Fight and Fight Again
There are some of us, Mr Chairman, who will fight and fight and fight again to save the party we love – Hugh Gaitskell, Labour Party Conference, October 1960
I – The Contest: 1955-1956
There are some who say it was all over when Attlee stepped down after losing to Eden in May 1955. But, to most now, the day the Labour Party died was the day the leadership election of that same year was held. With the power vacuum left by the resignation of Clement Attlee, practically an idol to many Labour supporters, the stage opened to two actors of tremendous prestige.
Aneurin Bevan was the father of the NHS and one of the most left wing members of Labour. Born in the coalfields of South Wales, he was devoted to socialism in its purest form and resigned as Minister of Labour when prescription charges for spectacles and dental care were introduced in 1951 to pay for Britain’s involvement in the Korean War. Hostile to the right, he once described the Conservative Party as ‘lower than vermin’
His opponent, described as a ‘desiccated calculating machine’ by Bevan himself, was Hugh Gaitskell. Representing the right of the party, he also had a wide following within the party. Many of his views were controversial within the party: his support for an end to Clause 4 (The section of the Constitution of the Labour Party supporting nationalisation of the means of production). He was also vocal in his hostility towards nuclear disarmament and the European Economic Community.
A third candidate was also running: Herbert Morrison; a Labour minister during the war and another member of the Labour right. Many of his followers felt he was too old by 1955 however and instead intended to switch their vote to Gaitskell.
The ballot was to be held on December 14th 1955, but a day before, Morrison withdrew, much to the surprise of the party. Gaitskell’s rhetoric, blaming the left wing of the party for the defeat in May also proved to be a turn-off for many Labour MPs. The split was deep within Labour, and the result of the ballot surprised many. Gaitskell won 140; Bevan 123.
This in itself might not have been the end of the party, but Gaitskell chose to move to have Clause IV repealed and called a special conference for such means. This coming at such a weak time for the party, chaos ensued. Bevan could not believe Gaitskell would support the repealing of an element he believed so fundamental to Labour and to socialism. When it passed, bitter words were exchanged in Parliament and the party was clearly falling apart at the seams. The final shock came when Bevan chose to leave the party altogether and become an ‘Independent Labour’ MP on December 29th 1955. On January 1st 1956, however, he announced the formation of the Socialist Labour Party, and 21 other MPs crossed the floor to this party also. By the end of the year, this party would comprise 40 loyal Bevanites.
However, the split was not as catastrophic as it could have been. Labour itself remained intact for now, and though there were still some Bevan sympathisers in the party, they were now marginalised. Gaitskell’s pragmatic approach would be the new strategy of the party.
With the split in the party, the composition of the House of Commons on June 1st 1956 was:
Conservative – 348
Labour – 228
Socialist Labour – 40
Liberal – 12
Sinn Fein – 2
The rise in Liberal power should also be noted, as some Labour members crossed the floor to the Liberal Party in disillusion at the state of the party.
