[19] With his success in 1928, he was picked as the Labour Party candidate for Ebbw Vale (displacing the sitting MP Evan Davies),[20] and easily held the seat at the 1929 General Election. He knelt reverently in respect to a friend or friend's faith, but he never pretended to be anything other than what he was, a humanist. In 2002, Bevan was voted the 45th greatest Briton of all time by a BBC public opinion poll. [132] In 2002, Bevan was voted as the 45th greatest Briton of all time by the BBC public opinion poll, 100 Greatest Britons. Aged 14, he left school to start working in the mines, starting at 5:30am each day and returning home late in the evening. [9][20] In keeping with his background, Bevan described his initial thoughts on the House of Commons as a shrine to "the most conservative of all religions ancestor worship". In February 1925, his father died of pneumoconiosis, an illness caused by the inhalation of coal dust. He became a well-known local orator, and was regarded with suspicion by his employers, the Tredegar Iron and Coal Company. Aneurin Bevan with his eye on the Ball. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). In Parliament, he became a vocal critic of numerous other politicians from all parties, particularly Winston Churchill and David Lloyd George. [61], The free National Health Service was paid for directly through public money. In 1928, Bevan won a seat on Monmouthshire County Council and was elected as the MP for Ebbw Vale the following year. [54], He believed that the Second World War would give Britain the opportunity to create "a new society". The True Tale of Wales Legendary Hay Castle, 8 Formidable Fighters of the Hellenistic Period, Operation Unthinkable: Churchills Postwar Contingency Plan, The Pirates Code: Laws and Life Aboard Ship, How the Island of Rhodes Overcame a Superpower, Historical Trips - Book your next historical adventure, 10 Must-See Medieval Landmarks in England, Join Dan Snow for the Anniversary of the D-Day Landings, Lost Literature: Why Most English Texts Didnt Survive the Middle Ages, The Legacy of Hal 9000: How Science Fiction Depictions of AI Have Changed Over Time. He was born to David Bevan a coal miner and Phoebe nee Prothero a seamstress as one of their ten children. [60] He earned a rebuke from Attlee, but Bevan contended that his Welsh mining constituency did not send him to Parliament to "dress up", and he declined to wear formal attire at further Buckingham Palace functions. His remains were cremated at Gwent Crematorium in Croesyceiliog in a private family ceremony. After two years at Central Labour College, London, he entered politics and in 1929 was elected to the House of Commons as Labour member from Ebbw Vale. Photo by Geoff Charles Wikimedia Commons. In 1955, he stood as one of the candidates for party leader but was defeated by Hugh Gaitskell. Bevan believed that the key to the war was the involvement of Russia and considered Churchill was too focused on the intervention of the United States. Aneurin Bevan was born on November 15, 1897, in Tredegar, Monmouthshire in the South Wales Valleys. [120], After a lengthy period in hospital, on 14 February 1960 Bevan returned home and announced he would not be returning to politics in the near future, so as to be able to recuperate and plan an extended holiday. He was first elected as MP for Ebbw Vale in 1929, and used his Parliamentary platform to make a number of influential criticisms of Winston Churchill and his Conservative government during the Second World War. [11] Bevan remained at the college until 1921, attending at a time when a number of his contemporaries from South Wales, including Jim Griffiths, were also students at the college. He began attending fortnightly meetings of the local Plebs' League where he studied, among other things, Marxism. [82] It was later claimed that his words had cost Labour more than two million votes. But the lowest paid a tax rate of 1%, up from 0.2% in 1938, the middle income brackets paid 14% to 26%, up from 10% to 18% in 1938, the higher earners paid 42%, up from 29%, and the top earners 77%, up from 58% in 1938. multi-national defence organisation in Asia and the Pacific, subsequent Anglo-French military response, Political history of the United Kingdom (1945present), "Aneurin Bevan, stormy petrel of the Labour left", "Dying father inspired Nye Bevan's NHS dream", "Britain's near-brush with Fascism: The politician who rooted for Hitler", "Play tells the inspiring story of political couple Aneurin Bevan and Jennie Lee", "How Jennie Lee helped Aneurin Bevan shape political change", "70 years of the NHS: How Aneurin Bevan created our beloved health service", "Let Us Face the Future: A Declaration of Labour Policy for the Consideration of the Nation", "NHS 70: Aneurin Bevan Day celebrations in Tredegar", "Housing owned by the people for the people Nye would have approved", "Bevan's speech to the Manchester Labour rally", "Major John Freeman: Soldier who became an MP, diplomat and broadcaster best known for his series of interviews, Face to Face", "In Place of Fear A Free Health Service 1952", "Mr. Bevan and Others Awarded 2,500 Each", "Did you know NHS founder Aneurin Bevan lived in Bucks? It was during this period that he became convinced by the ideas of socialism. They have made us ashamed of the things of which formerly we were proud. Aneurin Bevan, byname Nye Bevan, (born November 15, 1897, Tredegar, Monmouthshire [now in Blaenau Gwent], Walesdied July 6, 1960, Chesham, Buckinghamshire), controversial figure in post-World War II British politics and one of the finest orators of the time. Bevan's reputation as a hard-line socialist typically preceded him: Sir William Douglas, who served as Bevan's deputy in the Ministry of Health, had initially stated that he would "never work with a man like that". full audio of Bevan's speech at the 4 November 1956 Trafalgar Square rally against British action in Suez. Happy travels! Aneurin Bevan was born on 15 th November 1897 in Tredegar, Monmouthshire (now in Blaenau Gwent). [1] The town was situated in the South Wales Valleys and was on the northern edge of the South Wales coalfield. Image Credit: http://www.cradleofnhs.org.uk/nye.htm / Wikimedia Commons. C. 1924. On July 5 1948 the National Health Service took control of 480,000 hospital beds in England and Wales. As a result of this success, he was picked as the Labour Party candidate for Ebbw Vale, then easily held the seat in the 1929 General Election, receiving more than twice the number of votes as the Liberal candidate. Bevan, Aneurin (1897-1960). With his activism and exuberance, his employer Tredegar Iron Company saw him as a troublesome person but he amazingly became a popular local speaker. [93] In 1952 Bevan published In Place of Fear,[94] "the most widely read socialist book" of the period, according to a highly critical right-wing Labour MP Anthony Crosland. In one of his most noted speeches made against Churchill, he railed that the prime minister "wins debate after debate and loses battle after battle". Additionally, he was a brilliant spontaneous debater and a colorful public personality. At a dinner in late 1955 or early 1956 to celebrate the publication of the Guillebaud Report into NHS costs Bevan remarked to Julian Tudor Hart "ultimately I had to stuff their mouths with gold" about his handling of the consultants. In 1925, Bevans father died of pneumoconiosis, a lung condition caused by long term inhalation of coal dust, but no compensation was paid. Bevanism was a movement on the left wing of the Labour Party in the late 1950s led by Aneurin Bevan which also included Richard Crossman, Michael Foot and Barbara Castle. Nonetheless, for the next few years, Bevan was at the centre of controversy within the party earning the nickname Nye the Rhetorician and ultimately gave his name to the partys more left-leaning radical wing, which included campaigning for nuclear disarmament. His new job arrived in time for him to head the local miners against the colliery companies during the General Strike. After an overwhelming victory for the Labour Party in the 1945 General Election,Aneurin Bevanwas appointed Minister for Health also responsible for housing by Prime Minister Clement Attlee. In January 1951, Bevan became Minister for Labour but resigned in protest just three months later after Hugh Gaitskell, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, proposed an introduction of prescription charges for dental care and spectacles in order to save a potential 25 million to meet the financial demands of the Korean War. He criticised figures such as Winston Churchill and David Lloyd George for their attitude towards workers rights, and as a result of his strong stance enjoyed consistent support from his constituency, and was one of few Labour MPs to be unopposed in the 1931 General Election. Soon, thereafter became an activist and initially, a supporter of syndicalism. We are going to Tredegar-ise you. [1][3], The couple had ten children altogethersix boys and four girlsalthough four died in infancy and one died at the age of eight. This made him join the Independent Labour Party. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Photo by Lesbardd Wikimedia Commons. Lee became a considerable influence upon Bevans career. He is also known for his wider contribution to the founding of the British welfare state. BBC Wales documentary, originally aired December 18th 2012.Aneurin Bevan (pronounced /narn/; Welsh: [an.rin]; 15 November 1897 - 6 July 1960), often k. The memorial stones of Aneurin Bevan in Tredegar, 2011. Aneurin Bevan was a reversed and famous Wales Labour politician who championed social justice, the right of workers, and democratic socialism. [113] According to the journalist Paul Routledge, Donald Bruce, a former MP and Parliamentary Private Secretary and adviser to Bevan, had told him that Bevan's shift on the disarmament issue was the result of discussions with the Soviet government, where they advised him to push for British retention of nuclear weapons so they could possibly be used as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the United States.[114]. He was not a cold-blooded rationalist. [57][58] These reforms were achieved in the face of great financial difficulty following the war. [131], The Aneurin Bevan Memorial Stones were erected at the beginning of the Sirhowy Valley Walk with three smaller stones (representing three towns of his constituency Ebbw Vale, Rhymney and Tredegar) surrounding a larger stone representing Bevan. [99] For the next five years, he was the leader of the left wing of the Labour Party, who became known as Bevanites. Born in a modest family, Bevan's exposure to poverty and deprivation gave him a first-hand experience of unfortunate condition of . Bevan had been inspired by the Tredegar Medical Aid Society in his hometown, where residents would pay a subscription that would fund access for all of the town's inhabitants to have free access to medical services such as nursing or dental care. He was the sixth of ten children born to Phoebe and David Bevan, of whom only eight survived infancy and only six to adulthood. The collective principle asserts that no society can legitimately call itself civilised if a sick person is denied medical aid because of lack of means. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Photo by Spudgun67 Wikimedia Commons. The latter sale and purchase of goodwill often placed new entrants to the GP profession under large amounts of debt. He is particularly noted for his tenure as Minister for Health in Clement Attlees government, in which he pioneered the creation of the British National Health Service. [87] The Labour MP David Marquand has stated that the savings were introduced by Gaitskell simply to "impose his will" upon Bevan who he saw as a political rival. When Bevan was made a minister in 1945, he envisaged the social housing sector as a housing service similar to the National Health Service, ensuring that everyone had access to decent and affordable homes, with people still having the option to live in owner occupation or the private sector if they so chose (with grants made available to owner-occupiers and private landlords to bring dwellings up to decent standards). Photo by Duncan from Leicestershire, UK Wikimedia Commons. [90] Bevan received unanimous support for his actions from his local Labour constituency leaders. Why this is so it is not difficult to understand, if you view everything from the angle of a strictly individualistic competitive society. Bevan died from stomach cancer in 1960 at the age of 62. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Bevan then endured another year of unemployment, the family surviving on his sister's wages, when his unemployment benefit was stopped due to her income, and his father's sick pay. I. [52] An administrative committee voted 71 to 60 in favour of retaining Bevan as an MP,[53] although it was announced that party discipline was to be strengthened in future. Aneurin Nye Bevan (1897-1960) is widely regarded as one of the most influential left-wing politicians in British history. Read more. In his biography of Bevan, John Campbell wrote, "Bevan's impetuous temperament, undiplomatic tone and reputation as an extreme left-winger combined to make the Foreign Office seem the last place a prudent Prime Minister would think of putting him at any time. He wanted the war to be not just a fight against fascism but a war for socialism. He was adept at construction and added several modern features when the family moved to 7 Charles Street, installing the first gas stove in the street, an inside toilet and running hot water. From 1940 to 1945 he was editor of the independent Socialist Tribune. The same year, Labour were defeated in the General Election. In 1934 he married another Labour MP, Jennie Lee. His nomination received a severe blow on the same day it was announced, when two unions that traditionally sided with the left, the National Union of Mineworkers and the Amalgamated Engineering Union, pledged their support for his opponent. Bevan left school at 13 and began working in a local colliery. On his return to South Wales he struggled to find work, remaining unemployed for nearly three years before gaining employment as a union official, which led to him becoming a leading figure in the 1926 general strike. However, Attlee commented that Bevan was "starting with me with a clean sheet" following his appointment. This was after he had won a seat on the Monmouthshire County Council in 1928. [51] He also voiced criticism of trade union leaders, which drew complaints from both the Miners' Federation and the Trades Union Congress. Student Activities. If nations more powerful than ourselves accept the absence of principle, the anarchistic attitude of Eden and launch bombs on London, what answer have we got, what complaint have we got? Bevan gained more than twice the votes of Liberal candidate William Griffiths, receiving 20,000 votes to Griffiths' 8,000. [29][30] They were early supporters of the socialists in the Spanish Civil War, and Bevan visited the country in 1938. He published the bookIn Place of Fear in 1952, which became the most read socialist book at the time. [26] In January 1931, Bevan wrote a letter to the government on behalf of the Mosley group, raising concerns over its "failure to deal with unemployment". Bevan was also limited due to his desire for new homes to be bigger and of better quality than the ones they were being built to replace, based on the recommendations of a 1943 report by the Dudley Committee, and a shortage of skilled workers to undertake the work. Prime Minister Attlee rejected Bevan in favour of Herbert Morrison because he distrusted Bevan's personality. His contribution to the Welfare State has been immense. The manager of the colliery found an excuse to have him dismissed; however, with the support of the Miners Federation, Bevans case was judged to be one of victimisation and the company was forced to re-employ him. Bevan was not academically sharp Aneurin Bevan with his eye on the Ball. [115] Crossman later acknowledged that they had perjured themselves to do so.[116]. Aneurin Bevan was a British Labour Party politician who took up the portfolio of Health and Housing during Clement Attlee's government from 1945 to 1951. In 1928, Bevan won a seat on Monmouthshire County Council in the Tredegar Central Division. Rediscovering Richard III with Matt Lewis, Rome and the Amalfi Coast with Tristan Hughes, Conservative Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, How Rome Became the Sole Superpower in the Mediterranean, Charles Martel: A Heroic Leader of Medieval Europe. Bevan accused the government of a "policy of bankruptcy and despair",[111] stating at the Trafalgar rally: We are stronger than Egypt but there are other countries stronger than us. We may all come from different walks of life but we have one common passion - learning through travel. His father died by pneumoconiosis (a lung condition caused by long term inhalation of coal dust) but no compensation was paid to him, as it was not classed as an industrial disease under the Workman's Compensation Act. [69][70] The removal of the criteria of "working class" from local authority housing provision was seen as a first step, widening access to the council housing that was becoming an ever larger part of the UK housing stock and which made up a majority of new homes built after the war. [14], Upon returning home in 1921, he found that the Tredegar Iron and Coal Company refused to re-employ him. He was no calculating machine. He strongly criticised the National Government's rearmament plans in the face of the rise of Nazi Germany, saying to the Labour conference in autumn 1937: If the immediate international situation is used as an excuse to get us to drop our opposition to the rearmament programme of the Government, the next phase must be that we must desist from any industrial or political action that may disturb national unity in the face of Fascist aggression. In its early stages this proved true, as the service went vastly over budget in its inaugural year, and Attlee was forced to make a radio address to the nation in an attempt to limit the strain on the system. It was around this time that he first "reject[ed] his chapel upbringing" and became an atheist. In his 2014 biography, Nick Thomas-Symonds described "an outpouring of national mourning" that followed Bevan's death. Despite his conflict with Attlee, Bevan was instrumental in developing a program that oversaw the building of 850,000 new homes between 1945 and 1950, which were good quality houses, owned by local councils and rented out to people at affordable prices. But seven decades after it was founded, a 2013 opinion poll conducted on behalf of British Future found that the NHS was more popular than at its creation, and more popular than the monarchy, the BBC, and the British Armed Forces. They criticised the right-wing "Gaitskellites" high defence expenditure (especially for nuclear weapons), called for better relations with the Soviet Union, and opposed the party leader, Clement Attlee, on most issues. On 5 July 1948, the government took over responsibility for all medical services and there was free diagnosis and treatment for all. Raised in Monmouthshire by a Welsh working-class family, he was the son of a coal miner and left school at 14. In 1934,Aneurin BevanmarriedSocialist MP, Jennie Lee. Bevan attended the local school, where he was deeply shy because of a severe stammer that he developed as a child. Discover Walks contributors speak from all corners of the world - from Prague to Bangkok, Barcelona to Nairobi. Bevan's maternal grandfather John was a blacksmith who had moved to Tredegar from Hay-on-Wye to work in the Bedwellty mines. Bevan also failed in a bid to become deputy leader, losing out to Jim Griffiths. "[62] Government income was increased for the welfare state expenditure by a large increase in marginal tax rates for wealthy business owners in particular, as part of what the Labour government largely saw as the redistribution of the wealth created by the working-class from the owners of large-scale industry to the workers. [27] Mosley broke from the Labour Party in early 1931 to form the New Party, but Bevan refused to defect and instead announced that he had no intention of leaving the Labour Party. He first became an MP for Ebbw Vale in 1929. Bevan appeared in court but was cleared when he produced confirmation that he suffered from nystagmus. Bevan called for the nationalisation of the coal industry and advocated the opening of a Second Front in Western Europe to help the Soviet Union in its fight with Germany. [127], Bevan's most significant legacy is the National Health Service. He became a trades union activist and won a scholarship to study in London. In 1929, Bevan was elected as the Labour member of parliament for Ebbw Vale. With his posture in parliament, he gained great support from his constituents. [64] The scheme was achieved having overcome political opposition from both the Conservative Party and from within his own party. [68], Conservative opposition of the National Health Service scheme feared that the sudden access to free health care would be overrun. A powerful speaker, debater and champion of the working class, Bevan was voted number one in the 100 Welsh Heroes poll, a response to find the publics favourite Welsh people of all time. [130] The Nye Bevan Estate in Clapton Park, Hackney, London, was named after Bevan, and was opened in October 1962 by his friend and biographer Michael Foot. At the age of 13, in his last months of schooling, he worked as a butcher's boy at a local store. For local insights and insiders travel tips that you wont find anywhere else, search any keywords in the top right-hand toolbar on this page. Despite Bevan's criticism of the new party leader, Gaitskell decided to appoint him as Shadow Colonial Secretary,[109] and then Shadow Foreign Secretary in 1956. He was born in Tredegar, Wales, on 15th November 1897. [10], 1919 saw the foundation of the Tredegar Labour Party and Bevan was selected as one of four Labour delegates to contest the West Ward in the Tredegar Urban District election. Although he was defeated, he gained attention from his peers and he won a scholarship to the Central Labour College in London, sponsored by the South Wales Miners' Federation.
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