[103] Although unsuccessful in his bid, he did celebrate 25 years as the MP for Ebbw Vale. He was a strong critic of the arming policy the British government adopted during the rise of Hitler. Bevan was critical of the leadership of the British Army, which he felt was class bound and inflexible. Aneurin Bevan was born on 15th November 1897 in Tredegar, Monmouthshire (now in Blaenau Gwent). [28], He married fellow Socialist MP Jennie Lee in 1934, after they met in London. Aneurin 'Nye' Bevan (1897-1960) was the Labour MP for Ebbw Vale in south Wales from 1929-60. After Bevan left the Health ministry in 1951 he could never regain his level of success and feuded with fellow Labour leaders, using his strong political base as a weapon. His influence waned after his departure, although a left-wing group (not under his control) within the party became known as "Bevanites". 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 1957 he argued that sovereignty would be taken away from parliament if Britain was to join, much the same argument as Brexiteers make today. We can't allow OUR NHS, built on the working class medical society model to fall to corporate greed. [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". 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. We want the complete political extinction of the Tory Party, and twenty-five years of Labour Government. 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". In parliament, he became a fierce critic of those who did not represent the interest of the working force including members of his party. When Labour supported the government's scheme with no such conditions, Bevan denounced Labour for imploring the people on recruiting platforms to put themselves under the leadership of their opponents. In 1928, Bevan won a seat on Monmouthshire County Council and was elected as the MP for Ebbw Vale the following year. [29][30] They were early supporters of the socialists in the Spanish Civil War, and Bevan visited the country in 1938. 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. It was around this time that he first "reject[ed] his chapel upbringing" and became an atheist. [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. 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 a reversed and famous Wales Labour politician who championed social justice, the right of workers, and democratic socialism. We will send you the latest TV programmes, podcast episodes and articles, as well as exclusive offers from our shop and carefully selected partners. There he earned around ten shillings per week with most going to his parents to help support the family. 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. One of ten children (though four died in infancy and one at eight years old), Bevans father was a coal miner and Baptist, while his mother a seamstress and follower of Methodism. Bevans role as Minister for Health was hugely important given Labours pledge to create a welfare state that included sick pay, unemployment benefits, pensions and free healthcare for all, irrespective of wealth or background. He had also seen disputes with some of Attlee's closest allies, Ernest Bevin and Herbert Morrison, who were appointed Foreign Secretary and Leader of the House respectively. Thus, the responsibility for instituting a new and comprehensive National Health Service, as well as tackling the country's severe post-war housing shortage, was given to Bevan, the youngest member of Attlee's Cabinet in his first ministerial position at the age of 47. Are we prepared to accept for ourselves the logic we are applying to Egypt? Shortly afterwards he resigned from the government in protest at the introduction of prescription charges for dental care and spectacles. [6] He worked at the butcher's for several months before leaving school, instead working in the local Ty-Trist Colliery. He was born in Tredegar, Wales, on 15th November 1897. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. [2] He was a member of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion and wrote his own poems, one of which won an inter-chapel eisteddfod. 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). Prime Minister Attlee rejected Bevan in favour of Herbert Morrison because he distrusted Bevan's personality. Aneurin Bevan. The facts, figures and quotes that shaped the history of the National Health Service . [1] The town was situated in the South Wales Valleys and was on the northern edge of the South Wales coalfield. "[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. By 19 he was active in trade unionism and was head of his local miners' lodge . 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. At the age of 13, in his last months of schooling, he worked as a butcher's boy at a local store. His creation of the National Health Service in 1948 remains Labour's most enduring legacy to the people of the United Kingdom.During the war years he was virtually a one-man opposition to Churchill and had . In 1951, Bevan was moved to become minister of labour. Bevan opposed the heavy censorship imposed on radio and newspapers and wartime Defence Regulation 18B, which gave the Home Secretary the powers to intern citizens. However, the. 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. 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. This made him join the Independent Labour Party. This club was aimed at helping members in monetary terms in their times of need. From 1950, onwards it's been attacked, the reason he resigned from government, but has managed to last 75yrs. [68], Conservative opposition of the National Health Service scheme feared that the sudden access to free health care would be overrun. A blue plaque was erected in 2015 by English Heritage at 23 Cliveden Place, Chelsea, London SW1W 8HD, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It was during this period that he became convinced by the ideas of socialism. Bevan was as critical of Nasserist Egypt's seizure of the Suez Canal on 26 July 1956 as he was of the subsequent Anglo-French military response. Described as "more left-wing than Nye", Lee became a considerable influence on Bevan's political career. We may all come from different walks of life but we have one common passion - learning through travel. [121] In May 1960 Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India, while in England visited Bevan at his home in Asheridge Farm (where Bevan was a keen amateur farmer, keeping cattle and pigs).[122]. He was Chief of Staff in Spain, he won the Battle of the Ebro, and he is a sergeant. [136], In 2015, Welsh actor Michael Sheen gave a speech in which he described Bevan as a mythical creature, stating, "He had cast-iron integrity and a raging passion".[12]. Aneurin Bevan, Minister of Health, on the first day of the National Health Service, 5 July 1948 at Park Hospital, Davyhulme, near Manchester. With his posture, the manager of the colliery found reasons to lay him off but with support from the Miners Federation, he was re-employed by the company as his case was seen as victimization. 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? He was called up for service during the First World War, and was briefly arrested when his sister Blodwen burnt his conscription papers and he failed to report for duty. Bevan first worked as a miner during his teens where he became involved in local miner's union politics. He became minister of labour in January 1951 but resigned from the government the following April in protest against the rearmament program, which necessitated sharp cutbacks in social expenditures. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aneurin-Bevan, British Broadcasting Corporation - Biography of Aneurin Bevan, Spartacus Educational - Biography of Aneurin Bevan. 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. Photo by Geoff Charles Wikimedia Commons. Winston Churchill, the target of numerous diatribes from Bevan during his career, commented that Bevan was "one of the few members that I will sit still and listen to". Bevan argues that the percentage of tax from personal incomes rose from 9% in 1938 to 15% in 1949. Aneurin Bevan 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. Dr James Calvert, medical director for Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, said it was important to remember the report was made during the pandemic, "which has significantly disrupted the . In 1987, a bronze statue of Bevan was erected in the city centre of Cardiff, while 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, which represents Bevan. In addition, he is known for his wider contribution to the founding of the British welfare state. C. 1924. He was born to David Bevan a coal miner and Phoebe nee Prothero a seamstress as one of their ten children. For the next few years Bevan was the centre of controversy within the Labour Party and involuntarily gave his name to the partys radical wing. He developed a severe stammer as a child and, according to his younger sister Myfanwy, became "a lonely chap", due to the need to shy away from the attention it brought him.[5]. [72], Substantial bombing damage, with over 700,000 homes needing repair in London alone,[74] and the continued existence of pre-war slums in many parts of the country made the task of housing reform particularly challenging for Bevan. Inspired by the Tredegar Medical Aid Society in his hometown in South Wales, Bevan led the campaign for a National Health Service to provide medical care free at point-of-need across the UK, regardless of wealth. In Parliament, he became a vocal critic of numerous other politicians from all parties, particularly Winston Churchill and David Lloyd George. As minister of health in Attlee's postwar government from 1945-51, he spearheaded the creation of the National Health Service in 1948. He wanted the war to be not just a fight against fascism but a war for socialism. He became a trades union activist and won a scholarship to study in London. 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. Bevan died in his sleep at 4.10pm on 6 July 1960, at the age of 62, at his home, Asheridge Farm, Chesham, Buckinghamshire. His "vermin" speech still resonated: imagination shuddered at a repetition of that on the international stage. Tomorrow he will be cremated in keeping with his known views. I. In 2004, more than 44 years after his death, he was voted first in a list of 100 Welsh Heroes, having been credited for his contribution to the founding of the welfare state in the UK. Aneurin Bevan was the son of coal miner David Bevan and Phoebe, a seamstress. A colourful public personality and a brilliant spontaneous debater, he had great personal charm but was sometimes so rude to opponents that Churchill once called him a merchant of discourtesy. After his defeat as party leader by Hugh Gaitskell (1955), he accepted his partys policies and became shadow foreign secretary. With less motivation for studies, he left school at age 13 to work at a local Ty- Trist Colliery. [102] In July of the same year, Bevan announced his intention to stand for election as the Treasurer of the Labour Party against Hugh Gaitskell. 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. "[49], Dunbar had been recommended for a commission, but rejected it himself to remain with his unit. [80], At a party rally in 1948, during a speech, Bevan stated: "That is why no amount of cajolery, and no attempts at ethical or social seduction, can eradicate from my heart a deep burning hatred for the Tory Party that inflicted those bitter experiences on me. [123][124] An open-air service was held in his constituency of Ebbw Vale and was presided over by Donald Soper. When the strike started on 3 May 1926, Bevan soon emerged as one of the leaders of the South Wales miners. Aneurin Bevan with his eye on the Ball. Raised in Monmouthshire by a Welsh working-class family, he was the son of a coal miner and left school at 14. "[81] The comment inspired the creation of the Vermin Club by angry Conservatives, who attacked Bevan for years for the metaphor. Despite resistance from opposition parties and the British Medical Association, the National Health Service Act 1946 was passed and launched in 1948, nationalising more than 2,500 hospitals within the United Kingdom. Bevan and Cripps had previously been threatened with disciplinary action by the party for sharing a stage with a Communist speaker, and all party members were threatened with expulsion if they were associated with the Popular Front. [12] In Parliament, he became noticed as a harsh critic of those he felt opposed the working man and woman. He was cremated at Gwent Crematorium, Croesyceiliog. He went on to serve as shadow foreign secretary from 1956-59 and deputy leader of the Labour party from 1959-60. Photo by Elliott & Fry Wikimedia Commons. The NHS is a massive employer. After his studies in 1921, he returned home without work as the Tredegar Iron & Coal Company refused to re-engage him. [31] In 1936 he joined the board of the new socialist newspaper Tribune. Photo by Jeremy Segrott from Cardiff, Wales, UK - Wikimedia Commons [48][65] They threatened to derail the National Health Service scheme before it had even begun, as medical practitioners continued to withhold their support just months before the launch of the service. They collected monies among themselves was what they did to support a member who needed it each week. Plaque, Aneurin Bevan memorial stones, Tredegar. He became a well-known local orator, and was regarded with suspicion by his employers, the Tredegar Iron and Coal Company. His father was a coal miner and his mother worked as a seamstress. Read more. He grew up steeped in the traditions of Welsh miners radicalism; self-help organizations, trade unionism, religious dissent, and socialism. Bevan shared a liberal ideology and was additionally a supporter of the Liberal party that had a change of ideology to socialism after reading Robert Blatchfords in the Clarion. Happy travels! Omissions? [40] Bevan now called unsuccessfully for a Popular Front against fascism under the leadership of the Labour Party, including even anti-fascist Tories. BBC 2014 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. He lost the seat in 1931, but regained it in 1932 before deciding against seeking re-election in 1934. Why this is so it is not difficult to understand, if you view everything from the angle of a strictly individualistic competitive society. They would collect money weekly for any member who needed it. Bevan died from stomach cancer in 1960 at the age of 62. The Labour conference voted to drop its opposition to rearmament. Image Credit: Anenurin Bevan, Minister of Health, on the first day of the National Health Service, 5 July 1948 at Park Hospital, Davyhulme, near Manchester / Wikimedia Commons. His father was a miner and the poor working class family in which Bevan grew up gave him first-hand experience of the problems. [34] Bevan was readmitted to the party on 20 December 1939,[35] after agreeing "to refrain from conducting or taking part in campaigns in opposition to the declared policy of the Party".[36][37]. Aneurin 'Nye' Bevan (1897-1960) is widely regarded as one of the most influential left-wing politicians in British history. Use the tabs above to learn about Nye Bevan's life, work and ideas, as well as the history of the NHS. 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. Get out! If we are going to appeal to force, if force is to be the arbiter to which we appeal, it would at least make common sense to try to make sure beforehand that we have got it, even if you accept that abysmal logic, that decadent point of view.We are in fact in the position today of having appealed to force in the case of a small nation, where if it is appealed to against us it will result in the destruction of Great Britain, not only as a nation, but as an island containing living men and women. Aneurin Bevan was one of the most important ministers of the post-war Labour government and the chief architect of the National Health Service. Contact, Facts are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. 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. "Oratory in Political Life,", This page was last edited on 14 April 2023, at 03:25. [44] Churchill was a frequent target of Bevan's, who already held a dislike of him following his intervention in the Tonypandy riots and the 1926 United Kingdom general strike which Bevan considered heavy handed. After the landslide Labour victory in the 1945 general election, Bevan was appointed minister of health, responsible for establishing the National Health Service. Why Did Shakespeare Paint Richard III as a Villain? This was after he had won a seat on the Monmouthshire County Council in 1928. After his resignation, Bevan served as Shadow Foreign Secretary from 1955 to 1959. 'Nye is asleep next door. Discover Walks contributors speak from all corners of the world - from Prague to Bangkok, Barcelona to Nairobi. Aneurin Bevan. Additionally, he was a brilliant spontaneous debater and a colorful public personality. A free health service is pure Socialism and as such it is opposed to the hedonism of capitalist society. It was Aneurin Bevan, the Minister of Health in the UK from 1945 to 1951, who started the NHS in 1948. Members of the BMA had dubbed him the "Tito of Tonypandy". You can also find out more about the Bevan Society, our activities and programme of lectures. Aneurin "Nye" Bevan PC (/narn bvn/; Welsh:[an.rn]; 15 November 1897 6 July 1960) was a Welsh Labour Party politician, noted for tenure as Minister of Health in Clement Attlee's government in which he spearheaded the creation of the British National Health Service. Bevan Festival. The same year, Labour were defeated in the General Election. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aneurin_Bevan&oldid=1149734012, Fairlie, Henry. [128], Bevan was particularly noted for his public speaking, being described by Robin Butler, Baron Butler of Brockwell, as "the greatest parliamentary speaker since Charles James Fox". Photo by University of Liverpool Faculty of Health & Life Sciences from Liverpool, United Kingdom Wikimedia Commons. I believe that is essential for the full life of citizen to see the living tapestry of a mixed community. In the coming decade, his support grew, particularly through the Great Depression. While this was not an insignificant achievement: the 850,000 homes built in the four years immediately after the war ended was the biggest housing programme ever introduced,[78] Bevan's rate of house-building was seen as less of an achievement than that of his Conservative (indirect) successor, Harold Macmillan, who was able to complete some 300,000 new homes a year as Minister for Housing in the 1950s. Bevan was a great personal charm but was sometimes so rude to opponents that Churchill once called him a merchant of discourtesy. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. There is a man in the British Army who flung 150,000 men across the Ebro in Spain, Michael Dunbar. History Hit brings you the stories that shaped the world through our award winning podcast network and an online history channel. Macmillan noted that despite being a "controversial figure" during his career, Bevan's death had seen an outpouring of genuine "admiration and affection". There, he spent two years studying economics, politics and history. [75][76][77] 1946 saw the completion of 55,600 new homes; this rose to 139,600 in 1947 and 227,600 in 1948. Though described as an outstanding back-bench critic and an excellent debater, Bevan had long clashed with Attlee, even before being in his cabinet, because he thought he hadnt held the Tory party to account properly throughout World War Two. The new Prime Minister, Clement Attlee, appointed Bevan as Minister of Health, with a remit that also covered housing. [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. - Aneurin Bevan, The Lancet, 1948. [10] The Query club started in 1920 or 1921 and they met in Tredegar. A member of the Tredegar branch of the South Wales Miners Federation, Bevan was the head of his local Miners Lodge at just 19 years of age. Labour Party deputy leader Herbert Morrison complained that Bevan's attack had backfired, for his words "did much more to make the Tories work and vote than Conservative Central Office could have done". [7], Bevan became a well-known local orator and was seen by his employers, the Tredegar Iron and Coal Company, as a troublemaker. Bevan was not good academically and was at a time repeated for a year in school. [125] Jennie Lee explained in a letter to Michael Foot that Bevan had specifically chosen to have a non-religious funeral and not a Christian service, because he was a firm humanist. He died on 6 July 1960. Aneurin Bevanand other members were briefly suspended from the Labour Party in March 1939 as he advocated for a united socialist front of all parties of the left. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. The memorial stones of Aneurin Bevan in Tredegar, 2011. [127] Labour leader Hugh Gaitskell also paid tribute to his former shadow cabinet member and ended his speech by labelling Bevan as "one of the great men of our day". He was born to David Bevan a coal miner and Phoebe nee Prothero a seamstress as one of their ten children. [47] His fierce opposition made him unpopular with some portions of the public at the time, his wife later described how the couple would frequently receive parcels filled with excrement at their home.[48]. He was not, apparently, one of the most diligent students, and found it difficult to follow an organised routine, including arising early for breakfast. [32][33] Bevan and another expelled MP, George Strauss, appealed against the decision. 3. He is also known for his wider contribution to the founding of the British welfare state. [16][17] In 1926 he found work as a paid union official. [41] The Military Training Act 1939 reintroduced conscription six months later, and Bevan joined the rest of the Labour Party in opposing it, calling it "the complete abandonment of any hope of a successful struggle against the weight of wealth in Great Britain". Indeed, he was increasingly critical of his own party, and from 1940 to 1945 was the editor of the independent Socialist Tribune. On the day, Bevan attended a ceremony at the Park Hospital, Trafford (now Trafford General), at which he symbolically received the keys to the hospital. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Photo by Howard Coster - Wikimedia Commons, Portrait of Aneurin Bevan. [22], Soon after Bevan entered Parliament, he was briefly attracted to Smethwick Labour MP Oswald Mosley's arguments,[24] becoming one of the 17 signatories of the Mosley Memorandum in the context of the MacDonald government's repeated economic crises,[25] including the doubling of unemployment levels. [15] Apart from a six-week period as a labourer for Tredegar Council, he did not find work until 1924 and his employer, the Bedwellty Colliery, closed down ten months later. [132] In 2002, Bevan was voted as the 45th greatest Briton of all time by the BBC public opinion poll, 100 Greatest Britons. The Gaitskellites typically won most of the battles inside Parliament, but Bevanism was stronger among local Labour activists. To achieve mastery as a speaker, he had first to overcome a speech impediment. He had then joined the board of the socialist newspaper, the Tribune in 1936. Bevan was elected unopposed as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party in 1959, succeeding Griffiths. When Attlee retired from the leadership in 1955, Bevan unsuccessfully contested the party leadership with Hugh Gaitskell, but was appointed Shadow Colonial Secretary and later Shadow Foreign Secretary.
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