Today marks the 70th anniversary since the creation of the NHS. It is an institution which has become part of the social fabric of British society. When celebrations of the NHS occur, Aneurin Bevan is inevitably mentioned. As Minister of Health in Attlee’s post-war government, he was given responsibility for its creation. As I mentioned Read more
At the Welsh Labour Spring Conference next week, the results of the Welsh Labour deputy leadership election will be announced. The first ever election for the new position is being fought between Swansea East MP Carolyn Harris and Cardiff North AM Julie Morgan. A lot of the talk surrounding the election has been over the Read more
Bevan and Wales The final entry of the year into the Bevan and Wales series was supposed to be a summary of the different aspects of Bevan’s attitudes towards Wales, Welsh identity, the Welsh language and devolution. In fact, the series itself was originally only going to be a year-long one to commemorate 120 years Read more
“I remember so well what happened when the Russian revolution occurred. I remember the miners, when they heard that the Czarist tyranny had been overthrown, rushing to meet each other in the streets with tears streaming down their cheeks, shaking hands and saying: ‘At last it has happened.’ Let us remember in 1951 that the Read more
Bevan’s speeches and phrases are continually referenced by politicians from all parties. As part of the ‘Bevan and Wales’ series, Nye Davies discusses Welsh Labour’s latest rebranding invoking Bevan. Bevan as Welsh Labour hero Aneurin Bevan is a mythical figure in the history of the Labour Party, being considered one of its greatest heroes. In Read more
As part of the ‘Aneurin Bevan and Wales’ series, Nye Davies analyses Bevan’s 1947 article ‘The Claim of Wales’ 70 years on from its publication Wales in Bevan’s thought It has generally been considered that Bevan was either against or at best ambivalent towards devolution and that “the claim of Wales”, as he termed it, Read more
After a disappointing election night for the party in Wales, Nye Davies explores calls for the strengthening of the Welsh Conservative brand Disappointment in Wales After the first Welsh General Election barometer poll, the Conservative Party was in buoyant mood. The party was projected to win Wales and end Labour Party dominance which had existed Read more
He may have been dead for over 100 years but suddenly Karl Marx has become an issue in this election. Within all the General Election coverage, John McDonnell has suddenly got people talking about Karl Marx. On the Andrew Marr Show, McDonnell was asked about a previous comment where he described himself as a Marxist. Read more
The debate over devolution had been taking place throughout the 20th century. In October 1944 a “Welsh Day” debate was held in the House of Commons to discuss matters that solely concerned Wales, as “a nation with a living language of its own…and its own culture”[1]. One member of the House who took part in Read more
In a previous article I mentioned that this year marks 120 years since the birth of Aneurin Bevan. The post contained a discussion on the legacies of Bevan and another Welsh political giant, David Lloyd George, and their places within Welsh political tradition. As part of my research into the political thought of Aneurin Bevan, I Read more
