlee, a labor socialist. Lord attlee, the former clement attlee, leader of the labor party between 1936 and 1951 and prime minister from 1945 to 1951, died here last night, aged 84. If clement consistently voted against every military budget prior to wwii, it was because the military was doing a bad job not that clement had a blind eye when it came to hitler until after the war started.
He misleadingly deemphasized his earlier interest and views concerning cabinet reform in his sketchy autobiography, as it happened london, 1954, written while he was still party leader p. He served as the prime minister of the united kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and the leader of the labour party from 1935 to 1955. Two views of churchills relationship with clement attlee. He was the first labour prime minister with a majority in government, and was very important in the setting up of the welfare state. His memoirs, as it happened 1954, are distinguished more for their laconic discretion than their revelatory interest. Converted to socialism by reading the works of john ruskin and william morris, in 19 attlee became a tutor at the. For a book of this length, it is surprisingly superficial in digging. Attlee developed an interest in social problems while doing voluntary work at a boys club in stepney. But actually, clements mission in life is to develop the tools that allow him to be truly helpful to others rather than just a sympathetic ear.
Clement attlee, the man who made modern britain by john. Attlee made instant peace with stalin, giving him eastern europe, and instituted free healthcare paid for by overtaxing and taking over the british coal mines, steel companies, and railroads. The length that it dedicates to each portion of his life is more proportional to the length of time rather than the magnitude of importance. In 2004, a group of academics rated him the greatest prime minister of the century. Never mind churchill, clement attlee is a model for these. It needs a very strong push to overcome the timidity and conservatism of some ministers and some departments of the civil service notably the treasury and the board of trade. There was an extraordinary and ribald conversation between winston churchill and his political opponent clement attlee that supposedly took place in the mens room of the house of commons. Find out interesting facts about clement attlee if you want to know the former british prime minister.
The labour government supported the principle of independence for india and in february 1947 it announced that british india would become fully independent by june 1948 at the latest. Clement attlee holds great compassion and seeks to be of service to others. Winning control of the british government from 1945 to 1951, in what became known as the postwar consensus, clement attlee 18831967 and his labour party engineered the muchlauded national health service, propelled the united nations and nato, and granted independence to india, burma, and ceylon, as well as letting loose palestine and. The illustrations alone make the publication worthwhile. My father was a member of the attlee governments of 194551, first as the secretary for overseas trade and eventually as aneurin bevans successor as minister of health. He was twice leader of the opposition 19351940, 19511955.
Leo mckinstrys fine book on the relationship between churchill and the labour leader clement attlee is a subtle and nuanced work full of illuminating insights. Clement attlee, in full clement richard attlee, 1st earl attlee of walthamstow, viscount prestwood, born january 3, 1883, putney, london, englanddied october 8, 1967, westminster, london, british labour party leader 193555 and prime minister 194551. In 1940, attlee took labour into the wartime coalition government and served under winston churchill, becoming the first person to hold. His early experience as a social worker in londons east end led to his decision to give up law and devote his life to social improvement through politics. Sep 27, 2016 for them, attlee is a respectable moderate who could win elections and push through real changes. The leader of the labour government from 194551, he presided over a period of significant change, with the creation of the welfare state, the introduction of the national health service, and the nationalization of heavy industry. Clement attlee the man who made modern britain john bew. This is certainly the thrust of historian john bews new biography, citizen clem. He was made a member of the house of lords after he retired, and became the first earl attlee. Attlee quietly pushed on with social restructuring and nationalization. Attlees labour government introduced sweeping reforms such as nationalisation of major industries, the extension of the welfare state and the introduction of the. How clement attlee, the man who was once described as a sheep in sheeps clothing by churchill went on to turn conservative opinion away from winston on the journey to indian selfrule. And to make matters more complicated still, attlees own book in the series the.
A professor at kings college london, bew provides an excellent critical study of the labour prime minister that stands to be a standard biography of its subject. Copy of a letter from winston churchill to clement attlee, 1. Clement attlee the reader wiki, reader view of wikipedia. The man who made modern britain explores his tenure in the years after the war, as he presided over a radical new government in an age of austerity and imperial decline. Although he started political life as a conservative, attlee soon became a socialist.
For anyone with what used to be called progressive tendencies, the best, if largely overlooked, book of last year was surely john bews biography of clement attlee, the leader of the. He is the author of five books, most recently realpolitik. He had a conventional middleclass upbringing, and after going to oxford university began a career as a barrister. In 1937, attlee wrote a book entitled the labour party in perspective that sold fairly well in which he set out some of his views. Allowances act 1945, and was the first measure pushed through parliament by attlees government. Clement richard attlee, 1st earl attlee 3 januarie 1883. A british labour politician who served as the prime minister of the united kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the leader of the labour party from 1935 to 1955. Clement earl attlee 3 january 1883 8 october 1967 was britains first postwar prime minister 194551, winning a landslide for labour, helping to usher in a new era of british politics. He presided over the establishment of the welfare state in great britain and the granting of independence to india, the most. Clement attlee in the garden of 10 downing street, london, in august 1945. From 1945 to 1951, he held the office of the prime minister of the united kingdom. When nearing the end of world war ii the labour party won a general. Surveys how attlee forever changed british political, economic, and social policy.