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Draft:Shadow Cabinet of Hugh Gaitskell

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Shadow Cabinet of Hugh Gaitskell

Shadow Cabinet of the United Kingdom
1955 - 1963
Date formed14 December 1955
Date dissolved18 January 1963
People and organisations
MonarchElizabeth II
Leader of the OppositionHugh Gaitskell
Deputy Leader of the OppositionJim Griffiths

Aneurin Bevan

George Brown
Member party
  •   Labour Party
Status in legislatureOfficial Opposition
277 / 630 (44%)
(1955)
258 / 630 (41%)
(1959)
History
Election1955 Labour Party leadership election
Legislature terms41st UK Parliament
42nd UK Parliament
PredecessorSecond Shadow Cabinet of Clement Attlee
SuccessorFirst Shadow Cabinet of Harold Wilson

In December 1955, Hugh Gaitskell, the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer was elected as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party, replacing former Prime Minister Clement Attlee, the longest serving leader of the Labour Party. Attlee had stepped down as leader after having led it to a defeat in the 1955 general election, the fifth election Labour had fought under him during his 20-year long leadership.

In the subsequent leadership election, Gaitskell defeated left-wing firebrand and former Health Minister Aneurin Bevan and deputy leader Herbert Morrison (who had been serving as acting leader since Attlee's resignation).

Gaitskell was to hold this position, notwithstanding the defeat in the 1959 election until his untimely death in January 1963, whereupon his successor Harold Wilson would lead the party to victory in 1964. During the course of his tenure, he was known for his attempts at reforming the Labour Party such as the attempt to remove Clause IV. He also prevented an attempt to adopt unilateral nuclear disarmament as Labour Party policy, and stood opposed to Prime Minister Harold Macmillan's attempt to lead the UK into the European Common Market.

He had played a major role in reviving the popularity of Labour among the masses following the electoral debacles of 1955 and 1959 and at the time of his demise, the Labour Party was well placed to win the next general election. Harold Wilson who succeeded him as Leader of the Opposition and Labour Leader in February 1963 would go on to win the next general election and become Prime Minister ending the party's thirteen year stint in the opposition.

Portfolio Shadow Minister Date of assuming office Date of demitting office
Leader of the Opposition Hugh Gaitskell 14 December 1955 18 January 1963
Deputy Leader of the Opposition Jim Griffiths 2 February 1956 4 May 1959
Aneurin Bevan 4 May 1959 6 July 1960
George Brown 15 July 1960 18 January 1963
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Harold Wilson 14 December 1955 2 November 1961
James Callaghan 2 November 1961 18 January 1963
Shadow Foreign Secretary Alfred Robens 14 December 1955 6 November 1956
Aneurin Bevan 6 November 1956 11 October 1959
Denis Healey 11 October 1959 2 November 1961
Harold Wilson 2 November 1961 18 January 1963
Shadow Home Secretary Kenneth Younger 14 December 1955 13 May 1957
Patrick Gordon-Walker 13 May 1957 12 March 1962
George Brown 12 March 1962 18 January 1963
Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland Tom Fraser 14 December 1955 7 December 1961
Willie Ross 7 December 1961 18 January 1963
Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords The Viscount Alexander of Hillsborough 14 December 1955 18 January 1963




References

[edit]
  • Jones, Tudor. Remaking the Labour Party: From Gaitskell to Blair (1996)
  • Williams, Philip Maynard (1985) [1979]. Hugh Gaitskell. London: Jonathan Cape Ltd.
  • Dutton, David. British Politics Since 1945: The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of Consensus (2nd ed. Blackwell, 1997)