Bevan first worked as a miner during his teens where he became involved in local miner's union politics. Aneurin Bevan Worksheets & Facts | Life, Political Career, Legacy Aneurin's name is pronounced 'uh-ny-rin'. After the landslide Labour victory in the 1945 general election, Bevan was appointed minister of health, responsible for establishing the National Health Service. [102], In March 1955, when Britain was preparing for Operation Grapple, the testing of its first hydrogen bomb, Bevan led a revolt of 57 Labour MPs and abstained on a key vote. 'Nye is asleep next door. [12] Bevan resigned from his position two weeks later, stating both the proposed changes and the increase in military expenditure that necessitated the need for such proposals. [111], Bevan dismayed many of his supporters when he suddenly reversed his opposition to nuclear weapons. How To Say Aneurin Bevan - YouTube [75][76][77] 1946 saw the completion of 55,600 new homes; this rose to 139,600 in 1947 and 227,600 in 1948. So far as I am concerned they are lower than vermin. He joined the Labour Party and attended Central Labour College in London. 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. [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. "[56], The 1945 general election resulted in a landslide victory for the Labour Party, giving it a large enough majority to allow the implementation of the party's manifesto commitments and to introduce a programme of far-reaching social reforms, that were collectively dubbed the "Welfare State". [123][124] An open-air service was held in his constituency of Ebbw Vale and was presided over by Donald Soper. As minister of health in Attlee's postwar government from 1945-51, he spearheaded the creation of the National Health Service in 1948. Are we prepared to accept for ourselves the logic we are applying to Egypt? [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. [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. The National Health Service and the Welfare State have come to be used as interchangeable terms, and in the mouths of some people as terms of reproach. Bevan had been a supporter of the Liberal Party in his youth, but was converted to socialism by the writings of Robert Blatchford in The Clarion and joined the Independent Labour Party. [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". The pair went to work at Whitworth Colliery, but fell foul of management when Bevan refused to use cheaper second-hand timber as he deemed it unsafe. Aneurin Bevan - Powered by, Weapons for squalid and trivial ends House of Commons, December 5 1956, NHS 70th Anniversary and 2018 Annual Lecture, The 2017 Aneurin Bevan Memorial Lecture Professor John Bew. [45] Bevan also feared that allowing Churchill to continue unopposed and unchallenged in Parliament during the war would leave him almost unbeatable for the Labour Party in future elections. He was born to David Bevan a coal miner and Phoebe nee Prothero a seamstress as one of their ten children. He won the seat easily and made it to parliament. This page has been archived and is no longer updated. 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. [105] After the 1955 general election, Attlee retired as Labour leader. 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". In his 2014 biography, Nick Thomas-Symonds described "an outpouring of national mourning" that followed Bevan's death. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Use the tabs above to learn about Nye Bevan's life, work and ideas, as well as the history of the NHS. His autobiography, In Place of Fear, appeared in 1952, Aneurin Bevan. KidzSearch Safe Wikipedia for Kids. Photo by Jeremy Segrott from Cardiff, Wales, UK - Wikimedia Commons Throughout World War II he was a vigorous critic of Winston Churchills coalition government but was equally critical of his own party. [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. Bevan led the left wing of the Labour Party, known as the 'Bevanites', for the next five years. There, he spent two years studying economics, politics and history. Photo by Elliott & Fry Wikimedia Commons. [132] In 2002, Bevan was voted as the 45th greatest Briton of all time by the BBC public opinion poll, 100 Greatest Britons. Later today he will be taken home to Wales. Bevan was the sort of principled politician we seem to lack these days. [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. William Shakespeares Wife: Who Was Anne Hathaway? He was the son of coal miner David Bevan and Phoebe (ne Prothero), a seamstress. [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. full audio of Bevan's speech at the 4 November 1956 Trafalgar Square rally against British action in Suez. Read more. [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. 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. [127], Bevan's most significant legacy is the National Health Service. "[81] The comment inspired the creation of the Vermin Club by angry Conservatives, who attacked Bevan for years for the metaphor. Aneurin's mother was also from Tredegar, but had English roots: her grandfather was from Hereford. 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. He compared Gamal Abdel Nasser with Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, from One Thousand and One Nights. [107] He instead stood again for the role of party treasurer and was duly elected, beating George Brown.[108]. 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. Aneurin had a stammer as a child which he would later overcome and be recognised as a great public speaker. 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. 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. You cannot collaborate, you cannot accept the logic of collaboration on a first class issue like rearmament, and at the same time evade the implications of collaboration all along the line when the occasion demands it.[38]. During World War Two, Bevan was one of the leaders of the left in the House of Commons. In 1925, Bevans father died of pneumoconiosis, a lung condition caused by long term inhalation of coal dust, but no compensation was paid. A statue of Aneurin Bevan in Cardiff. In 1947, Bevan stated "All I am doing is extending to the entire population of Britain the benefits we had in Tredegar for a generation or more. He died on 6 July 1960. 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. Bevan gained more than twice the votes of Liberal candidate William Griffiths, receiving 20,000 votes to Griffiths' 8,000. Aneurin Bevan was born on 15 November 1897 in Tredegar in Wales. His opposition to the Labour leadership's approach was partly based on his view that the leadership of the Labour Party was not demanding assurances from the Government on its foreign policy as a price for the party's support for re-armament as expressed in his speech to the Bournemouth Conference of that year: we should say to the country we are prepared to make whatever sacrifices are necessary, to give whatever arms are necessary to fight Fascist powers and in order to consolidate world peace[39]. In 2002, Bevan was voted the 45th greatest Briton of all time by a BBC public opinion poll. London.A man presents Mr Aneurin (Nye) Bevan, Minister of Health, to a large gathering of National Federation of Building Trades Operatives - natural sound. As exposure to the atmosphere reduces all mummies to instant dissolution, so war passes supreme judgment upon social systems that have outlived their vitality. 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. 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. 'Father of the NHS': Who Was Aneurin Bevan? | History Hit 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. [68], Conservative opposition of the National Health Service scheme feared that the sudden access to free health care would be overrun. [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. Conway is in the middle of the picture. 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. Raised in Monmouthshire by a Welsh working-class family, he was the son of a coal miner and left school at 14. The Tredegar Query Club by friends including Aneurin Bevan and Walter Conway. Bevan is widely regarded as one of the most influential left-wing politicians in British history. Find out more about how the BBC is covering the. 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. Aneurin had a stammer as a child which he would later overcome and be recognised as a great public speaker. This is often quoted as "I stuffed their mouths with gold". Photo by Duncan from Leicestershire, UK Wikimedia Commons. Bevan ended up in a fist fight with a group of miners who refused to strike over his rejection. Get out! He was born to David Bevan a coal miner and Phoebe nee Prothero a seamstress as one of their ten children. Bevan was a great personal charm but was sometimes so rude to opponents that Churchill once called him a merchant of discourtesy. There is a man in the British Army who flung 150,000 men across the Ebro in Spain, Michael Dunbar. When Winston Churchill said that the Labour Party should refrain from giving Adolf Hitler the impression that Britain was divided, Bevan rejected this as sinister: The fear of Hitler is to be used to frighten the workers of Britain into silence. [129], A bronze statue was commissioned by South Glamorgan County Council and erected in 1987 in the city centre of Cardiff. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aneurin_Bevan&oldid=1149734012, Fairlie, Henry. Student Activities. However, the. 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). In parliament, he became a fierce critic of those who did not represent the interest of the working force including members of his party. [9] The miners remained on strike for six months. 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. His appointment came with great displeasure from political opponents and members of his party. [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". They have made us ashamed of the things of which formerly we were proud. He was a strong critic of the arming policy the British government adopted during the rise of Hitler. [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 PC (15 November 1897 - 6 July 1960) was a Welsh Labour politician. [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. Excerpts from Bevan's speeches are included in Greg Rosen's book Old Labour to New: the dreams that inspired, the battles that divided (published by Methuen in 2005 (ISBN978-1-84275-045-2)). 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. Soon, thereafter became an activist and initially, a supporter of syndicalism. In 1928, Bevan won a seat on Monmouthshire County Council in the Tredegar Central Division. [1] The town was situated in the South Wales Valleys and was on the northern edge of the South Wales coalfield. His father was a miner and the poor working class family in which Bevan grew up gave him first-hand experience of the problems. Aneurin 'Nye' Bevan (1897-1960) was the Labour MP for Ebbw Vale in south Wales from 1929-60. Corrections? [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". Aneurin Bevan was a reversed and famous Wales Labour politician who championed social justice, the right of workers, and democratic socialism. [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. Photo by Howard Coster - Wikimedia Commons, Portrait of Aneurin Bevan. [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. In Parliament, Bevan argued that this was the logical outcome of the government's foreign policy. [101] He later said that he had resigned his position to "call attention to the fact that their movement was in grave crisis", and stated his belief that he would have been party chairman by the following year if he had remained. [Nye] was never a hypocrite. [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. BBC - History - Aneurin Bevan 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? The facts, figures and quotes that shaped the history of the National Health Service . 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. [1] The town was situated in the South Wales Valleys and was on the northern edge of the South Wales coalfield. 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. 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. His wage of 5 a week was paid by the members of the local Miners' Lodge. Bevan countered that the initial overspending was down to years of underinvestment in the British medical system prior to the Second World War: by the start of the 1950s, the early overspending had come to an end.[65]. [31] In 1936 he joined the board of the new socialist newspaper Tribune. [57][58] These reforms were achieved in the face of great financial difficulty following the war. 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. . [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. Born into a working class family in Monmouthshire, Wales, Bevan worked in a coal mine as a teenager, and it was through a miners union that he first became interested in politics. KS2 All About Aneurin Bevan PowerPoint (Teacher-Made) Bevan argues that the percentage of tax from personal incomes rose from 9% in 1938 to 15% in 1949. [59] Bevan had clashed frequently with Attlee during his time as an MP, believing that the Labour leader failed to apply enough pressure on the Tory government during the war. He had then joined the board of the socialist newspaper, the Tribune in 1936. His appointment came during the post-war housing shortage and the need for a radical change in the National Health Service. Humanist Heritage: Aneurin Bevan (1897-1960) Aneurin Nye Bevan (1897-1960) is widely regarded as one of the most influential left-wing politicians in British history. After General Neil Ritchie's retreat across Cyrenaica early in 1942 and his disastrous defeat by General Erwin Rommel at Gazala, Bevan made one of his most memorable speeches in the Commons in support of a motion of censure against the Churchill government. 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. Aged 14, he left school to start working in the mines, starting at 5:30am each day and returning home late in the evening. 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. 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. 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. However, Attlee commented that Bevan was "starting with me with a clean sheet" following his appointment. Before entering Parliament, Bevan was involved in miner's union politics and was a leading figure in the 1926 general strike. 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. Bevan was actually against British membership of the Common Market. 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. BBC Wales - History - Themes - Aneurin Bevan [38], By March 1938, Bevan was writing in Tribune that Churchill's warnings about German intentions for Czechoslovakia were "a diapason of majestic harmony" compared to Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's "thin, listless trickle". Bevan died from stomach cancer in 1960 at the age of 62. 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. What does Aneurin Bevan's legacy mean today? - Cardiff University 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. This club was aimed at helping members in monetary terms in their times of need. 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. 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. The Birth of the NHS - July 5th 1948 | Nursing Times He was the architect of the National Health Service and leader of the left-wing (Bevanite) group of the Labour Party. The Labour conference voted to drop its opposition to rearmament. He was cremated at Gwent Crematorium, Croesyceiliog. 2. He agreed to serve as shadow foreign secretary under Gaitskell. We want the complete political extinction of the Tory Party, and twenty-five years of Labour Government. 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. [67][65] Some 2,688 voluntary and municipal hospitals in England and Wales were nationalised and came under Bevan's supervisory control as Health Minister. In 1959, Bevan was elected deputy leader of the Labour Party, although he was already suffering from terminal cancer. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. 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. Aneurin Bevan (1897-1960) Atheism Healthcare Politics Social Reform He was a great humanist whose religion lay in loving his fellow men and trying to serve them. [22] Although described in The Times as "an outstanding back-bench critic" and "one of (Labour's) most brilliant members in debate", his appointment was regarded as a relative surprise, given his previous disciplinary issues. [106] Bevan's remark that "I know the right kind of political Leader for the Labour Party is a kind of desiccated calculating machine" was assumed to refer to Gaitskell, although Bevan denied it (commenting upon Gaitskell's record as Chancellor of the Exchequer as having "proved" this). 9 Necessary Facts about the NHS - Fact City BBC Wales documentary, originally aired December 18th 2012.Aneurin Bevan (pronounced /narn/; Welsh: [an.rin]; 15 November 1897 - 6 July 1960), often k. FIGHT FOR OUR NHS free at the point of need for all. [16][17] In 1926 he found work as a paid union official. Photo by Spudgun67 Wikimedia Commons. He was born in Tredegar, Wales, on 15th November 1897. 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. 12. However, by the end of his tenure, he had declared Bevan as "the best minister we have had". 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. 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. No falsity must touch him once he is no longer available to defend his views. [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.