| The Right Honourable Hugh Gaitskell |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
| In office 14 December 1955 – 18 January 1963 |
|
| Preceded by | Clement Attlee |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Harold Wilson |
|
|
|
| In office 19 October 1950 – 26 October 1951 |
|
| Preceded by | Stafford Cripps |
| Succeeded by | Rab Butler |
|
|
|
| In office October 1947 – February 1950 |
|
| Preceded by | Manny Shinwell |
| Succeeded by | Philip Noel-Baker |
|
|
|
| Born | 9 April 1906 London, United Kingdom |
| Died | 18 January 1963 (aged 56) London, United Kingdom |
| Political party | Labour |
Hugh Todd Naylor Gaitskell (9 April 1906 – 18 January 1963) was a British politician, leader of the Labour Party from 1955 until his death in 1963. The Right Honourable (abbreviated as The Rt Hon) is an Honorific prefix that is traditionally applied to certain The Leader of the Opposition (sometimes known as the Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons) in the United Kingdom is the politician who leads Events 1287 - St Lucia's flood: The Zuider Zee sea wall in the Netherlands collapses killing over 50000 people Year 1955 ( MCMLV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar) Events 350 - Generallus Magnentius deposes Roman Emperor Constans and proclaims himself Emperor Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Clement Richard Attlee 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC ( 3 January 1883 &ndash 8 October 1967 James Harold Wilson Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC (11 March 1916 &ndash 24 May 1995 was one of the most prominent British politicians The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all Economic and Financial Events 202 BCE - The Battle of Zama results in the defeat of Carthage and Hannibal. Year 1950 ( MCML) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 740 - An Earthquake strikes Constantinople, causing much damage and death Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January Sir Richard Stafford Cripps ( 24 April 1889 &ndash 21 April 1952) was a British Labour politician and Chancellor Richard Austen Butler Baron Butler of Saffron Walden, KG CH DL PC (9 December 1902&ndash8 The Ministry of Fuel and Power was a central government department in the United Kingdom. Emanuel Shinwell Baron Shinwell CH, PC ( 18 October 1884 - 8 May 1986) (familiarly known as Manny) was Philip John Noel-Baker Baron Noel-Baker, born Philip John Baker ( 1 November 1889 &ndash 8 October 1982) was a Politician Events 193 - Septimius Severus is proclaimed Roman Emperor by the army in Illyricum (in the Balkans) Year 1906 ( MCMVI) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Events 350 - Generallus Magnentius deposes Roman Emperor Constans and proclaims himself Emperor Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Labour Party is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the Events 193 - Septimius Severus is proclaimed Roman Emperor by the army in Illyricum (in the Balkans) Year 1906 ( MCMVI) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Events 350 - Generallus Magnentius deposes Roman Emperor Constans and proclaims himself Emperor Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Labour Party is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the
Contents |
Early life
He was born in London, England, and educated at the Dragon School, Winchester College and New College, Oxford, where he gained a first class degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics in 1927. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The Dragon School is a British Coeducational, preparatory school in the city of Oxford, founded in 1877 Winchester College is a well-known boys' Independent school, and an example of an English Public school, in the city of Winchester in Hampshire New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Philosophy Politics and Economics or Politics Philosophy and Economics (often abbreviated to PPE) is a popular Interdisciplinary degree which His serious interest in politics came about as a result of the General Strike of 1926, and lectured in economics for the Workers' Educational Association to miners in Nottinghamshire. The UK General Strike of 1926 was a General strike that lasted nine days from 3 May 1926 to 12 May 1926. Economics is the social science that studies the production distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The Workers’ Educational Association (WEA seeks to provide access to education and lifelong learning for adults from all backgrounds and in particular those who have previously missed Nottinghamshire (abbreviated Notts) is an English county in the East Midlands, which borders South Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire In the 1930s he was an academic at University College London, where he headed the Department of Political Economy. University College London ( UCL) is a multi-faculty university institution based in the United Kingdom and a constituent college of the University of London He also worked as a tutor at Birkbeck College. Birkbeck University of London, sometimes referred to by its former (and still legal name Birkbeck College or by the abbreviation BBK, is a constituent college [1]
Gaitskell witnessed firsthand in Vienna the political suppression of the Marxist-oriented social democratic workers movement by the conservative Engelbert Dollfuss's government. Vienna ( in Wien; see also other names) is the Capital of Austria, and is also one of the nine States of Austria. Marxism is the political philosophy and practice derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Social democracy is a Political ideology of the left and centre-left The event made a lasting impression, making him profoundly hostile to conservatism but also making him reject as futile the Marxian outlook of many European social democrats. This placed him in the socialist revisionist camp. The term "revisionism" is also used to refer to other concepts
Early political career
During the war, Gaitskell worked as a civil servant for the Ministry of Economic Warfare which gave him experience of government. The Minister of Economic Warfare was a British government position which existed during the Second World War. He was elected Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds South in the Labour landslide victory of 1945. A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament. Leeds South was a parliamentary constituency in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, which returned one Member of Parliament to the House Results |} Total votes cast 24073025 All parties shown Conservative total includes Ulster Unionists Reason for Labour victory
He quickly rose through the ministerial ranks, becoming Minister of Fuel and Power in 1947. The Ministry of Fuel and Power was a central government department in the United Kingdom. He was then appointed briefly as Minister of Economic Affairs in February 1950. His rapid rise was largely due to the influence of Hugh Dalton who adopted him as a protégé. Edward Hugh John Neale Dalton Baron Dalton PC, generally known as Hugh Dalton ( 26 August 1887 &ndash 13 February 1962
Chancellor of the Exchequer, 1950-51
In October 1950, Stafford Cripps was forced to resign as Chancellor of the Exchequer due to failing health, and Gaitskell was appointed to succeed him. Sir Richard Stafford Cripps ( 24 April 1889 &ndash 21 April 1952) was a British Labour politician and Chancellor The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all Economic and Financial His time as Chancellor was dominated by the struggle to finance Britain's part in the Korean War which put enormous strain on public finances. The Korean War refers to a period of military conflict between North Korean and South Korean regimes with major hostilities lasting from June 25 1950 until the The cost of the war meant that savings had to be found from other budgets. Gaitskell's budget of 1951 introduced charges for prescriptions on the National Health Service. The National Health Service is the name commonly used to refer to the four Publicly-funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom collectively or individually (although
The budget caused a split in the government and caused him to fall out with Aneurin Bevan who resigned over this issue. Aneurin Bevan, usually known as Nye Bevan ( 15 November 1897 &ndash 6 July 1960) was a Welsh Labour Bevan was later joined by Harold Wilson and John Freeman who also resigned. James Harold Wilson Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC (11 March 1916 &ndash 24 May 1995 was one of the most prominent British politicians Major John Freeman, MBE (born 19 February 1915 is a retired British Politician, Diplomat and Broadcaster. Later that year, Labour lost power to the Conservatives in the 1951 election. Results |} Total votes cast 28596594 All parties shown Conservative result includes the Ulster Unionists Votes summary Headline
Leader of the Opposition, 1955-1963
He later defeated Bevan in the contest to be the party treasurer, followed by the party leadership contest after the resignation of Clement Attlee in 1955. The Treasurer of the Labour Party is a position on the National Executive Committee of the British Labour Party. Clement Richard Attlee 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC ( 3 January 1883 &ndash 8 October 1967
Gaitskell's election as leader coincided with one of the Labour Party's weakest periods, which can be partly attributed to the post-war prosperity that Britain was experiencing under the Conservatives. His time as leader was also characterised by factional infighting between the 'Bevanite' left of the Labour party led by Aneurin Bevan, and the 'Gaitskellite' right. Aneurin Bevan, usually known as Nye Bevan ( 15 November 1897 &ndash 6 July 1960) was a Welsh Labour
During the Suez Crisis of 1956, in one of the highlights of his career as leader, Gaitskell passionately condemned the intervention initiated by the prime minister, Anthony Eden. The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, (أزمة السويس - العدوان الثلاثي Crise du canal de Suez מבצע קדש Kadesh Robert Anthony Eden 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC (12 June 1897 &ndash 14 January 1977 was a British Conservative Politician
The Labour Party had been widely expected to win the 1959 general election, but did not. Background Following the Suez Crisis in 1956 Anthony Eden the Conservative Prime Minister became unpopular and resigned the following year Gaitskell was undermined during it by public doubts concerning the credibility of proposals to raise pensions and by a highly effective Conservative campaign run by Harold Macmillan under the slogan "Life is better with the Conservatives, don't let Labour ruin it". (Maurice Harold Macmillan 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC (10 February 1894 &ndash 29 December 1986 was a British Conservative Politician
Following the election defeat, bitter internecine disputes resumed. Gaitskell blamed the Left for the defeat and attempted unsuccessfully to amend Labour's Clause IV -- which committed the party to massive nationalisation of industry. Clause IV of the United Kingdom Labour Party constitution sets out the aims and values of the party and has been the object of political fights over its direction Nationalization, also spelled nationalisation, is the act of taking an industry or assets into the Public ownership of a national government He also, successfully, resisted attempts to commit Labour to a unilateralist position on nuclear weapons – losing the vote in 1960 and then rousing his supporters to "fight, fight and fight again to save the party we love". Unilateralism ("one+side -ism " is any doctrine or agenda that supports one-sided action A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from Nuclear reactions either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. The decision was reversed the following year, but it remained a divisive issue, and many in the left continued to call for a change of leadership.
Battles inside the party produced the Campaign for Democratic Socialism to defend the Gaitskellite position in the early 1960s. Many of the younger CDS members were founding members of the SDP in 1981. This is about the UK Social Democratic Party which existed between 1981 and 1988 Gaitskell alienated some of his supporters by his opposition to British membership in the European Economic Community. The European Community (EC is one of the Three pillars of the European Union (EU created under the Maastricht Treaty (1992 In a speech to the party conference in October 1962 Gaitskell claimed that Britain's participation in a Federal Europe would mean "the end of Britain as an independent European state. I make no apology for repeating it. It means the end of a thousand years of history".
Death in 1963
He died in January 1963 aged 56, after a sudden attack of Lupus erythematosus; a rare autoimmune disease. Systemic lupus erythematosus ( SLE or lupus,) is a chronic autoimmune disease that can be fatal though with recent medical advances fatalities are becoming Autoimmunity is the failure of an organism to recognize its own constituent parts as self, which results in an immune response against its own cells and tissues His death left an opening for Harold Wilson in the party leadership. James Harold Wilson Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC (11 March 1916 &ndash 24 May 1995 was one of the most prominent British politicians The abrupt and unexpected nature of his death led to speculation that foul play was involved, the most popular conspiracy theory involving a KGB plot to ensure that Wilson (supposedly a KGB agent himself) became prime minister. A conspiracy theory attributes the ultimate cause of an event or chain of events (usually Political, Social or Historical events or the concealment KGB ( Transliteration of "КГБ" is the Russian abbreviation of Committee for State Security ( Komityet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosty This claim was given new life by Peter Wright's controversial 1987 book Spycatcher, but the only evidence that has ever come to light is the testimony of Soviet defector Anatoliy Golitsyn. Peter Maurice Wright ( August 9, 1916 — April 27, 1995) was an English scientist and former MI5 counterintelligence SpyCatcher is an anti- Spyware program developed by Tenebril, for Microsoft Windows. A soviet (сове́т, "council" originally was a workers' local council in late Imperial Russia. In Politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state or political entity in exchange for allegiance to another Anatoliy Mikhaylovich Golitsyn CBE (Анатолий Михайлович Голицынborn August 25, 1926 in Piryatin, Ukrainian SSR Hugh Gaitskell is buried in Hampstead, north London.
Legacy
Because of his misfortune in never becoming prime minister, and the great capacity many considered that he had for the post, Hugh Gaitskell is remembered largely with respect from people both within, and outside of the Labour Party. Gaitskell is regarded by some as "the best Prime Minister we never had"[2].
He is still regarded with affection even among Labour's left-wing, including Tony Benn, who in particular contrasts his stand on the Suez Crisis to that of the former British prime minister, Tony Blair, on the war in Iraq. Anthony "Tony" Neil Wedgwood Benn (born 3 April 1925 formerly 2nd Viscount Stansgate, is a British Socialist Politician. The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, (أزمة السويس - العدوان الثلاثي Crise du canal de Suez מבצע קדש Kadesh Anthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair (born 6 May 1953 is a British Politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to The Iraq War, also known as the Second Gulf War, the Occupation of Iraq, or the War in Iraq, is an ongoing Military campaign Margaret Thatcher compared Blair with Gaitskell in a different manner, warning her party when Blair came to power that he was the most formidable Labour leader since Hugh Gaitskell. Margaret Hilda Thatcher Baroness Thatcher LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925
Marriage
He was married to Anna Dora Gaitskell, who became a Labour life peer one year after his death, but it is widely known that he had a number of affairs - even during his time in public life - and that his reputation would never have survived the media scrutiny of today. Anna Dora Gaitskell Baroness Gaitskell, née Creditor ( 25 April 1901 &ndash 1 July 1989) was a British politician for Labour In the United Kingdom, life peers are created members of the Peerage whose titles may not be inherited (those whose titles are inheritable are known as Hereditary
Trivia
'Hugh Gaitskell House' is the building Nicholas Lyndhurst's character Garry Sparrow is looking for in Goodnight Sweetheart when he first stumbles into World War II London. Nicholas Lyndhurst (born 20 April 1961 is an English Actor best known for his roles as Rodney Trotter in Only Fools and Horses and Goodnight Sweetheart is a popular BBC Sitcom that ran for six series between 1993 and 1999 World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including
'Hugh Gaitskell Primary School' is situated in Beeston, part of his Leeds South constituency. Map of LS11 8AB, Hugh Gaitskell Primary School
References
- Davies, A. J. To Build a New Jerusalem (1996) Abacus ISBN 0349 108099
- labourhistory.org.uk - Biography of Gaitskell.
- ^ (2002) Birkbeck, University of London Continuing Education Courses 2002 Entry. Birkbeck External Relations Department, 5.
- ^ Nottingham.ac.uk
Offices held
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Henry Charles Charleton |
Member of Parliament for Leeds South 1945–1963 |
Succeeded by Merlyn Rees |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by William Foster |
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fuel and Power 1946–1947 |
Succeeded by Alfred Robens |
| Preceded by Manny Shinwell |
Minister of Fuel and Power 1947–1950 |
Succeeded by Philip Noel-Baker |
| Preceded by Sir Stafford Cripps |
Minister of Economic Affairs 1950 |
Succeeded by None |
| Preceded by Sir Stafford Cripps |
Chancellor of the Exchequer 1950–1951 |
Succeeded by Rab Butler |
| Preceded by Arthur Greenwood |
Treasurer of the Labour Party 1954–1956 |
Succeeded by Aneurin Bevan |
| Preceded by Clement Attlee |
Leader of the British Labour Party 1955–1963 |
Succeeded by Harold Wilson |
| Leader of the Opposition 1955–1963 |
||
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic