Nicklaus Thomas-Symonds on Attlee: A Life in Politics
"I have no direct memory of Clement Attlee. He died in 1967, 13 years before I was born. And yet so many things that I, and later post-war generations have taken for granted, would not have been possible without his 1945-51 Labour government: decent pensions for women and men; proper provision for the unemployed and those unable to work; and healthcare free at the point of delivery. His government re-built British industries destroyed by the Second World War, nationalizing transport, electricity, water, and gas.
"Yet Attlee the man was nothing like a celebrity in the modern sense: moderate, quiet and modest. Why did someone without any of the characteristics we might expect political leaders to have achieve so much? Whilst Attlee disliked issues of style and image, he was a man of substance: he believed fundamentally that politics was ultimately about constructive achievement for people. He has been as the twentieth-century’s greatest Prime Minister, yet Attlee’s mode of leadership was that of the committee chairman. He saw his role as speaking on behalf of the agreed Cabinet position, not trying to force decisions through. The Prime Minister should merely ensure that decisions are actually taken: democracy, he famously said, is about discussion, but it is only effective if you can stop people talking.
"Usefully, Attlee displayed an extraordinary ability to compartmentalize his life: he served, and was wounded in the First World War, whilst his brother Tom was a conscientious objector, yet it did not damage the bond between them. Attlee’s wife was probably a lifelong Conservative, yet his marriage was a rock upon which he built his career. This book seeks to offer a fresh, balanced perspective on Attlee, drawing on new primary material."
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About the author
Nicklaus Thomas-Symonds was born in Torfaen, South Wales, where he attended St. Felix R.C. Primary School and St. Alban's R.C.Comprehensive School, at which he is now a Governor. He read Politics, Philosophy and Economics at St. Edmund Hall, Oxford, graduating in 2001 before starting work as a Lecturer in Politics at his old college, specialising in twentieth-century British government. He also trained as a barrister, and is a tenant at Civitas Law in Cardiff, Wales's first specialist civil and public law Chambers.
He is politically active, as the Secretary of the Blaenavon Branch of the Labour Party and Secretary of the Torfaen Constituency Labour Party. He spent two years as the Labour Party's prospective parliamentary candidate in Chippenham in Wiltshire. Nicklaus Thomas-Symonds lives in north Torfaen with his wife Rebecca, his daughter Matilda, and his pet dog, Ellie.