Photo by Duncan from Leicestershire, UK Wikimedia Commons. After a Labour landslide victory in 1945, Clement Attlee appointed Bevan Minister of Health, with a remit that also covered housing, given the severe post-war shortage. A poll in 2013 conducted on behalf of British Future found that the NHS was more popular then than at its creation, and was more popular than the monarchy, BBC and British Armed Forces. 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. Bevan first worked as a miner during his teens where he became involved in local miner's union politics. 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. 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. In 1925, Bevans father died of pneumoconiosis, a lung condition caused by long term inhalation of coal dust, but no compensation was paid. 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. Did the Wars of the Roses End at the Battle of Tewkesbury? This page has been archived and is no longer updated. 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 . So far as I am concerned they are lower than vermin. Bevanism was opposed by the Gaitskellites, moderate social democrats within the party. At the start of World War Two the government realised that, if it was to cope with the huge number of anticipated . [12] In Parliament, he became noticed as a harsh critic of those he felt opposed the working man and woman. Along with this, the Medical Practices Committee was to oversee the distribution of GP practices a proposal which the previous Coalition Minister had withdrawn after opposition from the British Medical Association. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Bevan attended the local school, where he was deeply shy because of a severe stammer that he developed as a child. 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. 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 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. His "vermin" speech still resonated: imagination shuddered at a repetition of that on the international stage. There he earned around ten shillings per week with most going to his parents to help support the family. 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. 'Nye is asleep next door. [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. 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. He agreed to serve as shadow foreign secretary under Gaitskell. An infuriated Bevan stated that he would never be a member of a government that imposed charges on the National Health Service. [96] In the opening page of the book, Bevan begins: "A young miner in a South Wales colliery, my concern was with the one practical question: Where does power lie in this particular state of Great Britain, and how can it be attained by the workers? Bevan was elected unopposed as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party in 1959, succeeding Griffiths. Aneurin Bevan with his eye on the Ball. There was an outpouring of national mourning that followed his death, while the Daily Herald reported that some MPs were seen to be crying in Parliament. [50], Bevan was subject to further disciplinary action in 1944, when he deliberately voted against Labour's stance on new defence regulations. Welsh Greats - Aneurin Bevan - YouTube This club was aimed at helping members in monetary terms in their times of need. Aneurin Bevan was born on 15 November 1897 in Tredegar in Wales. [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. Aneurin Bevan was born in Tredegar in 1897 into a large mining family and left school at 13 to work in the mine. [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". After his resignation, Bevan served as Shadow Foreign Secretary from 1955 to 1959. He was not a cold-blooded rationalist. Find out more about how the BBC is covering the. 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]. Lesser-known, perhaps, is Bevans own personal background. 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. photo by Elliott & Fry Wikimedia Commons. We want the complete political extinction of the Tory Party, and twenty-five years of Labour Government. [2] He was a member of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion and wrote his own poems, one of which won an inter-chapel eisteddfod. 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". 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 Bevan - Wikipedia At the age of 13, in his last months of schooling, he worked as a butcher's boy at a local store. "[49], Dunbar had been recommended for a commission, but rejected it himself to remain with his unit. This made him join the Independent Labour Party. Although the Italians were never sure the British delegation were sober, they always attributed to them an immense political acumen. 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! [98], Out of office, Bevan soon exacerbated the split within the Labour Party between the right and the left which weakened the party in the 1950s. He was no calculating machine. 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. [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. [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. His father was a coal miner and his mother worked as a seamstress. [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. There was a particularly large increase in marginal tax rates for wealthy business owners. 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. Bevan was not good academically and was at a time repeated for a year in school. [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. [46] Historian Max Hastings described Bevan's role in Parliament during the war as "his figures were accurate but his scorn was at odds with the spirit of the momentfull of gratitude, as was the prime minister". Aneurin Bevan Facts: Aneurin Bevan was a Welsh Labour politician widely considered the 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. 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. [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. [68], Conservative opposition of the National Health Service scheme feared that the sudden access to free health care would be overrun. [127], Bevan's most significant legacy is the National Health Service. They would collect money weekly for any member who needed it. Aneurin "Nye" Bevan was a Welsh politician born on November 15, 1897. On July 5 1948 the National Health Service took control of 480,000 hospital beds in England and Wales. [99] For the next five years, he was the leader of the left wing of the Labour Party, who became known as Bevanites. 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]. 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]. History Hit Launches on Comcasts Entertainment Platforms in the US. If we accept the contention that the common enemy is Hitler and not the British capitalist class, then certainly Churchill is right. He was born to David Bevan a coal miner and Phoebe nee Prothero a seamstress as one of their ten children. 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. Aneurin Bevan was the son of coal miner David Bevan and Phoebe, a seamstress. Tomorrow he will be cremated in keeping with his known views. Contact, Facts are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. Anenurin Bevan, Minister of Health, on the first day of the National Health Service, 5 July 1948 at Park Hospital, Davyhulme, near Manchester. After the war, Bevan was chosen as the Minister of Health in Clement Attlee's new Labour government, becoming the youngest member of the cabinet at 47, with his remit also including housing. [117] His last speech in the House of Commons, in the debate of 3 November 1959 on the Queen's Speech,[118] referred to the difficulties of persuading the electorate to support a policy which would make them less well-off in the short term, but more prosperous in the long term. 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". Indeed, these factors, exacerbated by post-war restrictions on the availability of building materials and skilled labour, collectively served to limit Bevan's achievements in this area. [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]. [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. He is known for leading the creation of the National Health Service (NHS) to give medical care free at point-of-need to all Britons. Bevan ended up in a fist fight with a group of miners who refused to strike over his rejection. [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". 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. [13], Bevan was one of the founding members of the "Query Club" with his brother Billy and Walter Conway. In the speeches section, we will be building an archive of Bevans greatest oratory including archive recordings. 3. Bevan argues that the percentage of tax from personal incomes rose from 9% in 1938 to 15% in 1949. Aneurin Bevan was born on November 15, 1897, in Tredegar, Monmouthshire in the South Wales Valleys. In 1928, Bevan won a seat on Monmouthshire County Council and was elected as the MP for Ebbw Vale the following year. Some historians have questioned how influential the college was on his political development. 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. [132] In 2002, Bevan was voted as the 45th greatest Briton of all time by the BBC public opinion poll, 100 Greatest Britons. Plaque, Aneurin Bevan memorial stones, Tredegar. 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. He lost the seat in 1931, but regained it in 1932 before deciding against seeking re-election in 1934. 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. Aneurin Bevan was born on November 15, 1897, in Tredegar in Wales. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Aneurin Bevan and the setting up of the NHS - BBC Bitesize He was born to David Bevan a coal miner and Phoebe nee Prothero a seamstress as one of their ten children. During World War Two, Bevan was one of the leaders of the left in the House of Commons. His appointment came with great displeasure from political opponents and members of his party. 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. KS2 All About Aneurin Bevan PowerPoint (Teacher-Made) Photo by No Swan So Fine Wikimedia Commons. Aneurin Bevan Members of the BMA had dubbed him the "Tito of Tonypandy". With his activism and exuberance, his employer Tredegar Iron Company saw him as a troublesome person but he amazingly became a popular local speaker. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aneurin_Bevan&oldid=1149734012, Fairlie, Henry. With his posture in parliament, he gained great support from his constituents. He was convinced that. What does Aneurin Bevan's legacy mean today? - Cardiff University There, he spent two years studying economics, politics and history. Aneurin is second from right on the back row and his brother Billy is second right on front row. 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. He joined the Labour Party and attended Central Labour College in London. 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. His National Health Service policy met great disapproval from the British Medical Association. The NHS is a massive employer. His father was a miner and the poor working class family in which Bevan grew up gave him first-hand experience of the problems. 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. Bevan died from stomach cancer in 1960 at the age of 62. He was not, apparently, one of the most diligent students, and found it difficult to follow an organised routine, including arising early for breakfast. [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. Aneurin Nye Bevan (1897-1960) is widely regarded as one of the most influential left-wing politicians in British history. [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". [29][30] They were early supporters of the socialists in the Spanish Civil War, and Bevan visited the country in 1938. The former aimed to provide a uniform standard of consultant led care and expertise throughout the country and to replace the patchwork of voluntary and municipal hospitals which existed at that point. Photo by Howard Coster Wikimedia Commons. Bevan was named Minister of Labour in 1951, but resigned after two months in office, when the Attlee government proposed the introduction of prescription charges for dental and vision care and decided to transfer funds from the National Insurance Fund to pay for rearmament. William Shakespeares Wife: Who Was Anne Hathaway? Bevan was not academically sharp Aneurin Bevan with his eye on the Ball. 70 years of the NHS: How Aneurin Bevan created our beloved health 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. 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. Bevan left school at 13 and began working in a local colliery. An estimated 125,000 nurses and 5,000 consultants were available to care for hospital patients. ", "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. "[81] The comment inspired the creation of the Vermin Club by angry Conservatives, who attacked Bevan for years for the metaphor. 2. 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 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. Bevan led the left wing of the Labour Party, known as the 'Bevanites', for the next five years. full audio of Bevan's speech at the 4 November 1956 Trafalgar Square rally against British action in Suez. Born in a modest family, Bevan's exposure to poverty and deprivation gave him a first-hand experience of unfortunate condition of . [1], Both Bevan's parents were Nonconformists: his father was a Baptist and his mother a Methodist, although he became an atheist. Aneurin Bevan Biography - Childhood, Life Achievements & Timeline Student Activities. He was the architect of the National Health Service and leader of the left-wing (Bevanite) group of the Labour Party. - Aneurin Bevan, The Lancet, 1948. After the landslide Labour victory in the 1945 general election, Bevan was appointed minister of health, responsible for establishing the National Health Service. The new Prime Minister, Clement Attlee, appointed Bevan as Minister of Health, with a remit that also covered housing. He had then joined the board of the socialist newspaper, the Tribune in 1936. Along that road is endless retreat, and at the end of it a voluntary totalitarian State with ourselves erecting the barbed wire around. 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 was born in Tredeger, Monmouthshire, a working-class mining town where some 90% of the workforce relied upon the local mines for employment. Aneurin Bevan Worksheets & Facts | Life, Political Career, Legacy In 1959, he was elected Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and held the post for a year until his death from stomach cancer at the age of 62. In 1934 he married another Labour MP, Jennie Lee. Confrontation with the British Medical Association (BMA) was led by Charles Hill, who published a letter in the British Medical Journal describing Bevan as "a complete and uncontrolled dictator". He died on 6 July 1960. [7], Bevan became a well-known local orator and was seen by his employers, the Tredegar Iron and Coal Company, as a troublemaker. [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". Icon of 1960s Britain: Who Was Mary Quant? They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. [40] When the government introduced voluntary national service in December 1938, Bevan argued that Labour should demand the nationalisation of the armaments industry, support the democratic government of Spain and sign an Anglo-Soviet pact in return for its support. FIGHT FOR OUR NHS free at the point of need for all. 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 was born to David Bevan a coal miner and Phoebe nee Prothero a seamstress as one of their ten children. His wage of 5 a week was paid by the members of the local Miners' Lodge. [63] Having been a member of the Cottage Hospital Management Committee around 1928 and serving as chairman in 192930, Bevan had received an insight into the management of health services by local authorities, which proved to be a bedrock of his work in founding the National Health Service.[48]. Aneurin Bevan | Founder of the National Health Service 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. Throughout World War II he was a vigorous critic of Winston Churchills coalition government but was equally critical of his own party. Image Credit: Peter Aylmer / Nye Bevan stones / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons. Photo by University of Liverpool Faculty of Health & Life Sciences from Liverpool, United Kingdom Wikimedia Commons. Aneurin Bevan was a founding member of the Query Club in 1920 alongside his brother. Omissions? [8][9] He and his brother Billy did eventually leave Ty-Tryst and worked at the Bedwellty pit, but were forced to move again after a disagreement with the site's deputy manager over Bevan reporting information to the miner's inspector. A free health service is pure Socialism and as such it is opposed to the hedonism of capitalist society. Photo by Spudgun67 Wikimedia Commons. 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. Prime Minister Attlee rejected Bevan in favour of Herbert Morrison because he distrusted Bevan's personality. In addition, he is known for his wider contribution to the founding of the British welfare state. BBC 2014 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. [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. [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. He became a well-known local orator, and was regarded with suspicion by his employers, the Tredegar Iron and Coal Company. Aneurin Bevan was one of the most important ministers of the post-war Labour government and the chief architect of the National Health Service. Photo by Geoff Charles Wikimedia Commons. [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]. Like many other students of Bevans class, his formal education ended when he was 14 years of age when he began to work in the mines. Bevan's death in 1960 led to "an outpouring of national mourning". "[83], Bevan was instead appointed Minister of Labour in January 1951 in place of George Isaacs. He became a trades union activist and won a scholarship to study in London. Inspired by the Tredger Medical Aid Society of South Wales, Bevan initiated the National Health Service (NHS), which was managed with public funds and aimed to provide free medical . It was around this time that he first "reject[ed] his chapel upbringing" and became an atheist. 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. Academically poor, young Bevan repeated a year of studies. [75][76][77] 1946 saw the completion of 55,600 new homes; this rose to 139,600 in 1947 and 227,600 in 1948. The Labour conference voted to drop its opposition to rearmament.
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