‘All political careers end in failure,’ said Enoch Powell. Maybe. But just occasionally our imperfect political system throws up someone whose impact on our way of life, for good or ill, outlives them. In a series of elegant essays, Vernon Bogdanor, professor of government at King’s College London, examines the careers of six politicians – three from left of centre, three from the right – who, in his view, changed the political weather of modern Britain. Only one, Nigel Farage, is still alive.
First up is Aneurin Bevan, the left-wing firebrand who, in the teeth of fierce opposition from the mighty, vested-interested British Medical Association, presided over the creation of the National Health Service. Although now fraying at the edges, the NHS remains the one part of the post-war settlement that has survived into the 21st century. Not even Margaret Thatcher dared mess with it.
This is not a book about heroes, but about those who were unafraid to stick their heads above the parapet
The achievement was all the more remarkable given Bevan’s inauspicious origins.
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