Six politicians who shaped modern Britain

‘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. One of ten children of a south Wales miner, he had a pronounced stutter and left school at 13. He worked as a miner during his teens, but had been unemployed for three years before he eventually found his way into parliament – only to be temporarily expelled from the Labour party in 1939 for advocating a popular front with the communists.

Most of his long career in politics was spent in opposition, both to the Tories and to the leadership of his own party. It says much for Clement Attlee’s tolerance and eye for talent that in 1945 he plucked Bevan from the backbenches and gave him one of the most important portfolios. It is sometimes overlooked that Bevan was also minister for housing, on whose watch 800,000 new homes were built at a time when raw materials were in short supply.