Newsnight on Attlee
BBC2 Newsnight marked the 70th anniversary of Univ Old Member Clement Attlee鈥檚 election on 6 July.
Newsnight celebrated the 70th anniversary of Univ Old Member聽Clement Attlee鈥檚 (1901, Modern History) election as Prime Minister of Great Britain (1945-51), exploring the legacy of both Attlee and聽William Beveridge, former Master of Univ. The hosts compared Labour鈥檚 unprecedented victory in 1945 with their comparative defeat in the 2015 election.
The programme also traced the old Univites’ contributions to the formation of Britain’s Welfare State and the relevance of their achievements in today’s government.
Clement Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS, graduated from Univ in 1904 with a degree in Modern History and went on to serve Winston Churchill in the wartime coalition government, before leading Labour to their outstanding victory in 1945.
Lord Beveridge, 1st Baron Beveridge, KCB, was a former Master of Univ (1937-44) who later assisted Attlee鈥檚 ministerial approach with published works such as聽Unemployment: A Problem of Industry听(1909),听Planning Under Socialism聽(1936),听Full Employment in a Free Society聽(1944),听Pillars of Security听(1943),听Power and Influence聽(1953) and聽A Defence of Free Learning听(1959).