Attley Clement is considered one of the most prominent prime ministers 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.
Young years
Attley Clement was born on 1883-03-01 in London. The father of the future politician worked in the legal profession. In 1904, the future prime minister graduated from the University of Oxford with a degree in Modern History. He later graduated from law school.
Attley began to work with the children of workers. This greatly changed his outlook. He changed his views, moving from conservatives to socialists. At the age of twenty-five, he became a member of the Independent Labor Party.
Attley Activities:
- Beatrix Webb's secretary;
- taught at School of Economics (London);
- fought in the active army (World War I);
- mayor of municipal area.
Political career
As a result of the elections that took place in 1922, Attlee Clement became a member of the House of Commons. The deputy was a supporter of Macdonald. He served under him as parliamentary secretary. Two years later, he joined the government, becoming Deputy Minister of War.
Attley 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 studied the situation in India with a view to the possible granting of self-government to the country.
Three years later, the politician returned to the government. The MP took over as Chancellor (of Lancaster). At this time, Clement becomes disillusioned with MacDonald's activities. After the electoral failure, he was among the few who remained in the Labor parliament. 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 for some time as acting head of Labor when Lansbury was recovering from an injury. He became a full leader in 1935. He held this position until 1955.
At first, the Labor leader did not see the seriousness of the threat from aggressive Germany. He was opposed to spending money on rearmament of hiscountries. By 1937, Labor's position on this issue had changed. They began to oppose the policy pursued by Prime Minister Chamberlain, which was to appease the aggressor.
In 1940 he became part of Churchill's coalition government. Two years later, Attlee received the post of Deputy Prime Minister. The politician supported Churchill regarding the fact that Great Britain continued to resist, despite the surrender of France.
The Labor leader sought to keep the coalition alive until Japan surrenders and the war ends. But many of his party comrades began to demand elections. Churchill, in turn, was confident in his popularity among the people, so he called elections for the summer of 1945.
Conservatives relied on the support of the people of their prime minister. While the Laborites carried out an election program, according to which they promised to create a socialist society in the state. Elections were held on 1945-05-07. Attlee's party achieved an absolute majority for the first time in history. They managed to take 393 seats in the House of Commons. Thanks to this sensational victory, the politician replaced Churchill and took over as prime minister.
Lead
Atlee's premiership came at a time of difficult recovery and the start of the so-called Cold War. What position did Clement Attlee take? The foreign policy of Great Britain during these years was focused on the USA.
The main actions of the state on the world stage:
- implementation of the "Marshall Plan";
- creation of NATO;
- waging war in Malaya;
- participation in inciting conflicts between Hindus and Pakistanis, Arabs and Israelis;
- Granting independence to India.
In domestic policy, the prime minister sought to raise the standard of living of the working class. To do this, the country began to carry out social reforms, people were provided with jobs. The state nationalized some sectors of the economy, for example, the Bank of England, the railway, some industries, aviation.
Clement Attlee, whose domestic and foreign policies were reviewed, became the first Labor Prime Minister to serve a full term.
Last years of life
After the 1951 elections, Labor had to give up his post to Churchill. In 1955, the politician was granted a hereditary peerage.
Dead Clement Attlee, whose policy was aimed at improving the social protection of the working class, 1967-08-10 in London.
