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The Political Thought of Aneurin Bevan Nye Davies Thesis

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The Political Thought of Aneurin Bevan Nye Davies Thesis The Political Thought of Aneurin Bevan Nye Davies Thesis submitted to Cardiff University in partial fulfilment for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Law and Politics September 2019 DECLARATION This work has not been submitted in substance for any other degree or award at this or any other university or place of learning, nor is being submitted concurrently in candidature for any degree or other award. Signed ………………………………………… (candidate) Date ………………………… STATEMENT 1 This thesis is being submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of …………………………(insert MCh, MD, MPhil, PhD etc, as appropriate) Signed ………………………………………… (candidate) Date ………………………… STATEMENT 2 This thesis is the result of my own independent work/investigation, except where otherwise stated. Other sources are acknowledged by explicit references. The views expressed are my own. Signed ………………………………………… (candidate) Date ………………………… STATEMENT 3 I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available online in the University’s Open Access repository and for inter-library loan, and for the title and summary to be made available to outside organisations. Signed ………………………………………… (candidate) Date ………………………… STATEMENT 4: PREVIOUSLY APPROVED BAR ON ACCESS I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available online in the University’s Open Access repository and for inter-library loans after expiry of a bar on access previously approved by the Academic Standards & Quality Committee. Signed ………………………………………… (candidate) Date ………………………… WORD COUNT 77,992 (Excluding summary, acknowledgements, declarations, contents pages, appendices, tables, diagrams and figures, references, bibliography, footnotes and endnotes) Summary Today Aneurin Bevan is a revered figure in British politics, celebrated for his role as founder one of the country’s most cherished institutions, the National Health Service. In his day, however, he was regarded as highly controversial and even divisive. There remain fundamental disagreements in the now voluminous literature on Bevan about how we are to interpret his politics and political legacy. This thesis seeks to develop a clearer understanding of Bevan’s politics by engaging in a comprehensive analytical study of his political thought, treating him primarily as a political thinker rather than a practicing politician or institutional pioneer. It has two central aims. Firstly, it seeks to reconstruct Bevan’s political thought from his written work; then, secondly, it uses the insights generated by this unique approach to reconsider the debates and disagreements about Bevan’s ideas found in the extant literature. To achieve the first aim, the thesis engages with Bevan’s voluminous writing, including his myriad contributions to Tribune (a thesis Appendix contains for the first time an index of the contents of Bevan’s journalism). On the basis of these very varied and often unsystematic contributions, it then reconstructs Bevan’s key ideas within a framework derived from Michael Mann’s account of the sources of social power: with the use of ‘power’ as a heuristic device for the thesis echoing its role as, arguably, the central preoccupation in Bevan’s political project. The thesis argues that Bevan’s political thought was fundamentally shaped by his adherence to an orthodox Marxist understanding of social development that emphasised the centrality of the material base of society in determining its political and ideological structures. It highlights how this view was central to both his domestic and international political outlooks; notwithstanding Bevan’s reverence for the British Parliament and State. i Acknowledgements I have a number of people to thank for their support and advice during the writing of this thesis. I would firstly like to thank the staff at the National Library of Wales, the British Library and the Special Collections and Archives at Cardiff University for their help in collecting the articles and publications that are discussed in this research. I am also very grateful to Andrew Rosthorn for his help in sourcing the many issues of Tribune. I have been fortunate enough to receive support from many staff in the School of Law and Politics as well as the PGR community, and I am extremely appreciative of everybody who has offered feedback and comments on my work as a result of school presentations and more generally. My thanks go to Professor Roger Awan-Scully for his supporting of my academic development and I would like to thank Dr Huw Williams who has always been willing to chat and offer advice on my research, as well as offering encouragement and opportunities to present my work publicly. I am also grateful to Dr Ian Stafford in his role as my Annual Reviewer for his constructive and comprehensive feedback on drafts of a number of chapters. The PhD has coincided with my recently taking up a post as a lecturer here in the school and I would like to extend huge thanks to Dr Jonathan Kirkup for the advice and guidance he has given me. His help has made the transition between the two roles a great deal easier. I have also had the great pleasure of working at the Wales Governance Centre with immensely talented and supportive colleagues during my research. Working in the Pierhead and then 21 Park Place will hold many memories and I am grateful to have made lifelong friends. Special thanks must go to Greg Davies, Adam Evans, Steffan Evans, Aled Hughes, Guto Ifan, Rob Jones, Jac Larner, Laura McAllister, Rachel Minto, Luke Nicholas, Hedydd Phylip, Ed Poole, Huw Pritchard and Lleu Williams. The PhD would have been a much lonelier experience without their good humour, friendship and encouragement over the past four years. I would also like to thank my sisters Emma and Lucy for their constant support. It has been an eventful few years for the three of us, Lucy also going through PhD life in Denmark, while Emma has had her hands full raising little Arthur over the past year, who has brought a great amount of joy to all our lives. I am very proud of them both and grateful for all the encouragement they have provided me. ii I owe a huge amount to my partner Verity, whose love and kindness has been a constant source of strength. Verity has had to endure listening to me ramble on for the past four years about Aneurin Bevan, chapter structures and every other little detail about the PhD. I am extremely lucky to have met Verity within the first few months of starting my PhD and I owe her so much for the enthusiastic and passionate support she has given me and for her unwavering patience. I would like to express my sincere thanks to my supervisors Professor Richard Wyn Jones and Dr Peri Roberts. Their advice and supervision have been invaluable. When I was struggling with certain chapters or drafts, they would always be on hand to offer encouragement and guidance. It also helped enormously that they were almost always in agreement with each other! I feel very privileged to have had the opportunity to draw on their vast knowledge and expertise. The work that follows would not have been possible were it not for their constant encouragement and direction and I am extremely grateful for the commitment they have shown to me and my work. Finally, I dedicate this thesis to my mum and dad. I will never be able to thank you enough for the encouragement you have given me, not just over the past four years, but my entire life. You have been with me every step of this PhD journey and have always believed in me even when I have doubted myself. Your love and support has been a constant source of inspiration. This thesis would never have been possible if it wasn’t for you and the sacrifices you have made for me. I hope I have made you proud. iii Contents Chapter One: Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1 Aims ....................................................................................................................................... 6 Structure: Power as a Heuristic Device .................................................................................. 8 Chapter Overview ................................................................................................................ 11 Chapter Two: Literature Review ......................................................................................... 14 Biographies........................................................................................................................... 14 Labour Party Political Thought ............................................................................................ 32 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 52 Chapter Three: Economic Power ......................................................................................... 54 Capitalism and Class ............................................................................................................ 55 Historical Development........................................................................................................ 62 Working-class Strategy ........................................................................................................ 66 Democracy ........................................................................................................................... 69 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................................
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