Aneurin Bevan
Aneurin Bevan (1897-1960), Welsh Labour politician. The son of a miner, Bevan worked in the pits from the age of 13. A prominent trade unionist at 19, he led the Welsh miners in the 1926 General Strike. He entered Parliament as MP for Ebbw Vale in 1929 and made a reputation as an orator. During World War II he was one of Churchill’s few opponents. As minister of health in the post-war Labour government he established the National Health Service, but the widening gap between his socialist ideals and the policies of the Labour party leaders led to his resignation as minister of labour in 1951.
“No amount of cajolery, and no attempts at ethical or social seduction, can eradicate from my heart a deep burning hatred for the Tory Party…so far as I am concerned they are lower than vermin. Aneurin Bevan, speech 4 July 1949”
