[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". [42] He emphasised that the government had no arguments to persuade young men to fight "except merely in another squalid attempt to defend themselves against the redistribution of international swag". Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. This made him join the Independent Labour Party. [132] In 2002, Bevan was voted as the 45th greatest Briton of all time by the BBC public opinion poll, 100 Greatest Britons. [123][124] An open-air service was held in his constituency of Ebbw Vale and was presided over by Donald Soper. In short Hitler is to rule Britain by proxy. It was one of a long row of four-roomed miners' cottages. In 1924, he found a job at the Bedwellty Colliery which would close down in just ten months. An estimated 125,000 nurses and 5,000 consultants were available to care for hospital patients. [50], Bevan was subject to further disciplinary action in 1944, when he deliberately voted against Labour's stance on new defence regulations. 2. Indeed, he was increasingly critical of his own party, and from 1940 to 1945 was the editor of the independent Socialist Tribune. [134][135] Numerous institutions bear Bevan's name, including the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, and Ysbyty Aneurin Bevan, a hospital located within his old Ebbw Vale constituency. [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]. [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". A free health service is pure Socialism and as such it is opposed to the hedonism of capitalist society. Bevan always stood up for the underdog, and was a voice for the unemployed in the period between the two world wars when joblessness was a major domestic political issue. Bevan contested the leadership against both Morrison and Labour right-winger Gaitskell, but it was Gaitskell who emerged victorious with more than half of the ballots. He was a strong critic of the arming policy the British government adopted during the rise of Hitler. Aneurin 'Nye' Bevan (1897-1960) was the Labour MP for Ebbw Vale in south Wales from 1929-60. 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. [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. However, the. Why Did Shakespeare Paint Richard III as a Villain? 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". We may all come from different walks of life but we have one common passion - learning through travel. Aneurin Bevan was one of the most important ministers of the post-war Labour government and the chief architect of the National Health Service. From 1950, onwards it's been attacked, the reason he resigned from government, but has managed to last 75yrs. [21] His targets included the Conservative Winston Churchill and the Liberal David Lloyd George, as well as Ramsay MacDonald and Margaret Bondfield from his own Labour party (he targeted the latter for her unwillingness to increase unemployment benefits). 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. Attlee and Labour were ousted from power in a snap election held six months after Bevan's resignation, but Attlee continued on as Labour Party Leader. In 1928, Bevan won a seat on Monmouthshire County Council and was elected as the MP for Ebbw Vale the following year. Macmillan noted that despite being a "controversial figure" during his career, Bevan's death had seen an outpouring of genuine "admiration and affection". Bevan was the sort of principled politician we seem to lack these days. 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? 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. History Hit Launches on Comcasts Entertainment Platforms in the US. As minister of health in Attlee's postwar government from 1945-51, he spearheaded the creation of the National Health Service in 1948. [29][30] They were early supporters of the socialists in the Spanish Civil War, and Bevan visited the country in 1938. Bevan died in his sleep at 4.10pm on 6 July 1960, at the age of 62, at his home, Asheridge Farm, Chesham, Buckinghamshire. Get out! He was born in Tredegar, Wales, on 15th November 1897. The NHS is a massive employer. Later today he will be taken home to Wales. Image Credit: Peter Aylmer / Nye Bevan stones / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons. "[55] At the beginning of the 1945 general election campaign, Bevan told his audience that his goal was to eliminate any opposition to the Labour programme: "We have been the dreamers, we have been the sufferers, now we are the builders. [12] Churchill would later label Bevan "a squalid nuisance". Bevan was a supporter of the Liberal Party as a child, but later converted to socialism and joined the Independent Labour Party. Photo by Geoff Charles Wikimedia Commons. 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. In Parliament, Bevan argued that this was the logical outcome of the government's foreign policy. 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. This is often quoted as "I stuffed their mouths with gold". 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. 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. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. In his 2014 biography, Nick Thomas-Symonds described "an outpouring of national mourning" that followed Bevan's death. 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. [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. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. C. 1924. Aneurin Bevan. Photo by Jeremy Segrott from Cardiff, Wales, UK - Wikimedia Commons His National Health Service policy met great disapproval from the British Medical Association. "[83], Bevan was instead appointed Minister of Labour in January 1951 in place of George Isaacs. [62] This system proved so popular that 20,000 people supported the organisation during the 1930s. Therefore I say to Anthony, I say to the British government, there is no count at all upon which they can be defended.They have besmirched the name of Britain. [43] Bevan was relieved that the country had united against Nazi Germany in the fight against fascism to provide a common enemy away from the working class. There, he spent two years studying economics, politics and history. In the speeches section, we will be building an archive of Bevans greatest oratory including archive recordings. Tomorrow he will be cremated in keeping with his known views. 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. I. [12] In Parliament, he became noticed as a harsh critic of those he felt opposed the working man and woman. 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". We enter this campaign at this general election, not merely to get rid of the Tory majority. He began attending fortnightly meetings of the local Plebs' League where he studied, among other things, Marxism. He was the son of coal miner David Bevan and Phoebe (ne Prothero), a seamstress. Bevan was largely responsible for the distribution of strike pay in Tredegar and the formation of the Council of Action, an organisation that helped to raise money and provide food for the miners. Bevan led the left wing of the Labour Party, known as the 'Bevanites', for the next five years. [90] Bevan received unanimous support for his actions from his local Labour constituency leaders. The National Health Service was launched in 1948, and Bevan is quoted as saying, No society can legitimately call itself civilised if a sick person is denied medical aid because of a lack of means. The manager of the colliery found an excuse to get him dismissed. Two of the key elements of Bevan's proposals were this nationalisation of the hospital services and the abolition of the sale and purchase of goodwill by general practitioners. [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. With the support of the Miners' Federation, the case was judged as one of victimisation and the company was forced to re-employ him. There is a man in the British Army who flung 150,000 men across the Ebro in Spain, Michael Dunbar. 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. Bevan, however, became an atheist. In 2002, Bevan was voted the 45th greatest Briton of all time by a BBC public opinion poll. Get time period newsletters, special offers and weekly programme release emails. Soon, thereafter became an activist and initially, a supporter of syndicalism. Bevan is widely regarded as one of the most influential left-wing politicians in British history. [31] In 1936 he joined the board of the new socialist newspaper Tribune. [105] After the 1955 general election, Attlee retired as Labour leader. History Hit brings you the stories that shaped the world through our award winning podcast network and an online history channel. Image Credit: http://www.cradleofnhs.org.uk/nye.htm / Wikimedia Commons. Reciting long passages by William Morris with the help of an elocution tutor, Bevan gradually began to overcome the stammer that he had since childhood. Aneurin Bevan was born on November 15, 1897, in Tredegar, Monmouthshire in the South Wales Valleys. 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. Bevan passed on July 6, 1960, at age 62 in his Asheridge Farm home in Chesham, Buckinghamshire a year after being diagnosed with stomach cancer. Aged 14, he left school to start working in the mines, starting at 5:30am each day and returning home late in the evening. Aneurin Bevan was born in Tredegar in 1897 into a large mining family and left school at 13 to work in the mine. Bevan was critical of the leadership of the British Army, which he felt was class bound and inflexible. Bevan was not academically sharp Aneurin Bevan with his eye on the Ball. In 1957, Bevan, Richard Crossman and the Labour Party's General Secretary Morgan Phillips sued The Spectator magazine for libel, after one of its writers described them as drinking heavily during an Italian Socialist Party conference. Omissions? At the age of 13, in his last months of schooling, he worked as a butcher's boy at a local store. Lee became a considerable influence upon Bevans career. Icon of 1960s Britain: Who Was Mary Quant? [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. We will send you the latest TV programmes, podcast episodes and articles, as well as exclusive offers from our shop and carefully selected partners. Aneurin Bevan was born on 15 November 1897 at 32 Charles Street in Tredegar, Monmouthshire, a working-class mining town, where an estimated 90 per cent of the town's inhabitants relied on the local mines for employment. Bevan attended the local school, where he was deeply shy because of a severe stammer that he developed as a child. Shortly afterwards he resigned from the government in protest at the introduction of prescription charges for dental care and spectacles. KidzSearch Safe Wikipedia for Kids. [70][71] The aim was to create new homes and communities with a place for all sections of society: We should try to introduce in our modern villages and towns what was always the lovely feature of English and Welsh villages, where the doctor, the grocer, the butcher and the farm labourer all lived in the same street. [111], Bevan dismayed many of his supporters when he suddenly reversed his opposition to nuclear weapons. In Parliament, he became a vocal critic of numerous other politicians from all parties, particularly Winston Churchill and David Lloyd George. David Bevan was born in Tredegar but his family had originally hailed from Carmarthenshire, and he followed his own father into the mines, starting work at 5:30am each day and returning home late in the evening. 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. [99] For the next five years, he was the leader of the left wing of the Labour Party, who became known as Bevanites. 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. 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. [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. He was not a cold-blooded rationalist. Aneurin Bevan and the setting up of the NHS The National Health Service. He lost the seat in 1931, but regained it in 1932 before deciding against seeking re-election in 1934. His father was a miner and the poor working class family in which Bevan grew up gave him first-hand experience of the problems of poverty and disease. 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. 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. 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. A blue plaque was erected in 2015 by English Heritage at 23 Cliveden Place, Chelsea, London SW1W 8HD, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. photo by Elliott & Fry Wikimedia Commons. He was the architect of the National Health Service and leader of the left-wing (Bevanite) group of the Labour Party. 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. The three won their case, and obtained financial damages of 2,500 each. 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. 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. [10] The Query club started in 1920 or 1921 and they met in Tredegar. Hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and subscriber rewards. However, by the end of his tenure, he had declared Bevan as "the best minister we have had". They condemned millions of first-class people to semi-starvation. The move was seen by some as a sideways or backwards step, although a potential rearmament program was expected to make the post of future importance. "[81] The comment inspired the creation of the Vermin Club by angry Conservatives, who attacked Bevan for years for the metaphor. So far as I am concerned they are lower than vermin. 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. His agitations for a united socialist front of all parties of the left (including the Communist Party of Great Britain) led to his brief expulsion from the Labour Party from March to November 1939 (along with Stafford Cripps, C. P. Trevelyan and three others). [5] Bevan also joined the Tredegar branch of the South Wales Miners' Federation and became a trade union activist: he was head of his local Miners' Lodge at 19 years of age. It was Aneurin Bevan, the Minister of Health in the UK from 1945 to 1951, who started the NHS in 1948. [14], Upon returning home in 1921, he found that the Tredegar Iron and Coal Company refused to re-employ him. Photo by Jeremy Segrott from Cardiff, Wales, UK Wikimedia Commons. Aneurin Bevan Facts: Aneurin Bevan was a Welsh Labour politician widely considered the architect of the National Health Service. The same year, Labour were defeated in the General Election. He grew up steeped in the traditions of Welsh miners radicalism; self-help organizations, trade unionism, religious dissent, and socialism. His parents had ten children togetherfour died in infancy and one died at the age of eight. [6] He worked at the butcher's for several months before leaving school, instead working in the local Ty-Trist Colliery. [112] Speaking at the 1957 Labour Party conference, he decried unilateral nuclear disarmament, saying "It would send a British Foreign Secretary naked into the conference-chamber". ], In 1951, with the retirement of Ernest Bevin, Bevan was a leading candidate for Foreign Secretary. Use the tabs aboveto learn about Nye Bevans life, work and ideas, as well as the history of the NHS. During World War Two, Bevan was one of the leaders of the left in the House of Commons. Photo by No Swan So Fine Wikimedia Commons. Some historians have questioned how influential the college was on his political development. [100] In April 1954, Bevan resigned from the Parliamentary Labour Party, having been rebuked by Attlee after accusing the Labour leader of surrendering to American pressure over a proposed multi-national defence organisation in Asia and the Pacific. He wanted the war to be not just a fight against fascism but a war for socialism. However, Attlee commented that Bevan was "starting with me with a clean sheet" following his appointment. [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. He was later fired for refusing to unload, and successfully challenged the motion but was moved to Pochin, generally considered a punishment due to the poor site conditions. Aneurin " Nye " Bevan PC (15 November 1897 - 6 July 1960) was a Welsh Labour politician. The club intended to break the hold that the Tredegar Iron and Coal Company had on the town by becoming members of pivotal groups in the community. Raised in Monmouthshire by a Welsh working-class family, he was the son of a coal miner and left school at 14. Aneurin Bevan was born on 15 th November 1897 in Tredegar, Monmouthshire (now in Blaenau Gwent). Portrait of Aneurin Bevan. This was after he had won a seat on the Monmouthshire County Council in 1928. There he earned around ten shillings per week with most going to his parents to help support the family. [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]. [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. But it means abandonment of the class struggle and the subservience of the British workers to their own employers. The latter sale and purchase of goodwill often placed new entrants to the GP profession under large amounts of debt. 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. He joined the Labour Party and attended Central Labour College in London. [133] The following year, Bevan was voted number one in the 100 Welsh Heroes poll, a response to find the public's favourite Welsh people of all time. Aneurin 'Nye' Bevan (1897-1960) is widely regarded as one of the most influential left-wing politicians in British history. Aneurin Bevan was born on 15th November 1897 in Tredegar, Monmouthshire (now in Blaenau Gwent). [12] Harold Macmillan ended his Prime Minister's Questions session in Parliament two days after Bevan's death by paying tribute to the opposition MP, describing him as "a great personality and a great national figure". Top 15 Things to do Around the Eiffel Tower, 10 Things to Do in Paris on Christmas Day (2022), 10 Things to Do in Luxembourg Gardens in Paris. FIGHT FOR OUR NHS free at the point of need for all. The Daily Herald stated that some MPs were seen to be crying in Parliament and described how there was "sorrow at every street corner" in the South Wales Valleys. BBC Wales documentary, originally aired December 18th 2012.Aneurin Bevan (pronounced /narn/; Welsh: [an.rin]; 15 November 1897 - 6 July 1960), often k. He often quoted an 1855 passage from Karl Marx that was published in The New York Times in 1865: "The redeeming feature of war is that it puts a nation to the test. Get out! The facts, figures and quotes that shaped the history of the National Health Service . He compared Gamal Abdel Nasser with Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, from One Thousand and One Nights. Aneurin Bevan was a reversed and famous Wales Labour politician who championed social justice, the right of workers, and democratic socialism. His father was a miner and the poor working class family in which Bevan grew up gave him first-hand experience of the problems. He believed that a civilized society should be able to provide medical care for all of its citizens for free so that anyone in need of medical care, no matter what they earn, can have access to it. 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. Photo by Elliott & Fry Wikimedia Commons. 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. I believe that is essential for the full life of citizen to see the living tapestry of a mixed community. [107] He instead stood again for the role of party treasurer and was duly elected, beating George Brown.[108]. Bevan was not good academically and was at a time repeated for a year in school. [2] He was a member of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion and wrote his own poems, one of which won an inter-chapel eisteddfod. [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". ", "The NHS: even more cherished than the monarchy and the army", "Aneurin Bevan / 100 Welsh Heroes / 100 Arwyr Cymru", "Hospital named after Aneurin Bevan opens in Ebbw Vale", contributions in Parliament by Aneurin Bevan, Aneurin Bevan and the foundation of the NHS: Socialist Health Association website. Aneurin Bevan was the son of coal miner David Bevan and Phoebe, a seamstress. 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. Described as "more left-wing than Nye", Lee became a considerable influence on Bevan's political career. Photo by Howard Coster Wikimedia Commons. [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. Aneurin Bevan By 1932, Mosley's New Party had migrated from the left over to the far-right of British politics and was rebranded as the British Union of Fascists. [36] He was a strong critic of Chamberlain, arguing that his old rival Winston Churchill should become prime minister. They have offended against every principle of decency and there is only one way in which they can even begin to restore their tarnished reputation and that is to get out! [42], In August 1939 came the MolotovRibbentrop Pact, a non-aggression pact between the Nazi and Soviet governments that shocked democratic governments around the world. On July 5 1948 the National Health Service took control of 480,000 hospital beds in England and Wales. In the coming decade, his support grew, particularly through the Great Depression. Aneurin Bevan was born on 15 November 1897 in Tredegar in Wales. Find out more about how the BBC is covering the. He is particularly noted for his tenure as Minister for Health in Clement Attlee's government, in which he pioneered the creation of the British National Health Service. 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.
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