Clement Attlee (1945-51) - Prime Minister - Parliament

Clement Attlee was born in 1883 and educated at Oxford in Law. He served in the First World War and was wounded at Gallipoli. On his return he embarked on a political career and became the MP for Limehouse in 1922 and progressed under Ramsay MacDonald. By 1935 he became leader of the Parliamentary Labour Party and then leader of the opposition until 1940 before becoming part of Churchill’s coalition party. In 1942 he was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister and was responsible for the home guard when the Prime Minister was at war.

It was after the war that Attlee’s promises of peace caught the nation’s imagination and the Labour Party won by a landslide. It was his government that embarked on a whole programme of social and economic reform – everything from the foundation of the National Health Service; the nationalisation of heavy industries and the Bank of England; a huge building programme; and a new national insurance scheme. By 1950 the majority Attlee once held had been reduced considerably and with deteriorating health – Attlee finally resigned.

"Often the experts make the worst possible Ministers in their own fields. In this country we prefer rule by amateurs"

"In a life and death struggle we cannot afford to have our destinies in the hands of failures or men who need a rest"

On the League of Nations:
"If you turn and run away from the aggressor you kill the League... and you kill all faith in the word of honour of this country"