Product Description

New edition of Kenneth Harris's classic biography - reissued to coincide with 50th anniversary of the first Attlee government of 1945.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #166838 in Books
• Published on: 1995-03-16
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 640 pages

Customer Reviews

The 'forgotten' Prime Minister
Clement Attlee was leader of the Labour Party for 20 years. During that time he was Deputy Prime Minister for most of World War II and was subsequently Prime Minister for 6 years.

During his time as PM he oversaw the introduction of the National Health Service, The Independence of India, the attempted settlement of the Palestine question, the early stages of Britain's Atomic programme, the ending of the Marshall Aid plan and subsequent devaluing of the pound, not to mention countless internal power struggles within the Labour Party. Yet despite all this he remains a rather unknown figure among 20th Century Prime Ministers. This fact is emphasised by the absence of any photographs in the book.

A mere cursory glance at the number of books available on other such PM's: Churchill, Lloyd George & Thatcher being the most notable; compared to the few on Attlee demonstrates how little information on the man and his career is in the public domain.

On reading this well-written biography it becomes apparent that one of the main reasons for this is the man himself, in that he never sought the limelight at any stage. He seemed to regard himself as being in the position of having to be leader of the Labour Party in order to ensure that others didn't do damage to the Party and the causes he held dear, rather than any overwhelming desire to be the Prime Minister of Great Britain.

Ultimately this natural modesty comes across in Harris's book. The impression of a hard-working, decent, family-loving man is also portrayed very strongly. Clearly Harris is a fan, and is writing from the perspective of an acquaintance of Attlee's, but nevertheless you are left with the impression that the subject is one who had nothing but the soundest of motives and the strongest of values at heart. His clear dislike of some of Churchill's policies and statements, yet his total admiration for Churchill as a man and politician shows a respect and dignity which not many subsequently successful politicians have come close to matching.

If you want to learn more about a man who helped to shape the way Britain was governed (and to some degree still is) in the post-war period then this book will go a long way to help.

First-rate biography of a great Labour leader
Often overshadowed by the massive historical figure of Winston Churchill, with whom he both served and faced across the dispatch box, Clement Attlee was one of the most important figures in twentieth century British political history. Leader of the Labour Party for twenty years, he took it from its nadir in the early 1930s to electoral triumph a decade later, and successfully managed the talented and fractious group that realized Britain's postwar embrace of socialism. Understanding how this was accomplished is one of Kenneth Harris's many achievements in this biography, which illuminates Attlee's personality while chronicling his role in transforming his country.

Born in 1883, Attlee enjoyed an almost impossibly idealistic childhood. The son of a diligent, prosperous solicitor, he grew up in a comfortable and loving household. Some of this may have been reflected in his education; his time at both Haileybury and Oxford was undistinguished academically, as Attlee focused more on social pursuits than on his studies. Though he followed his father into a career in the law, Attlee found legal work tedious, and was drifting through life when he accepted an invitation from his elder brother Lawrence to visit the Haileybury Club in Stepney, a social and educational organization run along military lines. The visit was to prove to be the turning point of his life, as Attlee soon agreed to participate in the running of the club. The commitment inaugurated his new career as a social worker and led to his embrace of socialism.

After service in the Army during the First World War - a period Harris covers only briefly - Attlee returned to the East End and began his career in politics, first as a councilman from Limestone, then (in 1922) as a member of the House of Commons. His rise in the parliamentary party was swift, taking place during some of the most tumultuous years in the history of the Labour Party. Harris does an excellent job of describing the political crisis of 1931, which tore the party apart. Though the subsequent election devastated the ranks of the party in the Commons, the resulting political vacuum provided Attlee with the greatest opportunity of his political career. As one of the few surviving members with ministerial experience, Attlee rose in prominence, becoming first deputy leader, then assuming the leadership of the party in 1935.

Almost nobody expected Attlee to last as the head of the Parliamentary Labour Party; instead, he became the longest-serving leader in its history. That he was Harris attributes to his personal qualities, most notably his hard work, his ability to moderate ideological conflicts within the Labour Party, his skill in presenting Socialist views in terms that appealed to the party rank-and-file, and his ability to manage the fractious egos in the party leadership. It was the last of these that Harris sees as the greatest test of Attlee's abilities, as he worked with a number of gifted and ambitious colleagues who thought that they could do a better job of leading the party (and later the country) than he could. Attlee was helped by the mutual jealousies of each of these plotters, which often checked the efforts of any one of them to supplant Attlee, and by the unstinting loyalty of Ernest Bevin, with whom Attlee developed the closest friendship he enjoyed in politics.

The Second World War dramatically altered the Labour Party's role in government. Rejecting Neville Chamberlain's offers of a coalition, Attlee supported Churchill's ascent to the premiership in May 1940 and served in the War Cabinet for the remainder of the conflict with Germany. Harris gives considerable credit for the success of the coalition to Attlee, who took over many of the domestic aspects of governing while Churchill focused on the management of the war. This included planning for postwar construction, which evidenced many socialist ideas and approaches and would serve as a blueprint for much of what Labour would accomplish after the war.

Though Attlee wished to remain in the coalition after the defeat of Germany, the Labour Party's insistence on an October election led Churchill to dissolve Parliament in May, 1945. The resulting Labour landslide defied nearly everyone's expectations, including Attlee's, and made him prime minister of a government committed to the longstanding Labour agenda of nationalization and expanded social welfare policies. Harris' coverage of Attlee's premiership is thematic; he divides his chapters into sections analyzing Attlee's foreign policy, economic policy, and his approach towards burgeoning decolonization. While useful in defining Attlee's underlying ideas and attitudes, it fails to convey the full complexities of the job he faced as prime minister during some of the most challenging years Britain faced.

These challenges gradually wore down the Labour government, leaving Attlee in charge of an exhausted and ailing group at the end of his term. The party's reduced majority in the election of 1950 made another election in the near future inevitable, and when it came in 1951 the Conservatives emerged with a small majority. Attlee continued on as leader for four more years, primarily to rescue it from the growing divide between right-wingers and the Bevanites, until retiring after the 1955 election as a beloved figure and a respected elder statesman.

Harris' book is rooted in the author's familiarity with his subject; he knew Attlee for years and conducted several interviews with him. This familiarity doesn't prevent Harris from rendering critical judgments, though. While a staunch promoter of Attlee, he doesn't hesitate to condemn the prime minister when condemnation is warranted, such as with Attlee's handling of the Palestine problem. Is it this mixture of insight and criticism which makes this book an essential resource for anybody interested in the prime minister and his achievements, one unlikely to be surpassed in its account of Attlee the person.

Very Good
This biography of Attlee is very good and explains how a Tory-supporting student became a Socialist through his experiences in the east-end of London. Although overshadowed by Churchill it also shows the valuable work he put in during the war and after and how on occasions he mastered and bettered Churchill who if you did no research or reading people would have you believe was never beaten in the Commons. Not only does it deal with his conversion to socialism and his experiences in the Labour Party it also deals with his personal life and his time spent at the front during the First World War.

All in all a very good book about an important but slightly marginalised historical figure and my only complaint would perhaps be that it is perhaps a little too uncritical in its judgements on Attlee, the Labour Party and the Labour Governments of which he was part.