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101-579: Cynheidre was developed by the National Coal Board as one of the West Wales "super pits" alongside Abernant Colliery in the River Amman valley, a post- World War II investment intended to keep economic coal mining a viable industry in the area. Created to exploit 196 square miles (510 km) of deep lying anthracite seams, it was envisaged to eventually encompass the working of the drift mines at

202-537: A barrister at the Inner Temple and was called to the bar in March 1906. He worked for a time at his father's law firm Druces and Attlee but did not enjoy the work, and had no particular ambition to succeed in the legal profession. He also played football for non-League club Fleet . Attlee's father died in 1908, leaving an estate valued for probate at £75,394 (equivalent to £9,943,044 in 2023 ). In 1906, Attlee became

303-467: A civil action against Attlee and the other Labour members of the committee (although not against the Conservative members who had also supported this). The court found against Attlee and his fellow councillors and they were ordered to pay £300 damages. The decision was later reversed on appeal, but the financial problems caused by the episode almost forced Attlee out of politics. In 1927, he was appointed

404-426: A civilised community, although it may be composed of self-reliant individuals, there will be some persons who will be unable at some period of their lives to look after themselves, and the question of what is to happen to them may be solved in three ways – they may be neglected, they may be cared for by the organised community as of right, or they may be left to the goodwill of individuals in the community. [...] Charity

505-553: A drastic and entire reshuffling of these populations there is no possible solution to the problem of minorities in Europe except toleration. However, the new Czechoslovakian state did not provide equal rights to the Slovaks and Sudeten Germans, with the historian Arnold J. Toynbee already having noted that "for the Germans, Magyars and Poles, who account between them for more than one quarter of

606-624: A few of his allies formed a National Government with the Conservatives and Liberals , leading them to be expelled from Labour. MacDonald offered Attlee a job in the National Government, but he turned down the offer and opted to stay loyal to the main Labour party. After Ramsay MacDonald formed the National Government, Labour was deeply divided. Attlee had long been close to MacDonald and now felt betrayed—as did most Labour politicians. During

707-425: A halt in the armaments race ... We do not think that our answer to Herr Hitler should be just rearmament. We are in an age of rearmaments, but we on this side cannot accept that position". Attlee played little part in the events that would lead up to the abdication of Edward VIII , for despite Baldwin's threat to step down if Edward attempted to remain on the throne after marrying Wallis Simpson , Labour

808-468: A landslide victory in the 1945 general election , on their post-war recovery platform. They inherited a country close to bankruptcy following the Second World War and beset by food, housing and resource shortages. Attlee led the construction of the first Labour majority government , which aimed to maintain full employment , a mixed economy and a greatly enlarged system of social services provided by

909-587: A lifelong dislike of Morrison. At the 1922 general election , Attlee became the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Limehouse in Stepney . At the time, he admired Ramsay MacDonald and helped him get elected as Labour Party leader at the 1922 leadership election . He served as MacDonald's Parliamentary Private Secretary for the brief 1922 parliament. His first taste of ministerial office came in 1924, when he served as Under-Secretary of State for War in

1010-509: A majority. I am convinced it would be fatal for the Labour Party." He also wrote that there was no point in "watering down Labour's socialist creed in order to attract new adherents who cannot accept the full socialist faith. On the contrary, I believe that it is only a clear and bold policy that will attract this support". In the late 1930s, Attlee sponsored a Jewish mother and her two children, enabling them to leave Germany in 1939 and move to

1111-496: A man of character. Despite his mishandling of the Red Letter episode, I had not appreciated his defects until he took office a second time. I then realised his reluctance to take positive action and noted with dismay his increasing vanity and snobbery, while his habit of telling me, a junior Minister, the poor opinion he had of all his Cabinet colleagues made an unpleasant impression. I had not, however, expected that he would perpetrate

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1212-446: A member of the multi-party Simon Commission , a royal commission set up to examine the possibility of granting self-rule to India . Due to the time he needed to devote to the commission, and contrary to a promise MacDonald made to Attlee to induce him to serve on the commission, he was not initially offered a ministerial post in the second Labour government , which entered office after the 1929 general election . Attlee's service on

1313-480: A new world. A world of law, the abolition of national armaments with a world force and a world economic system. I shall be told that that is quite impossible". Shortly after those comments, Adolf Hitler proclaimed that German rearmament offered no threat to world peace. Attlee responded the next day noting that Hitler's speech, although containing unfavourable references to the Soviet Union , created "A chance to call

1414-561: A rift between him and his older brother Tom, who, as a conscientious objector , spent much of the war in prison. After a period spent fighting in Gallipoli, Attlee collapsed after falling ill with dysentery and was put on a ship bound for England to recover. When he woke up he wanted to get back to action as soon as possible, and asked to be let off the ship in Malta, where he stayed in hospital in order to recover. His hospitalisation coincided with

1515-409: A ruthless despotism... The events of these last few days constitute one of the greatest diplomatic defeats that this country and France have ever sustained. There can be no doubt that it is a tremendous victory for Herr Hitler. Without firing a shot, by the mere display of military force, he has achieved a dominating position in Europe which Germany failed to win after four years of war. He has overturned

1616-584: A senior partner in the law firm of Druces, also serving a term as president of the Law Society of England and Wales . In 1898 he purchased a 200-acre (81 ha) estate, Comarques in Thorpe-le-Soken , Essex. At the age of nine, Attlee was sent to board at Northaw Place , a boys' preparatory school in Hertfordshire . In 1896 he followed his brothers to Haileybury College , where he was a middling student. He

1717-617: A series of War Cabinet debates over whether or not to negotiate peace terms with Hitler following the Fall of France in May 1940; both supported Churchill and gave him the majority he needed in the War Cabinet to continue Britain's resistance. Only Attlee and Churchill remained in the War Cabinet from the formation of the Government of National Unity in May 1940 through to the election in May 1945. Attlee

1818-586: A slurry, killing 116 children and 28 adults as it engulfed Pantglas Junior School and a row of houses. The tip was the responsibility of the National Coal Board (NCB), and the subsequent inquiry placed the blame for the disaster on the organisation and nine named employees. The NCB's Coal Research Establishment (CRE) at Stoke Orchard in Gloucestershire was founded in 1950 with Jacob Bronowski as Director of Research. It closed following privatisation of

1919-435: A state of war. We have been unable to go in for care-free rejoicing. We have felt that we are in the midst of a tragedy... [and] humiliation. This has not been a victory for reason and humanity. It has been a victory for brute force. At every stage of the proceedings there have been time limits laid down... [the] terms laid down as ultimata. We have seen to-day a gallant, civilised and democratic people betrayed and handed over to

2020-552: A volunteer at Haileybury House, a charitable club for working-class boys in Stepney in the East End of London run by his old school, and from 1907 to 1909 he served as the club's manager. Until then, his political views had been more conservative. However, after his shock at the poverty and deprivation he saw while working with the slum children, he came to the view that private charity would never be sufficient to alleviate poverty and that only direct action and income redistribution by

2121-566: A world order before our loyalty to our own country. We say we want to see put on the statute book something which will make our people citizens of the world before they are citizens of this country". During a debate on defence in Commons a year later, Attlee said "We are told (in the White Paper) that there is danger against which we have to guard ourselves. We do not think you can do it by national defence. We think you can only do it by moving forward to

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2222-578: Is bound to another, right or wrong, by some overwhelming necessity—is contrary to the spirit of the League of Nations, is contrary to the Covenant, is contrary to Locarno is contrary to the obligations which this country has undertaken, and is contrary to the professed policy of this Government". At the Labour Party conference at Edinburgh in October Attlee reiterated that "There can be no question of our supporting

2323-585: Is often ranked as one of the greatest British prime ministers , receiving particular praise for his government's welfare state reforms, creation of the NHS, continuation of the " Special Relationship " with the US, and involvement in NATO. Attlee was born on 3 January 1883 in Putney , Surrey (now part of London), into an upper middle-class family, the seventh of eight children. His father

2424-401: Is only possible without loss of dignity between equals. A right established by law, such as that to an old age pension, is less galling than an allowance made by a rich man to a poor one, dependent on his view of the recipient's character, and terminable at his caprice. In 1921, George Lansbury , the Labour mayor of the neighbouring borough of Poplar , and future Labour Party leader, launched

2525-437: The 1935 election , which saw the party stage a partial comeback from its disastrous 1931 performance, winning 38 per cent of the vote, the highest share Labour had won up to that point, and gaining over one hundred seats. Attlee stood in the subsequent leadership election , held soon afterward, where he was opposed by Herbert Morrison , who had just re-entered parliament in the recent election, and Arthur Greenwood : Morrison

2626-587: The Battle of Sari Bair , which saw a large number of his comrades killed. Upon returning to action, he was informed that his company had been chosen to hold the final lines during the evacuation of Suvla . As such, he was the penultimate man to be evacuated from Suvla Bay , the last being General Stanley Maude . The Gallipoli Campaign had been engineered by the First Lord of the Admiralty , Winston Churchill . Although it

2727-708: The Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946 , it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "vesting day", 1 January 1947. In 1987, the NCB was renamed the British Coal Corporation , and its assets were subsequently privatised. Collieries were taken under government control during the First and Second World Wars. The Sankey Commission in 1919 gave R. H. Tawney , Sidney Webb and Sir Leo Chiozza Money

2828-772: The Cold War . He supported the Marshall Plan to rebuild Western Europe with American money and, in 1949, promoted the NATO military alliance against the Soviet bloc . After leading Labour to a narrow victory at the 1950 general election , he sent British troops to fight alongside South Korea in the Korean War . Despite his social reforms and economic programme food, housing and resource shortages persisted throughout his premiership, alongside recurrent currency crises and dependence on US aid. His party

2929-502: The Great Mountain Colliery and Pentremawr . Between 1954 and 1956, shafts No.1 (upcast 798 yards (730 m)) and No.2 (downcast 786 yards (719 m)) were sunk 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Pentremawr, to give economic access to the deeper lying extents of the anthracite seams which couldn't be worked economically by slant mining. In 1955, shaft No.3 was created. Originally sunk for ventilating Glynhebog drift mine , it

3030-513: The Leader of the Opposition . On the verge of resigning from Parliament, he was persuaded to stay by Stafford Cripps, a wealthy socialist, who agreed to make a donation to party funds to pay him an additional salary until Lansbury could take over again. During 1932–33 Attlee flirted with, and then drew back from radicalism – influenced by Stafford Cripps, who was then on the radical wing of the party. He

3131-534: The Llanelly and Mynydd Mawr Railway . From both the structure of local geology and knowledge from workings at Pentremawr, it was known that the coal field suffered from methane gas intrusion. On 6 April 1971 six miners lost their lives in an explosion of methane gas and fine coal dust. In 1972, Cynheidre produced 472,000 tons of coal employing 1,430 men. Cynheidre was to be the site of the proposed Carway Fawr Drift Mine. Development work started in 1986, but along with

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3232-677: The London School of Economics . Attlee returned to local politics in the immediate post-war period, becoming mayor of the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney , one of London's most deprived inner-city boroughs, in 1919. During his time as mayor, the council undertook action to tackle slum landlords who charged high rents but refused to spend money on keeping their property in habitable condition. The council served and enforced legal orders on homeowners to repair their property. It also appointed health visitors and sanitary inspectors, reducing

3333-613: The London School of Economics ; with his work briefly interrupted by service as an officer in the First World War . In 1919, he became mayor of Stepney and in 1922 was elected as the Member for Limehouse . Attlee served in the first Labour minority government led by Ramsay MacDonald in 1924, and then joined the Cabinet during MacDonald's second minority (1929–1931). After retaining his seat in Labour's landslide defeat of 1931 , he became

3434-758: The Minority Report as he was very active in Fabian Society circles, in which he would go round visiting many political societies—Liberal, Conservative and socialist—to explain and popularise the ideas, as well as recruiting lecturers deemed suitable to work on the campaign. In 1911, he was employed by the Government as an "official explainer"—touring the country to explain Chancellor of the Exchequer David Lloyd George 's National Insurance Act . He spent

3535-630: The National Parks system, passed the New Towns Act 1946 and established the town and country planning system . Attlee's foreign policy focused on decolonisation efforts, including the partition of India (1947), the independence of Burma and Ceylon , and the dissolution of the British mandates of Palestine and Transjordan . Attlee and Bevin encouraged the United States to take a vigorous role in

3636-586: The Poplar Rates Rebellion ; a campaign of disobedience seeking to equalise the poor relief burden across all the London boroughs. Attlee, who was a personal friend of Lansbury, strongly supported this. However, Herbert Morrison , the Labour mayor of nearby Hackney , and one of the main figures in the London Labour Party , strongly denounced Lansbury and the rebellion. During this period, Attlee developed

3737-582: The "farce" of the Non-Intervention Committee organised by the British and French governments. In the House of Commons, Attlee stated, "I cannot understand the delusion that if Franco wins with Italian and German aid, he will immediately become independent. I think it is a ridiculous proposition." Dalton, the Labour Party's spokesman on foreign policy, also thought that Franco would ally with Germany and Italy. However, Franco's subsequent behaviour proved it

3838-773: The 30th Company of the same battalion; however, he did not deploy to France with it in December 1917, as he was transferred back to the South Lancashire Regiment on 28 November. After fully recovering from his injuries, he was sent to France in June 1918 to serve on the Western Front for the final months of the war. After being discharged from the Army in January 1919, he returned to Stepney , and returned to his old job lecturing part-time at

3939-487: The Cabinet as Lord Privy Seal on 12 May. Attlee and Churchill quickly agreed that the War Cabinet would consist of three Conservatives (initially Churchill, Chamberlain and Lord Halifax ) and two Labour members (initially himself and Arthur Greenwood ) and that Labour should have slightly more than one third of the posts in the coalition government. Attlee and Greenwood played a vital role in supporting Churchill during

4040-514: The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Neville Chamberlain , introduced a Budget which increased the amount spent on the armed forces. Attlee made a radio broadcast in opposition to it, saying: [The budget] was the natural expression of the character of the present Government. There was hardly any increase allowed for the services which went to build up the life of the people, education and health. Everything

4141-489: The Commission equipped him with a thorough exposure to India and many of its political leaders. By 1933 he argued that British rule was alien to India and was unable to make the social and economic reforms necessary for India's progress. He became the British leader most sympathetic to Indian independence (as a dominion), preparing him for his role in deciding on independence in 1947. In May 1930, Labour MP Oswald Mosley left

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4242-405: The Government in its rearmament policy". However, with the rising threat from Nazi Germany , and the ineffectiveness of the League of Nations, this policy eventually lost credibility. By 1937, Labour had jettisoned its pacifist position and came to support rearmament and oppose Neville Chamberlain's policy of appeasement . However Attlee and the Labour Party strongly opposed conscription when it

4343-581: The Leader Arthur Henderson , lost their seats. Attlee, however, narrowly retained his Limehouse seat, with his majority being slashed from 7,288 to just 551. He was one of only three Labour MPs who had experience of government to retain their seats, along with George Lansbury and Stafford Cripps . Accordingly, Lansbury was elected Leader unopposed, with Attlee as his deputy. Most of the remaining Labour MPs after 1931 were elderly trade-union officials who could not contribute much to debates; Lansbury

4444-581: The NCB and the formation of its successor, the British Coal Corporation . On 21 October 1966, a catastrophic collapse of a colliery spoil tip above the Welsh village of Aberfan , near Merthyr Tydfil in Wales caused the Aberfan disaster . The tip had been created on a mountain slope above the village and overlaid a natural spring. Heavy rain led to a build-up of water within the tip which caused it to suddenly slide downhill as

4545-405: The NCB was formally constituted on 15 July, with Lord Hyndley as its chairman. On 1 January 1947 a notice posted at every colliery in the country read, "This colliery is now managed by the National Coal Board on behalf of the people". Opencast operations were taken over on 1 April 1952. The NCB acquired 958 collieries, the property of about 800 companies. Compensation of £164,660,000 was paid to

4646-549: The National Coal Board (defined by section 1 of the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946) were: (a) working and getting the coal in Great Britain, to the exclusion of any other person; (b) securing the efficient development of the coal-mining industry; and (c) making supplies of coal available, of such qualities and sizes, in such quantities and at such prices, as may seem to them best calculated to further

4747-584: The North of shafts 1 and 2. 51°45′02″N 4°11′02″W  /  51.7505°N 4.1840°W  / 51.7505; -4.1840 This article about a location in Wales is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . National Coal Board The National Coal Board ( NCB ) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom . Set up under

4848-721: The UK. On arriving in Britain, Attlee invited one of the children into his home in Stanmore , north-west London, where he stayed for several months. Attlee remained as Leader of the Opposition when the Second World War broke out in September 1939. The ensuing disastrous Norwegian campaign would result in a motion of no confidence in Neville Chamberlain . Although Chamberlain survived this,

4949-399: The aftermath of the 1972 miners' strike envisaged that the coal industry would replace 40 million tons of obsolete capacity and ageing pits while maintaining its output. By 1983, the NCB would invest £3,000 million on developing new collieries. In 1984, it was alleged that the NCB had a list of collieries earmarked for closure and its chairman, Ian MacGregor indicated that the board

5050-403: The balance of power in Europe... [and] destroyed the last fortress of democracy in Eastern Europe which stood in the way of his ambition. He has opened his way to the food, the oil and the resources which he requires in order to consolidate his military power, and he has successfully defeated and reduced to impotence the forces that might have stood against the rule of violence. [...] The cause [of

5151-409: The coal mining industry. The Stoke Orchard library was safeguarded after closure and is now held by the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers . The Mining Research and Development Establishment was formed in 1969 by merger of the Central Engineering Establishment and Mining Research Establishment to undertake research into and testing of mining equipment and procedures. It

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5252-534: The country into divisions, corresponding to the major coalfields, and each division was divided into areas with an output of approximately 4 million tons. The board also took over power stations at some collieries and railway sidings. It managed an estate of more than 140,000 houses and more than 200,000 acres of farmland. At its inception the NCB employed nearly 800,000 workers which was four percent of Britain's total workforce. Its national headquarters were established in Hobart House, London. The formal duties of

5353-403: The country. Churchill chaired the first two, the War cabinet and the Defence Committee, with Attlee deputising for him in these, and answering for the government in Parliament when Churchill was absent. Attlee himself instituted, and later chaired the third body, the Lord President's Committee , which was responsible for overseeing domestic affairs. As Churchill was most concerned with overseeing

5454-430: The course of the second Labour government, Attlee had become increasingly disillusioned with MacDonald, whom he came to regard as vain and incompetent, and of whom he later wrote scathingly in his autobiography. He would write: In the old days I had looked up to MacDonald as a great leader. He had a fine presence and great oratorical power. The unpopular line which he took during the First World War seemed to mark him as

5555-407: The crisis which we have undergone] was not the existence of minorities in Czechoslovakia; it was not that the position of the Sudeten Germans had become intolerable. It was not the wonderful principle of self-determination. It was because Herr Hitler had decided that the time was ripe for another step forward in his design to dominate Europe... The minorities question is no new one. [...] [And] short of

5656-643: The end of the 1950s, and in 1957 the coal industry began to contract. Between 1958 and 1959, 85 collieries closed. In 1960, Alf Robens became the chairman of the NCB, and he introduced a policy concentrating on the most productive pits. During his ten-year tenure, productivity increased by 70%, but with far fewer pits and a much reduced workforce. In 1967, the NCB reorganised its structure into 17 new areas each employing about 20,000 men. In 1956, 700,000 men produced 207 million tons of coal; by 1971, fewer than 290,000 workers were producing 133 million tons at 292 collieries. The 1974 Plan of Coal produced in

5757-456: The first and second ballots, formally being elected Leader of the Labour Party on 3 December 1935. Throughout the 1920s and most of the 1930s, the Labour Party's official policy had been to oppose rearmament, instead supporting internationalism and collective security under the League of Nations . At the 1934 Labour Party Conference, Attlee declared that, "We have absolutely abandoned any idea of nationalist loyalty. We are deliberately putting

5858-401: The government. Attlee effectively served as Labour's acting-leader for nine months from December 1933, after Lansbury fractured his thigh in an accident; this raised Attlee's public profile considerably. It was during this period, however, that personal financial problems almost forced Attlee to quit politics altogether. His wife had become ill, and at that time there was no separate salary for

5959-416: The greatest betrayal in the political history of this country ... The shock to the Party was very great, especially to the loyal workers of the rank-and-file who had made great sacrifices for these men. The general election held in October 1931 proved disastrous for the Labour Party, which lost over 200 seats, returning only 52 MPs to Parliament. The vast majority of the party's senior figures, including

6060-424: The infant mortality rate, and took action to find work for returning unemployed ex-servicemen. In 1920, while mayor, he wrote his first book, The Social Worker , which set out many of the principles that informed his political philosophy and that were to underpin the actions of his government in later years. The book attacked the idea that looking after the poor could be left to voluntary action. He wrote that: In

6161-428: The left or of the right. He always supported the crown , and as Prime Minister was close to King George VI . George Lansbury , a committed pacifist , resigned as the Leader of the Labour Party at the 1935 Party Conference on 8 October, after delegates voted in favour of sanctions against Italy for its aggression against Abyssinia . Lansbury had strongly opposed the policy, and felt unable to continue leading

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6262-416: The leg by shrapnel from friendly fire while storming an enemy trench during the Battle of Hanna . The battle was an unsuccessful attempt to relieve the Siege of Kut , and many of Attlee's fellow soldiers were also wounded or killed. He was sent firstly to India , and then back to the UK to recover. On 18 December 1916 he was transferred to the Heavy Section of the Machine Gun Corps , and 1 March 1917 he

6363-442: The mid 1970s, the activities of Coal Products Division were transferred to two new companies; National Smokeless Fuels Ltd and Thomas Ness Ltd, although they remained wholly owned by the NCB. In 1952, the NCB established a film unit. The board was keen to train its staff and new recruits and initiated a scheme to produce technical films as well as commissioning films from outside companies. More than nine hundred films were made before

6464-585: The opportunity to advocate nationalisation, but it was rejected. Coal reserves were nationalised during the war in 1942 and placed under the control of the Coal Commission , but the mining industry remained in private hands. At the time, many coal companies were small, although some consolidation had taken place in the years before the war. The NCB was one of a number of public corporations created by Clement Attlee 's post-war Labour government to manage nationalised industries. The Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946 received royal assent on 12 July 1946 and

6565-481: The owners for the collieries and £78,457,000 to former owners and for other assets such as 55 coke ovens, 85 brickworks and 20 smokeless fuel plants. The collieries it had acquired varied considerably in size and output. Coal was mined from seams that varied from 20 to 200 inches thick and the average pit produced 245,000 tons annually. More than a third of collieries produced less than 100,000 tons and 50 collieries produced more than 700,000 tons. The coal board divided

6666-403: The party after its rejection of his proposals for solving the unemployment problem, and Attlee was given Mosley's post of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster . In March 1931, he became Postmaster General , a post he held for five months until August, when the Labour government fell , after failing to agree on how to tackle the financial crisis of the Great Depression . That month MacDonald and

6767-468: The party's Deputy Leader . Elected Leader of the Labour Party in 1935, and at first advocating pacificism and opposing re-armament , he became a critic of Neville Chamberlain 's policy of appeasement in the lead-up to the Second World War . Attlee took Labour into the wartime coalition government in 1940 and served under Winston Churchill, initially as Lord Privy Seal and then as Deputy Prime Minister from 1942. The Labour Party, led by Attlee, won

6868-406: The party. Taking advantage of the disarray in the Labour Party, the Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin announced on 19 October that a general election would be held on 14 November. With no time for a leadership contest, the party agreed that Attlee should serve as interim leader, on the understanding that a leadership election would be held after the general election. Attlee therefore led Labour through

6969-539: The people will have to pay for their mistake in believing that it could be trusted to carry out a policy of peace. [...] This is a War Budget. We can look in the future for no advance in Social Legislation. All available resources are to be devoted to armaments. In June 1936, the Conservative MP Duff Cooper called for an Anglo-French alliance against possible German aggression and called for all parties to support one. Attlee condemned this: "We say that any suggestion of an alliance of this kind—an alliance in which one country

7070-642: The public interest in all respects, including the avoidance of any undue or unreasonable preference or advantage. In 1947, about half the collieries were in need of immediate attention and a development programme was begun. Between 1947 and 1956, the NCB spent more than £550 million on major improvements and new sinkings, much of it to mechanise the coal-getting process underground and by 1957 Britain's collieries were producing cheaper coal than anywhere in Europe. The Plan for Coal produced in 1950 aimed at increasing output from 184 million to 250 million tons by 1970. Competition from cheap oil imports arrived in

7171-481: The reputation of his administration was so badly and publicly damaged that it became clear a coalition government would be necessary. Even if Attlee had personally been prepared to serve under Chamberlain in an emergency coalition government, he would never have been able to carry Labour with him. Consequently, Chamberlain tendered his resignation, and Labour and the Conservatives entered a coalition government led by Winston Churchill on 10 May 1940, with Attlee joining

7272-487: The residual Cynheidre underground workings, closed in January 1989 while employing 1,043 men. In 2006, the site was proposed as the location of a human waste -to- compost plant, but was turned down on planning permission . In 2009 Gwendraeth Valley Recycling Ltd established a Waste Transfer Station / Recycling Yard at the site of the former Carway Fawr winding shed/ control room and yard, within Cynheidre Colliery to

7373-661: The short-lived first Labour government , led by MacDonald. Attlee opposed the 1926 General Strike , believing that strike action should not be used as a political weapon. However, when it happened, he did not attempt to undermine it. At the time of the strike, he was chairman of the Stepney Borough Electricity Committee. He negotiated a deal with the Electrical Trade Union so that they would continue to supply power to hospitals, but would end supplies to factories. One firm, Scammell and Nephew Ltd, took

7474-538: The state would have any serious effect. This sparked a process that caused him to convert to socialism . He joined the Independent Labour Party (ILP) in 1908 and became active in local politics. In 1909, he stood unsuccessfully at his first election, as an ILP candidate for Stepney Borough Council. He also worked briefly as a secretary for Beatrice Webb in 1909, before becoming a secretary for Toynbee Hall . He worked for Webb's campaign of popularisation of

7575-611: The state. To this end, it undertook the nationalisation of public utilities and major industries, and implemented wide-ranging social reforms, including the passing of the National Insurance Act 1946 and National Assistance Act 1948 , the formation of the National Health Service (NHS) in 1948, and the enlargement of public subsidies for council house building. His government also reformed trade union legislation, working practices and children's services; it created

7676-554: The summer of that year touring Essex and Somerset on a bicycle, explaining the Act at public meetings. A year later, he became a lecturer at the London School of Economics , teaching social science and public administration . Following the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, Attlee applied to join the British Army . Initially his application was turned down, as his age of 31

7777-584: The unit closed in 1984. The NCB was a major landlord , owning thousands of houses rented to miners and others involved in the industry. At the time of the 1984-85 miners strike, it owned around 170,000 houses of various ages. Shortly after this the government instructed the NCB to sell its stock of houses, some of which were bought by the miners or former miners, and others were sold to property speculators. Notes Bibliography Clement Attlee [REDACTED] Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee (3 January 1883 – 8 October 1967),

7878-458: The university lifestyle—rowing, reading and socializing". He was later described by a tutor as "level-headed, industrious, dependable man with no brilliance of style ... but with excellent sound judgement". At university he had little interest in politics or economics, later describing his views at this time as "good old fashioned imperialist conservative". He graduated Bachelor of Arts in 1904 with second-class honours . Attlee then trained as

7979-407: The war effort, this arrangement suited both men. Attlee himself had largely been responsible for creating these arrangements with Churchill's backing, streamlining the machinery of government and abolishing many committees. He also acted as a conciliator in the government, smoothing over tensions which frequently arose between Labour and Conservative Ministers. Many Labour activists were baffled by

8080-654: The whole population, the present regime in Czechoslovakia is not essentially different from the regimes in the surrounding countries". Anthony Eden in the Munich debate acknowledged that there had been "discrimination, even severe discrimination" against the Sudeten Germans. In 1937, Attlee wrote a book entitled The Labour Party in Perspective that sold fairly well in which he set out some of his views. He argued that there

8181-513: Was Henry Attlee, a solicitor, and his mother was Ellen Bravery Watson, daughter of Thomas Simons Watson, secretary for the Art Union of London . His parents were "committed Anglicans" who read prayers and psalms each morning at breakfast. Attlee grew up in a two-storey villa with a large garden and tennis court, staffed by three servants and a gardener. His father, a political Liberal , had inherited family interests in milling and brewing, and became

8282-408: Was a British statesman who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. Attlee was Deputy Prime Minister during the wartime coalition government under Winston Churchill , and Leader of the Opposition on three occasions: from 1935 to 1940, briefly in 1945 and from 1951 to 1955. He remains the longest serving Labour leader. Attlee

8383-638: Was based in Bretby, Derbyshire. Following the rationalisation of the NCB from 1985, the MRDE merged with the Mining Department. The NCB operated extensive industrial railway systems at its collieries, employing steam traction until autumn 1982 when Bold Colliery ended regular use of steam locomotives. NCB subsidiaries managed coal based chemical products (Coal Products Division) and the production of helmets and other mining equipment (Tredomen Engineering Ltd). In

8484-510: Was born into an upper-middle-class family, the son of a wealthy London solicitor. After attending Haileybury College and the University of Oxford , he practised as a barrister . The volunteer work he carried out in London's East End exposed him to poverty, and his political views shifted leftwards thereafter. He joined the Independent Labour Party , gave up his legal career, and began lecturing at

8585-560: Was briefly a member of the Socialist League , which had been formed by former Independent Labour Party (ILP) members who opposed the ILP's disaffiliation from the main Labour Party in 1932. At one point he agreed with the proposition put forward by Cripps that gradual reform was inadequate and that a socialist government would have to pass an emergency powers act, allowing it to rule by decree to overcome any opposition by vested interests until it

8686-408: Was devoted to piling up the instruments of death. The Chancellor expressed great regret that he should have to spend so much on armaments, but said that it was absolutely necessary and was due only to the actions of other nations. One would think to listen to him that the Government had no responsibility for the state of world affairs. [...] The Government has now resolved to enter upon an arms race, and

8787-405: Was extended to a depth of 760 yards (690 m) to meet the workings at Cynheidre, providing an upcast. By 1960, the colliery employed 650 men producing 30,757 tons of coal. In 1962, shaft No.4 downcast was created next to shaft No.3, to a depth of 700 yards (640 m). After these developments, Pentremawr was integrated under Cynheidre in 1973, connected both underground as well as overground by

8888-617: Was in his 70s, and Stafford Cripps – another main figure of the Labour front-bench who had entered Parliament in January 1931 – lacked parliamentary experience. As one of the most capable and experienced of the remaining Labour MPs, Attlee therefore shouldered a lot of the burden of providing an opposition to the National Government in the years 1931 to 1935 ; during this time he had to extend his knowledge of subjects which he had not studied in any depth before (such as finance and foreign affairs) in order to provide an effective opposition to

8989-452: Was influenced by the Darwinist views of his housemaster Frederick Webb Headley , and in 1899 he published an attack on striking London cab-drivers in the school magazine, predicting they would soon have to "beg for their fares". In 1901, Attlee went up to University College, Oxford , reading modern history . He and his brother Tom "were given a generous stipend by their father and embraced

9090-637: Was initially the Lord Privy Seal, before becoming Britain's first ever Deputy Prime Minister in 1942, as well as becoming the Dominions Secretary and Lord President of the Council on 28 September 1943. Attlee himself played a generally low key but vital role in the wartime government, working behind the scenes and in committees to ensure the smooth operation of government. In the coalition government , three inter-connected committees effectively ran

9191-461: Was looking to reduce output by 4 million tons, a contributory factor in the 1984-85 miners' strike . The strike was one of the longest and most bitter in history and caused great suffering for the striking miners. During the strike, the NCB lost markets and 23 collieries had closed before the end of 1985. On 5 March 1987, the Coal Industry Act 1987 received royal assent, signalling the end of

9292-527: Was narrowly defeated by the Conservatives in the 1951 general election , despite winning the most votes. He continued as Labour leader but retired after losing the 1955 general election and was elevated to the House of Lords , where he served until his death in 1967. In public, he was modest and unassuming, but behind the scenes his depth of knowledge, quiet demeanour, objectivity and pragmatism proved decisive. He

9393-467: Was no point in Labour compromising on its socialist principles in the belief that this would achieve electoral success. He wrote: "I find that the proposition often reduces itself to this – that if the Labour Party would drop its socialism and adopt a Liberal platform, many Liberals would be pleased to support it. I have heard it said more than once that if Labour would only drop its policy of nationalisation everyone would be pleased, and it would soon obtain

9494-757: Was not such a ridiculous proposition. As Dalton later acknowledged, Franco skilfully maintained Spanish neutrality, whereas Hitler would likely have occupied Spain if Franco had lost the Civil War. In 1938, Attlee opposed the Munich Agreement , in which Chamberlain negotiated with Hitler to give Germany the German-speaking parts of Czechoslovakia , the Sudetenland : We all feel relief that war has not come this time... we cannot, however, feel that peace has been established, but that we have nothing but an armistice in

9595-771: Was passed in April 1939. At the end of 1937, Attlee and a party of three Labour MPs visited Spain and visited the British Battalion of the International Brigades fighting in the Spanish Civil War . One of the companies was named the "Major Attlee Company" in his honour. Attlee was supportive of the Republican government in Spain, and at the 1937 Labour conference moved the wider Labour Party towards opposing what he considered

9696-502: Was promoted to the temporary rank of major , leading him to be known as "Major Attlee" for much of the inter-war period . He would spend most of 1917 training soldiers at various locations in England. From 2 to 9 July 1917, he was the temporary commanding officer (CO) of the newly formed L (later 10th) Battalion, the Tank Corps at Bovington Camp, Dorset . From 9 July, he assumed command of

9797-567: Was safe to restore democracy. He admired Oliver Cromwell 's strong-armed rule and use of major generals to control England. After looking more closely at Hitler , Mussolini , Stalin , and even his former colleague Oswald Mosley (leader of the new blackshirt fascist movement in Britain), Attlee retreated from radicalism, distanced himself from the League, and argued instead that the Labour Party must adhere to constitutional methods and stand forthright for democracy and against totalitarianism either of

9898-558: Was seen as being too old; however, he was eventually commissioned as a temporary lieutenant in the 6th (Service) Battalion, South Lancashire Regiment , on 30 September 1914. On 9 February 1915 he was promoted to captain , and on 14 March was appointed battalion adjutant . The 6th South Lancashires were part of the 38th Brigade of the 13th (Western) Division , which served in the Gallipoli campaign in Turkey . Attlee's decision to fight caused

9999-410: Was seen as the favourite, but was distrusted by many sections of the party, especially the left wing. Arthur Greenwood meanwhile was a popular figure in the party; however, his leadership bid was severely hampered by his alcohol problem . Attlee was able to come across as a competent and unifying figure, particularly having already led the party through a general election. He went on to come first in both

10100-472: Was unsuccessful, Attlee believed that it was a bold strategy which could have been successful if it had been better implemented on the ground. This led to an admiration for Churchill as a military strategist, something which would make their working relationship in later years productive. He later served in the Mesopotamian campaign in what is now Iraq , where in April 1916 he was badly wounded, being hit in

10201-458: Was widely accepted not to be a viable alternative government, owing to the National Government's overwhelming majority in the Commons. Attlee, along with Liberal leader Archibald Sinclair , was eventually consulted with by Baldwin on 24 November 1936, and Attlee agreed with both Baldwin and Sinclair that Edward could not remain on the throne, firmly eliminating any prospect of any alternative government forming were Baldwin to resign. In April 1936,

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