Clement Attlee

I

Introduction

Clement Attlee (1883-1967), British statesman and Prime Minister (1945-1951), leader of the first Labour government to serve a complete term and during whose premiership the welfare state was established.

Clement Richard Attlee was born in Putney, London, the son of a successful solicitor. He grew up in a Christian and philanthropic household. He was sent to Haileybury, a Hertford public school, and went on to University College, Oxford. He trained as a barrister, but practised law only briefly. With a private income he was able to devote his time to social work in the East End of London. From 1912 he was a tutor in social services at the London School of Economics.

II

Early Career

Attlee joined the Fabian Society and the Independent Labour Party in 1907, soon becoming secretary of the Stepney branch. In World War I he volunteered for the army, returning as “Major Attlee”. In 1919 he was selected as prospective Labour parliamentary candidate for Stepney and also became its mayor. He won the seat in 1922 and was promptly made a Parliamentary Private Secretary to Ramsay MacDonald. With MacDonald's first Labour government in 1924, Attlee became Under-Secretary at the War Office. In 1927, MacDonald recommended Attlee as a member of the Simon Commission that investigated the constitutional future of India and published its report in June 1930. In May 1930, Attlee joined MacDonald's second Labour government as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and became Postmaster-General in March 1931. Attlee was outraged by MacDonald's formation of the National Government. He was one of only 52 Labour MPs elected in 1931 and became deputy leader of the Parliamentary Labour Party. He was willing to devote long hours to the House of Commons and for eight months deputized for George Lansbury, the leader, when he had a broken hip. After Lansbury resigned, Attlee was elected leader in 1935.

Attlee and the Labour Party backed the wartime government led by Winston Churchill. Attlee entered Churchill's war cabinet of five, with the posts of Lord Privy Seal (1940-1942), Dominions Secretary (1942-1943), and Lord President of the Council (1943-1945). He was also appointed Deputy Prime Minister and served on all the most important wartime committees. Attlee was an effective and efficient deputy. Churchill generally respected Attlee, commenting on him as “a faithful colleague who served his country well”.

III

Prime Minister

Labour won a landslide victory in the 1945 general election and under Attlee formed the first majority Labour government, which assumed office during the Potsdam Conference. He was an effective head of a strong team of ministers that included Sir Stafford Cripps, Herbert Morrison, Aneurin Bevan, and Ernest Bevin. His government established the welfare state, incorporating the comprehensive scheme advocated in the Beveridge Report (1942), created the National Health Service, and nationalized many of the major British industries including coal, steel, the railways, and the Bank of England. Furthermore, Attlee presided over the granting of independence to India, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), and Burma, along with agreeing to the European Recovery Program and the accession of Britain to NATO. The decision was also taken in January 1947 to develop a British atomic bomb.

Attlee narrowly won the 1950 general election but lost in October 1951. He remained as Labour leader, writing his memoirs As It Happened (1954) before fighting the 1955 general election, which he lost to Anthony Eden. He retired in December 1955, in which year he was made Earl Attlee. He died on October 8, 1967.

IV

Assessment

Attlee was repeatedly underestimated during his career. He had determination and a fair measure of ability. In time he has come to be judged by many as one of the most effective British prime ministers, heading one of the most successful governments of the 20th century in spite of very adverse economic circumstances.