Gaitskell And British Labour Party (1945-1963)

Hugh Gaitskell was a British Labour politician who had served as the leader of Labour Party. He died of illness and he couldn’t become prime minister. Gaitskell was the leader of Revisionist and he devoted himself to the modernization of Labour during his tenure. He clearly put forward the idea that the primary goal of Labour was to come to power. His personal experiences and ideological transformation in 1945-1963, to some extent, reflected the style and features of Labour and Britain at that time.The first chapter discusses the experience of Gaitskell in the Attlee government period(1945-1951). In July 1945, Gaitskell entered parliament. In May 1946, he was appointed the Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Fuel and Power by virtue of his ability and luck. During the’fuel crisis’, Gaitskell showed excellent management, coordination and decisiveness. After he was promoted to the minister of Fuel and Power, he put forward and adopted some economic development strategies which were different from the nationalization of Morrisonian model which was centralized. In 1949, the’devaluation crisis’authentically established his reputation and status in the Labour Party and paved the way for his promotion in the future. In October 1950, he was appointed the Chancellor of the Exchequer. However, he fiercely clashed with Bevan about defense spending and charges of National Health Service during this time.’Dentures and spectacles’incident opened a prelude to a long-term internal strife after war and undermined the unity and stability of Labour.The second chapter investigates the experience of Gaitskell in the period of party disputes and conflicts(1951-1955). When Labour Party stepped down in 1951, it fell into long-term disputes and civil strife. The left and the right of the Labour Party conflicted with each other vehemently. In this period, under the support of trade union leaders and the right-wing, Gaitskell fought with Bevan drastically who standed for the left-wing and tried to expel Bevan, however, he failed to achieve that purpose.The third chapter introduced the experience of Gaitskell when the revisionism rose in the Labour Party(1955-1959). Labour Party lived in a period of relative peace between Gaitskell becoming the leader at the end of 1955 and 1959 general election. There are two main themes in the Labour Party. On the one hand, Gaitskell reached a compromise with Bevan gradually and the movement of left-wing was at a low ebb temporarily. On the other hand, the revisionism rose in the Labour Party as an influential force. It has a wide range of impact and influence on Labour’s ideas and policies and dominated the policy-making. Labour Party rethought its own policies and Gaitskell’s leadership is relatively favorable.The fourth chapter analyses the experience of Gaitskell in the second period of party disputes and conflicts(1959-1963). After 1959 general election, Labour Party fell into serious internal strife once again. In order to reverse the weakness on the election, Gaitskell tried to revise clause IV and redefined the objectives and principles of the Labour Party under contemporary conditions. But he failed at last because the left, the centre and trade unions opposed his intention together. At the same time, unilateralism posed a great threat to his leadership. Gaitskell overcame unilateralism finally and reestablish his authority. Gaitskell maintained the unity of the Labour Party by opposing entry to common market and made preparations for winning the 1964 general election.The epilogue will estimate and analyse historical status of Gaitskell.