Attlee has had one of the most remarkable records in public life. He presided over the establishment of the welfare state in great britain and the granting of independence to india, the most important step in the conversion of the british empire into the commonwealth of nations. Contrasts attlee s reticent disposition with the large personality of winston churchill, the man he deposed as prime minister. Clement attlee, was a british labour party politician and the countrys first postworld war ii prime minister. Attlee had a modest mustache and came from a modest family, and had a modest. Shortlisted for political biography of the year at the paddy power political book awards 2015 elected in a surprise landslide in 1945, clement attlee was the. In the letter, mao asks attlee for practical assistance in battling japanese troops who had invaded china. Martin richard attlee, 2nd earl attlee 10 august 1927 27 july 1991, was a british seaman and politician, the son of former british prime minister clement attlee, the first earl attlee.
Attlee asked me what form i was in at my not particularly. The massive tv audience witnessed a deathly frail attlee stumble as the leadlined coffin. To be perfectly honest, it would be like asking if a hammer is a better tool than a screw driver. For a book of this length, it is surprisingly superficial in digging. Sep 15, 2016 a similarly transformative and ethical approach was evident in attlees management of indian independence. Sitter in 49 portraits in 1922, attlee was elected labour mp for limehouse, and in 1935 he became leader of the labour party. Clement attlee was leader of the labour party from 1935 to 1955, and served as britains prime minister from 1945 to 1951. 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. These are extracts from a letter from clement attlee to churchill on recent debates in the house of commons, 20 december 1941. 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. On house of lords embossed stationery to a collector. He is the author of five books, most recently realpolitik.
Professor bew updates but also betters all the other biographies with this intelligent, wellresearched and highly readable book. He served in the army in world war i and then became active in the file of the labour party. 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. He presided over the establishment of the welfare state in great britain and the granting of independence to india, the most. This decade saw the passing of the british empire as the price extracted by others for britains standing alone against hitler, a heightened awareness of the evil of tyranny and the virtue of freedom, and the emergence within british society of a communal ideal. Clement attlee and the foundations of the british welfare. At some point in the early 1950s, i cant now remember precisely when, attlee and his wife came to dinner with my parents. Here is the firstperson story of britains first leader of a majority labour party. He was thrice leader of the opposition 19351940, 1945, 19511955. Mar 11, 2014 clement attlee the national archives reference inf 1419 it is difficult to envisage a twentyfirst century politician passing up the opportunity to promote their message.
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. A modest man with much to be modest about, winston churchill said of him once. He was made a member of the house of lords after he retired, and became the first earl attlee. Churchill was a war leader who galvanised a country into standing up to one of the most evil and powerful dictators in history. 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. Jun 07, 2005 attlee, clement richard, 1st earl 18831967.
John bew, paints a picture of a great but humble man, a man who re built our country from the ashes of the 2nd. Easily the best singlevolume, cradletograve life of clement attlee yet written andrew roberts. Clement attlee has to be classed as the finest peacetime prime minister our country has ever had. He had a conventional middleclass upbringing, and after going to oxford university began a career as a barrister. Bernard law montgomery, viscount montgomery of alamein 18871976, winston spencer churchill 18741965 and clement attlee 18831967 two autograph letters signed montgomery of alamein and m of a, the first to my dear charles charles kirkman, the other to dear kirkie general sir sidney kirkman, and fath. After he won the british election, attlee was inaugurated as the prime minister. Clement attlee wiki, height, age, net worth, family 2019. Clement attlee the man who made modern britain john bew. Author of as it happened, the labour party in perspective, empire into commonwealth, purpose and policy, the social worker, borough councils. Clement richard attlee, 1st earl attlee 3 january 1883 8 october 1967 was a british labour politician who served as the prime minister of the united kingdom from 1945.
Clement richard attlee, 1st earl attlee, kg, om, ch, pc 3 january 1883 8 october 1967 was a british politician. Clement attlees progressive pilgrimage prospect magazine. Clement attlee might be described as one of britains unsung prime ministers. Attlee could not have walked down the steps of his plane on nov. Clement later earl attlee shared with churchill the centre of government through the eventful years of the 1940s. Clement attlee facts attlee was the first person to hold the office of deputy prime minister of the united kingdom, serving under winston churchill in the wartime coalition government he went on to lead the labour party to a landslide election victory in summer 1945 and to a narrow victory in 1950. Attlee became a member of parliament for stepney in 1922, served as a junior minister, 1924, 2931 and became party leader in 1935. 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. Clement attlee clement attlee biography poem hunter. British labour party politician who was prime minister of the uk from 194551. Citizen clem by john bew is a cradle to grave biography of clement attlee, prime minster of the uk from 194551. Eighteen letters by churchill, comprising two autograph letters signed and sixteen letters signed, to norman brook later lord normanbrook, 10 downing street, 28 hyde park gate, chartwell, the middlesex hospital, 22 august 1950 4 december 1964 and n. See more ideas about clement attlee, british prime ministers and labour party. A similarly transformative and ethical approach was evident in attlees management of indian independence.
One of the most enjoyable elements of bews work is his reading of attlees shifting understanding of empirefrom a flagwaving jingoism at the diamond jubilee, to a postboer war sense that the british empire was losing its civilising function, and, finally, as an avid reader of. Clement richard attlee, 1st earl attlee 3 january 1883 8 october 1967 was a british labour politician who served. How attlee starved the british people bruce on politics. Clement attlee biography childhood, life achievements.
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. May 19, 2014 clement attlee might be described as one of britains unsung prime ministers. Find out interesting facts about clement attlee if you want to know the former british prime minister. Attlee served as deputy prime minister under churchill in the wartime coalition government before leading the labour party to a landslide victory in 1945 double mounted in cream and black with a portrait to an overall size of 16 x 12 inches. Attlee to general sir leslie hollis, 10 downing street, 7 october 1946, congratulating him on his excellent work in a government paper on defence, one page, 8vo, and a typed letter signed, 27 june 1946. Clement attlee was the labour prime minister who presided over britains radical postwar government, delivering the end of the empire in india, the foundation of the nhs and britains place in. Clement attlee signed letter prime ministers politics shop by.
Churchills droll insult about labour prime minister clement attlee, seen above in 1945, announcing the news of the japanese surrender. An absorbing new life of clement attlee shows how a quiet man from. 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. He was born on january 3rd, 1883 with the full name clement richard attlee. Contrasts attlees reticent disposition with the large personality of winston churchill, the man he deposed as prime minister. Dec 15, 2015 a 1937 letter from chinese communist party leader mao zedong to thenlabour party leader clement attlee has sold at auction for. List of books and articles about clement attlee online. Who was a better prime minister, churchill or clement atlee. Sep 01, 2016 winner of the orwell prize for political writing easily the best singlevolume, cradletograve life of clement attlee yet written. Bew mines contemporary memoirs, diaries, and press excerpts to present readers with an illuminating and intimate look into attlee s life and career. British prime minister who defeated churchill in 1945 and whos labour party established the countrys welfare state, expanded public ownership of industry, and granted independence to india 1947 and burma 1948. 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. At the state funeral of winston churchill, one of the pallbearers was clement.
Background to this source churchill conservative became prime minister in may 1940 and formed a national government with clement attlee leader of the labour party effectively acting as his deputy. He was the leader of the labour party from 1935 to 1955. We still live in the society that was shaped by clement attlee robert harris, sunday times the best book in the field of british politics philip collins, the times. Few thought he was even a starter poem by clement attlee. As prime minister, he enlarged and improved social services and the. He was the first labour prime minister with a majority in government, and was very important in the setting up of the welfare state. Buy attlee and churchill by leo mckinstry from waterstones today. Clement attlee, british labour party leader 193555 and prime minister 194551. An absorbing new life of clement attlee shows how a quiet man from the suburbs became labours unlikely postwar hero. He seemed to politics as did lucky jim to the novel, the apotheosis of the antihero. Attlee was a modest man, lacking in charisma, an unimpressive public speaker, underestimated by friend and foe alike.
In 2004, a poll of university academics rated clement attlee the 20thcenturys greatest prime minister, with an average mark of 8. In 1940, he took labour into the wartime coalition government and served under winston churchill, becoming in 1942 the first person to hold the office of deputy pm of the uk. During world war ii, he was a highly successful deputy prime minister. Educated at oxford, he was called to the bar in 1905. Attlee was a symbol of the victory for labor party. This concise thematic biography explores his life and achievement. A t the state funeral of winston churchill, one of the pallbearers was clement attlee, his wartime deputy. 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. Never mind churchill, clement attlee is a model for these. He was certainly the most modest and probably the most elusive leader that either the labour party or britain has produced.
He served as deputy prime minister under winston churchill in the coalition wartime government in 19405. Montgomery bernard law churchill winston spencer attlee. Attlees labour government introduced sweeping reforms such as nationalisation of major industries, the extension of the welfare state and the introduction of the. Clement attlee the national archives reference inf 1419 it is difficult to envisage a twentyfirst century politician passing up the opportunity to promote their message. Even privately, ministerial colleagues found attlee difficult to engage with. Surveys how attlee forever changed british political, economic, and social policy. Clement attlee signed letter ufp1531 prime ministers politics shop by theme. 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. 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 length that it dedicates to each portion of his life is more proportional to the length of time rather than the magnitude of importance. Extracts from letter to churchill from clement attlee. 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. Tellingly, we tend to speak almost exclusively about the attlee government and rarely about attlee the prime minister and less still about attlee the political leader. Few, if any, political leaders have puzzled their own supporters and fellow countrymen as much as clement attlee.
198 470 701 916 557 116 1479 642 1051 1279 150 958 389 1268 598 9 1147 1069 404 1518 459 398 765 1479 201 403 232 1287 1245 1356 24 747 1436 1314 410 335 771 853 1267 758 547 859 1428