CHURCHILL'S PEACETIME MINISTRY, 1951-55
Also by Henry Pelling WINSTON CHURCHILL THE LABOUR GOVERNMENTS, 1945-51 A SHORT HISTORY OF THE LABOUR PARTY A HISTORY OF BRITISH TRADE UNIONISM BRITAIN AND THE MARSHALL PLAN BRITAIN AND THE SECOND WORLD WAR THE ORIGINS OF THE LABOUR PARTY THE CHALLENGE OF SOCIALISM THE BRITISH COMMUNIST PARTY AMERICA AND THE BRITISH LEFT AMERICAN LABOR LABOUR AND POLITICS, 1900-1906 (with Frank Bealey) THE SOCIAL GEOGRAPHY OF BRITISH ELECTIONS, 1895-1910 POPULAR POLITICS AND SOCIETY IN LATE VICTORIAN BRITAIN
Churchill's Peacetime Ministry.. 1951-55 Henry Pelling Fellow of StJohn's College University of Cambridge
First published in Great Britain 1997 by MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 978-0-333-67709-4 ISBN 978-1-349-25283-1 (ebook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-25283-1 First published in the United States of America 1997 by ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC., Scholarly and Reference Division, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 ISBN 978-0-312-16271-9 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Pelling, Henry. Churchill's peacetime ministry, I 95 I -55 I Henry Pelling. p. em. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-312-16271-9(cloth) I. Great Britain-Politics and govemment-1945-1964. 2. Churchill, Winston, Sir, 1874-1965. I. Title. DA592.P45 1996 941.085'5-dc20 96-2994 CIP @ Henry Pelling 1997 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1997 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act I 988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London WI P 9HE. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 06 05 04 03 02 01 00 99
Contents List of Plates vii Preface ix I The Labour Interlude I 2 Cabinet Making I2 3 Robot and After 3I 4 Korea and Colonial Problems 45 5 The European Defence Community 63 6 Privatisation 73 7 The Struggle Against Illness 89 8 Bermuda and Berlin 106 9 The H-Bomb and Eden's Diplomacy I20 IO Setting the People Free I38 11 The Last Session 155 12 Conclusion 177 Appendix: Members of the Government 184 Abbreviations in the Notes 188 Notes I89 Bibliography 206 Index 209 v
List of Plates 1. Conservative Central Office press conference, October 1951 (Camera Press) 2. 'Hot Seat' cartoon by David Low, Daily Herald, 30 October 1951 ( David Low/Solo Syndication) 3. Churchill and General Eisenhower in Paris, December 1951 (Churchill archive) 4. Eden's wedding, August 1952 (Churchill archive) 5. Oliver Lyttelton (Camera Press) 6. Lord Salisbury (portrait by Walter Bird, Camera Press) 7. Lord Cherwell (Hulton Deutsch) 8. Harold Macmillan (Fox Photos) 9. Churchill in Coronation procession, 2June 1953 (Churchill archive) 10. Cabinet Ministers at Blackpool, October 1954 (Churchill archive) 11. Churchill's eightieth birthday; cartoon by Vicky, Daily Mirror, 30 November 1954 ( Vicky/Solo Syndication) vii
Preface This book covers the three-and-a-half years of Winston Churchill's second premiership, 1951-55. It thus deals with the same period as the notable and fuller study by Dr Anthony Seldon, Churchill's Indian Summer (1981). Its claim to novelty lies in its use of the Cabinet Minutes and Papers now available at the Public Record Office at Kew, of the Prime Minister's papers at the same location, and of the private papers of more Cabinet Ministers, especially those of Anthony Eden now at Birmingham University Library. I am particularly grateful to Lady Avon for allowing me access to the Eden Papers before they were formally declared open, and to Dr Benedicz, the Birmingham University Archivist. Mr Graham Stewart of my own college helped me with research assistance in the final stages. Mrs Jane Rogers patiently undertook the retyping of the final version. Mr Damien Browne, also of StJohn's College, kindly read the proofs. Any errors that remain are my own responsibility. Stjohn's College Cambridge H.M.P. ix