Attlee Clement is considered one of the most prominent premieres of the last century. Despite the fact that he belonged to the Labor Party, he had a good relationship with Churchill (the leader of the Conservatives). And another representative of the conservatives, Margaret Thatcher, has always been his fan.
Youth
Attlee Clement was born on 01/03/1883 in London. The father of the future politician worked in the bar. In 1904, the future Prime Minister graduated from the University of Oxford with a degree in Contemporary History. He later graduated from the Faculty of Law.
Attlee began to deal with the children of workers. This greatly changed his worldview. He changed his views, moving from conservatives to socialists. At the age of twenty-five, he became a member of the Independent Labor Party.
Attlee's Activities:
- Beatrice Webb's secretary;
- taught at the school of economics (London);
- He fought in the army (World War I);
- mayor of the municipal district.
Political career
According to the results of the elections that took place in 1922, Attlee Clement became a member of the House of Commons. The deputy was a follower of MacDonald. He served with him as parliamentary secretary. Two years later, he joined the government, becoming deputy minister of war.
Attlee was not among those who supported the general strike in 1926. He did not recognize the use of strikes in politics. In 1927, the future Prime Minister worked on a commission that was studying the situation in India with a view to possibly giving the country self-government.
Three years later, the politician returned to the government. The deputy took the post of Chancellor (Lancaster). At this time, Clement is disappointed in the activities of MacDonald. After the failure of the election, he was among the few who remained in the parliament from the Labor Party. Attlee became deputy to George Lansbury, their leader.
At this time, the deputy’s wife became seriously ill, so the question arose of leaving politics. To keep Attlee and improve his financial situation, he was assigned an additional salary.
Party leader
Back in 1933-1934, Attlee Clement served as head of Labor for some time when Lansbury was treated after an injury. He became a full-fledged leader in 1935. He held this position until 1955.
At first, the Labor leader did not see all the seriousness in the threat from an aggressive Germany. He was opposed to spending money on the rearmament of his country. By 1937, the position on this issue among the Laborites had changed. They began to oppose the policy pursued by Prime Minister Chamberlain, which consisted in appeasing the aggressor.
In 1940, he became part of the Churchill coalition government. Two years later, Attlee received the post of deputy prime minister. The politician supported Churchill that Britain continue to resist, despite the surrender of France.
The Labor leader sought to maintain a coalition until Japan surrendered and the war ended. But many of his party comrades began to demand elections. Churchill, in turn, was confident in his popularity among the people, so he set the elections for the summer of 1945.
Conservatives relied on people to support their prime minister. While the Labor Party carried out an election program, according to which they promised to create a socialist society in the state. The elections took place on 07/05/1945. Attlee's party, for the first time in history, achieved an absolute majority of votes. They managed to occupy 393 seats in the House of Commons. Thanks to this sensational victory, the politician succeeded Churchill and took over as prime minister.
At the head
Attlee's premiership took place during the years of difficult restoration, as well as the beginning of the so-called Cold War. What position did Clement Attlee take? British foreign policy in these years was focused on the United States.
The main actions of the state on the world stage:
- implementation of the “Marshall Plan”;
- the creation of NATO;
- waging war in Malaya;
- participating in inciting conflicts between Indians and Pakistanis, Arabs and Israelis;
- granting independence to India.
In domestic politics, the prime minister sought to raise the living standards of the working class. To do this, the country engaged in social reforms, people were given jobs. The state nationalized some sectors of the economy, for example, the Bank of England, the railway, some industries, and aviation.
Clement Attlee, whose domestic and foreign policies were considered, became the first Labor Prime Minister to remain in his post for a full term.
