'All political careers end in failure' - Enoch Powell
Well, David Cameron's certainly appears to have done. Whether or not Brexit proves a glorious release or the end of days the former Prime Minister gambled everything on an unnecessary referendum which he then contrived to lose. With only gay marriage in the definable 'achievements' column his premiership looks unlikely to win him a glowing legacy.
Legacy is terribly important to politicians; Tony Blair thought of little else. So I thought I'd try and rank the 'big beasts' of British political history according to their achievements and influence on succeeding generations at Westminster. For good or ill - note that this list is titled 'most influential' rather than 'greatest' and is by no means just a rundown of my personal political heroes - all the (sadly almost exclusively) men on this list have changed the tenor of British politics.
I am of course aware that, more than any of the lists published on this site, this one is manifestly pointless and foolhardy not to mention possibly meretricious. Firstly, as objective as I may try to be it necessarily reflects my own political prejudices as a supporter of the centre-left (I am pretty sure that Labour and Liberal politicians outnumber Conservative ones in this ranking). Secondly, any pre-20th MPs are likely to fare disproportionately badly since the influence of the immediately preceding generations is clearly going to be most marked on modern Parliamentary discourse (and it is difficult to effectively think yourself back to the era of the Napoleonic Wars). And thirdly, there is just the self-defeating madness of attempting to compare Pitt the Elder with Barbara Castle, Joseph Chamberlain with Tony Blair or even Harold Macmillan with Edward Heath. But, like many a career politician, I am fond of committing to projects with little or no chance of tangible success.
As a side-note, I have shied away from including MPs still on the front-line of British politics as it is too soon to assess how influential they may be. I have already mentioned Cameron, but, should Britain exit the European Union as predicted, then Nigel Farage will have a good claim to be included on such a list in the future. Equally, should Nicola Sturgeon's astonishingly successful leadership of the Scottish National Party continue she must be considered highly influential also. If Jeremy Corbyn proves to be the man to split the Labour Party then that too will be monumental. As for Theresa May, we will have to wait and see. These are strange times indeed.
40
Robert Walpole
Walpole was the first British politician to hold the posts of First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of the Commons - a distinction which marks him out as the country's first Prime Minister. He governed the nation for two decades, through a mixture of outright bribery and skilful avoidance of conflict which ushered in a Georgian golden age. A street-smart urban operator masquerading as a genial country squire Walpole's success ensured that the Prime Ministerial position became firmly established in political life.
39
Lord Salisbury
Sandwiched between the radical populism of Disraeli and the reforming whirlwinds of the Asquithian Liberals was over a decade of studied inactivity from the arch-Conservative premier Robert Cecil, Lord Salisbury. A deeply paranoid aristocrat fearful of working class revolt Salisbury did everything in his power to cut reform dead and maintain the elitist status quo. His masterstroke was to combine domestic inertia with jingoistic empire building thus preserving nationalistic pride in the midst of repression. Whilst this means that his concrete achievements are few his political legacy is the turning of reaction into an art-form.
38
R.A. Butler
A Tory even die-hard Labour supporters liked Butler reinvented
himself from a disgraced appeaser to progressive Conservative with typical
charm and irreverence. One of the few men to hold the positions of Home
Secretary, Foreign Secretary and Chancellor he famously missed out on the top
job three times, earning the soubriquet of The Greatest Prime Minister Who
Never Was. His 1944 Education Act revolutionised a staid, archaic school system
and his nationwide popularity was one of the key governmental assets during 13
years of Tory rule.
37
Viscount Castlereagh
The story of Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh is one of the
most tragic in Westminster history. Whilst a reactionary Tory at home he proved
to be a visionary Foreign Secretary, recognising the need for stability across
Europe in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars. To this end he set up the far-sighted
Congress system to ensure a balance of power on the continent that would
prevent such a punishing conflict ever happening again. The system was deeply
unpopular with the bellicose British public and vilification led
Castlereagh to commit suicide. The fact that, with the exception of a few minor
skirmishes, Europe was at peace until the First World War is testament to his
underrated brilliance.
36
Lord Melbourne
History regards the Whig governments of the 1830s as the apex of 19th century reforming zeal yet the Great Reform Act of 1832 pushed through under Earl Grey was in reality a sop to the upper middle class which enfranchised a mere 2% more of the population. Less showy but more substantial were the reforms enacted by his successor Lord Melbourne, favourite of the flirtatious young Queen Victoria. The Municipal Corporations Act levelled the local governmental playing field as well as improving sanitation and public health, whilst the Church of England were made accountable for their finances and there was increased toleration of religious dissenters. Melbourne may not have been the most charismatic or dynamic of politicians but his cool, common sense and moral compass helped to change the face of Victorian Britain.
35
Tony Crosland
The high priest of Labour revisionism, Crosland provided the theoretical meat to Hugh Gaitskell's impassioned rhetoric. Astutely observing that Capitalism had irrevocably changed since the post-war settlement of the Attlee government he laid out an alternative path for Labour ideology in his iconoclastic tract 'The Future of Socialism.' Calling for an end to the obsession with nationalisation Crosland argued that the true way to achieve Socialist utopia was now through equality and the enhancement of personal freedoms. His trailblazing philosophy ignited a debate within the Labour movement that still resounds to this day.
34
Eamon de Valera
Elected to Westminster in 1918 de Valera refused to take up his seat, instead becoming president of the Irish Dail and inflaming the tensions between Irish nationalists and the British government. The Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War both followed swiftly as de Valera and his disciples refused to brook any compromise in the establishment of an independent Ireland. De Valera was still in power when the Second World War broke out and shocked Allied opinion by ensuring the Irish Free State's neutrality. In 1948 the Republic of Ireland officially came into being. A divisive and single-minded individual there can be no doubting de Valera's contribution to the turmoil and drama of 20th century political history.
33
Edmund Burke
Better known as a political philosopher than the Member of Parliament for Malton, Burke personifies the tradition of Whiggism dominant in 18th century British politics. His philosophy prized gradual reform and adaptation over sudden, wholesale change and therefore he was a supporter of the American Revolution but a fierce critic of its French counterpart which he saw as needlessly iconoclastic and destructive. Whiggism may now seem horribly paternalistic and condescending but in the era of a limited franchise with the widespread assumption that the ruling classes had unique talents for governing, the theory that Burke propounded became very much the political orthodoxy.
32
Gordon Brown
Brown
may have been a hapless Prime Minister but he is included here for his groundbreaking work at the Treasury during the Blair ministries. Given virtual autonomy over economic policy and its social ramifications the Chancellor implemented a series of radical policies such as giving responsibility for setting interest rates over to the Bank of England, tightening public spending to eye wateringly frugal levels (before dramatically expanding it several years later), plus introducing a national minimum wage and a New Deal which got thousands back into work. His obfuscation over Europe also prevented Britain joining the Euro - a wise move in retrospect. Dominating the Treasury for a decade Brown deserves his place in political history as one of Britain's most ambitious and effective Chancellors.
31
Denis Healey
Few political figures are as inextricably bound up with the tribulations of their age as Denis Healey was with the catastrophes of the 1970s. As Chancellor he struggled manfully to bring down inflation through swingeing cuts and discourage industrial action through a carefully managed wages policy. That he largely succeeded was sadly not realised until his Prime Minister James Callaghan had already begged for a humiliating bailout from the International Monetary Fund. His rebuttal of Keynesian economic management made him a pariah to the hard left of the Labour party but history has judged him considerably more favourably, as a resourceful and dominant Chancellor.
30
Barbara Castle
There had been female cabinet ministers before Barbara Castle - Margaret Bondfield had been made Minister for Labour back in 1929 - but she was the first to match the standing of her male colleagues. Combative and uncompromising she introduced the breathalyser when Transport Secretary and became a reluctant feminist icon by campaigning with female machinists over equal pay at the Ford Dagenham plant. But it was 'In Place of Strife,' her white paper calling for greater union regulation, that really made her name. Provoking the ire of both union leaders and her fellow MPs the proposals were eventually shelved - but not before Castle had proved she had bigger metaphorical balls than the majority of her male colleagues.
29
William Wilberforce
The supreme example of a single issue politician Wilberforce, a committed evangelical Christian, campaigned for most of his political life for the abolition of slavery. Galvanising the abolitionist movement in the late 18th century he was integral to securing the 1807 Slave Trade Act, which outlawed the slave trade throughout the British empire. 26 years later slavery as a whole was made illegal throughout the empire and, although Wilberforce died shortly before the Bill passed into law, he had already been informed of its impending success. The abolition of slavery is the most noble piece of British political legislation and William Wilberforce was its driving force.
28
William Pitt, Earl of Chatham
As de facto Foreign Secretary during the middle years of the 18th century Pitt the Elder preached belligerence in global conflict with a view to ensuring Britain the maximum gains from the spoils of war. His masterstroke was subsidising foreign armies in Europe leaving the Royal Navy free to rampage around the world. After the 'three victories' of 1759 Britain could legitimately claim to possess a fully fledged empire - especially with the acquisition of Southern India. Without Pitt's determination and strategic thinking Britain's imperial dominance would have been severely compromised.
27
Keith Joseph
The haunted, intense Joseph was not the first Conservative politician to preach the virtues of a monetarist approach to the economy - Enoch Powell had done something very similar in the 1950s - but crucially he had the ear of his future Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Having been a dutiful consensus politician in Edward Heath's government Joseph sensationally disowned his economic beliefs in the mid-70s, arguing forcefully that only the shock of monetarist austerity could reset the British economy. He established the right wing think tank Centre for Policy Studies to galvanise opinion and his views dramatically entered the political mainstream when Thatcher became Prime Minister in 1979.
26
Hugh Gaitskell
New Labour starts here, kind of. The pioneering Socialism of the Attlee years was diluted under the leadership of Hugh Gaitskell who dared to suggest that the Labour Party should embrace aspiration and even fun. He battled (and failed) to overturn the sainted Clause 4 of the party constitution concerning nationalisation, although his anti-Common Market stance chimed more with Labour orthodoxy of the time. Seen as a dilettante by traditionalists like Nye Bevan Gaitskell's ideological shift instigated a seismic rift in the party, the ructions of which could still be felt after his sudden death in 1963.
25
Herbert Henry Asquith
Had it not been for the outbreak of World War I Asquith would be remembered as a highly capable man-manager in the Attlee mould. For six years he presided over a radical reforming Liberal government that introduced the People's Budget and did battle with the House of Lords, defending his freewheeling ministers with impeccable sang froid. Unfortunately that same aloofness was entirely unsuited to leading the nation in time of war and Lloyd George forced his way into power. Yet even after this personal fiasco many Liberals continued to regard him as the soul of the party.
24
Charles James Fox
High-living and elastic of principle Charles James Fox was one of the finest orators British politics has ever seen. His poetic flights of fancy came - generally - in defence of liberty and - specifically - in defence of the French Revolution which he regarded as the greatest event in the history of the world. Yet he was shameless in his pursuit of power, cynically allying with hated colleagues and playing on his popularity with the Prince Regent. Ultimately bested by Pitt the Younger he remains an effervescent testament to political passion and rhetorical power.
23
Joseph Chamberlain
A maverick at a time of Westminster lightweights Joe Chamberlain's political journey is only rivaled by Churchill. Starting out a Liberal radical and visionary Mayor of Birmingham he then split the Liberals over Irish home rule, birthing the Liberal Unionists. He subsequently took a post in the most reactionary Tory government of the 19th century, setting himself up as an arch-imperialist. His vigorous support for protectionism then split the Conservatives at the onset of the 20th century. As Churchill later stated, Chamberlain really did make the political weather.
22
Stanley Baldwin
The consummate master of inter-war consensus politics Baldwin's brilliance lay not in daring reform but carefully managed preservation of the status quo. He projected the image of the quintessential English gent so adroitly that he can be considered a pioneer of political image manipulation, and there is no doubt that his emollient persona helped diffuse the tensions of the 1926 General Strike. Yet he could unleash righteous fury and withering disdain with the same aplomb whenever he felt his Little England being threatened.
21
William Pitt the Younger
When Pitt the Elder's son took the reins of government at just 24 years of age most seasoned Parliamentarians reckoned he would fall within weeks. He remained Prime Minister for the next 18 years - embracing Capitalism and free trade, strengthening the country against potential revolution and engaging in melodramatic spats with his bitter rival Charles James Fox. Cold, clinical and frighteningly self-assured Pitt the Younger was one of the few true titans of 18th century Westminster.
20
Stafford Cripps
A scarily intense Christian Marxist Stafford Cripps embodied the crusading zeal of the Attlee government more completely than anyone. His defining achievement was ruling the Treasury with an iron fist at a time when post-war austerity had precipitated a catastrophic economic crisis. Through a controversial combination of high taxes and supreme national belt-tightening he succeeded in stabilising sterling and effectively rescued the country from financial ruin, marking himself out as a new breed of Chancellor in the process.
19
Harold Macmillan
Now routinely dismissed as a fusty relic from the amateurish patrician elites of the 1950s Harold Macmillan was actually considerably more complex than that. Both a radical who dismantled the British empire at dizzying speed and a reactionary preserver of the class system and entrenched privilege he portrayed himself as a genial old duffer whilst intriguing with a steely ruthlessness.
18
Viscount Palmerston
His name synonymous with the buccaneering spirit of high Victorian foreign policy Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston was a personality politician of the highest order. The first minister to actively seek the approval of the common man his reckless military brinkmanship and refreshing lack of self-censorship made him the most popular British politician of the 19th century. When contemporary observers become misty eyed for the age when 'Britain ruled the waves' it is the irrepressible chutzpah of Palmerston that they are invoking.
17
Edward Heath
Whilst much of his ministry was mired in the economic malaise of 1970s Britain, Ted Heath had a nation changing achievement to his name. By finally gaining the country access to the European Common Market the lifelong Europhile completely altered the nature of Parliamentary democracy and British sovereignty. EU membership unleashed a torrent of treaties and regulations as well as trading and employment opportunities - not to mention open hostility from both politicians and public alike. In the wake of Brexit it will be interesting to see whether Heath's reputation is enhanced or diminished.
16
Tony Benn
Having campaigned for legislation to allow him to relinquish his aristocratic title Tony Benn then positioned himself on the ultra-left of the Labour Party. The 'Bennite Rebellion,' with its calls for workers' collectives, a siege economy and the primacy of party members in formulating policy, aimed to refocus the firm Socialist pedigree of the party's founding fathers. Benn's defeat to Neil Kinnock in the 1988 party leadership election saw his immediate threat neutered, but he continued to be a vehement and indignant presence on the backbenches.
15
Enoch Powell
As long as immigration remains such an emotive issue the eloquent yet alarming nationalism of Enoch Powell will remain worryingly relevant. A haunted, intense Tory rebel whose commitment to his beliefs comprehensively scotched his chances of leadership, his unerring ability to speak to the public's darkest fears and prejudices - on economic as well as racial issues - remain unique in modern British politics, despite numerous high profile imitators.
14
Aneurin Bevan
In many minds Nye Bevan is indivisable from the National Health Service, the crowning glory of the Welfare State, which the Welsh firebrand forced through with an inspired combination of bullying and flattery. But this electrifying speaker and die-hard Socialist was also largely responsible for the rift between the hard left and centre right which has bedeviled the Labour Party ever since. Unsurprisingly, his passion and principle have been much mythologised amongst the Labour faithful.
13
Neil Kinnock
It may appear contrary to lionise an opposition leader who lost two general elections but the 'Welsh Windbag''s achievements were longer term. His heroic vanquishing of Militant from party ranks and his efforts to modernise a floundering party machine paved the way for the New Labour surge of the mid-90s and resuscitated the very concept of effective opposition and potential electability. Had Thatcher still been in power come the 1992 election it is likely that Kinnock would have become Prime Minister - just one of many 'what ifs?' that make British political history so fascinating.
12
Harold Wilson
After the unexpected demise of Hugh Gaitskell it fell to the former Bevanite Harold Wilson to attempt to unite a warring party and win power back for Labour. He did so through brilliantly harnessing the anti-elitism of the age to secure a mandate for meritocracy, progressive youth and the 'white heat' of technology. A wily operator and inveterate intriguer Wilson's tenure radically altered the ethos of government and inculcated the Social Democratic principle into Labour doctrine.
11
Benjamin Disraeli
By his own admission a Machiavellian careerist Disraeli dreamed up the concept of One Nation Conservatism, that evergreen concept rich in paternalistic overtones designed to appeal to working class voters. Yet in fairness to the novelist Prime Minister his 1867 reform act broadened the electoral franchise even more dramatically than Gladstone's Liberals would have done. Indeed, many of his policies seemed crafted purely to pull the rug from under the feet of his great rival - a situation which resulted in him becoming arguably the most left leaning Tory leader in history.
10
Winston Churchill
Every schoolchild knows of Winston Spencer Churchill's fundamental importance to the British nation. His prescience in recognising the potency of the Nazi threat and his role as charismatic figurehead of a country with its back to the wall were undoubtedly vital attributes in the extreme circumstances of total war. Yet his second spell at Number 10 was generally lethargic and complacently nostalgic. His great reforming triumphs came alongside Lloyd George in the incredible pre-war Liberal government, before jingoism and paranoia of Socialism really took hold.
9
Keir Hardie
At its inception the Labour Party was a rag-bag of trade unionists, working class MPs on a Liberal ticket, professional agitators and genteel progressives. By sheer force of personality and native Scottish savvy Keir Hardie pulled them all together and fashioned them into a coherent and credible political party. He was outspoken on poverty and redistribution of wealth and famously flouted the dress code of the House by attending in his deerstalker hat. Yet he was canny enough to distance himself from incipient Bolshevism and to form useful alliances to aid party survival. Without his guidance it is unlikely that the party of the people could have broken the Conservative-Liberal duopoly of the early 20th century.
8
Robert Peel
If Robert Peel is know for anything these days it is probably for his role in the creation of the Metropolitan Police Force (known as 'Peelers'), a notable achievement to be sure but one of many in a formidable career. Peel is the man who devised the Conservative Party then furiously walked away from it. His rebranding of the hard-line, reactionary Tories as the more malleable, adaptable Conservatives ensured the party's survival by appealing to the (marginally) wider franchise created by the 1832 reform act. As party leader and later Prime Minister he appeared to personify the resounding Tory trait of pragmatic political bed-hopping until he discovered the one issue he was unprepared to back down on. His determination to repeal the antiquated corn laws went to the heart of landed privilege and the class based iniquities of protectionism. Peel won the day but his subsequent defection was instrumental in the formation of the Liberals several years later.
7
Roy Jenkins
The urbane, cultured Jenkins bestrode Westminster - and, indeed, Brussels - like a colossus. As Home Secretary under Harold Wilson he forced through bills legalising homosexuality and abortion as well as the relaxation of divorce laws and theatrical censorship - all in the teeth of fierce public opposition. A passionate Europhile he returned to Westminster after a spell as European Commissioner to split the Labour Party and create the centrist Social Democratic Party (SDP). His brand of ideological moderation morphed, after alliance with the ailing Liberals, into the Liberal Democrats and was highly influential in the forging of New Labour. And alongside all these Parliamentary achievements he also found time to pen a selection of erudite and highly informed political biographies.
6
Tony Blair
Blair is now so tainted by the farrago of Iraq that it is hard to remember just what a breath of fresh air he appeared as he glided into power on the back of an election victory that felt more like a coronation. Arrogant enough to believe his New Labour could represent the entire nation yet charismatic enough to nearly pull it off, Blair presided over a Presidential premiership of spin, soundbites and sofa government yet actually achieved a hell of a lot. Welsh and Scottish devolution, Lords reform, the Good Friday Agreement on Northern Ireland and - in tandem with Gordon Brown - a national minimum wage and financial fillips to the NHS all entered the statute books on his watch. Yet it is the style of government that Blair is most remembered for rather than the substance: the appropriation of Thatcherite doctrine, the unseemly courting of big business (and the press) and, perhaps most damningly of all after Iraq, the sense that the public were being played and lied to. Yet ultimately - and much like his advocate Margaret Thatcher - whether you love him or hate him there is no denying the all-pervasive nature of his political influence.
5
Ernest Bevin
Churchill's oratorical defiance may have inspired the nation during World War 2 but it was chiefly the remarkably productive policies of the monolithic Ernest Bevin that translated that inspiration into action. At the Ministry of Labour Bevin mobilised millions for the war effort, whilst simultaneously co-ordinating numerous freshly created government departments. This immense self-assurance was all the more astonishing when you consider that he had never even been an MP before being parachuted into the war cabinet. His background in the trade union movement prepared him for top level negotiation, a skill used to the fore in his position as Foreign Secretary in Attlee's ministry where he originated the concept of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).
4
William Ewart Gladstone
The Grand Old Man of Liberal politics enshrined a libertarian doctrine that exposed earlier 19th century reform for the paternalistic sham it so often was. By tempering his more enlightened policies with a stiff dose of self-help he emphasised the individual freedoms attainable to the common man. Thus implicit in his 1870 Education Act - which provided free schooling for all 5-13 year olds - was a commitment to self improvement through learning whilst his obsession with Irish home rule stemmed from a heartfelt belief in the benefits of self-government. In addition to this enduring ideological legacy his verbal sparring with the equally formidable Benjamin Disraeli elevated the adversarial nature of Parliamentary debate to new heights, whilst his rigour at the Treasury transformed the role of Chancellor to one of the key offices of government.
3
Clement Attlee
The inviolability of Attlee's legacy is testament to the quaintly British virtues of hard work, equanimity and understated yet razor sharp management skills. As deputy to Churchill during the wartime coalition he balanced his boss' inspirational yet abstract rhetoric with calm, practical good sense, quietly preparing the nation for its first - and some would say only - truly Socialist government. In power he harnessed the dynamic power of a collection of brilliant yet egocentric individuals to deliver a fully functioning Welfare State in an era of crippling austerity. The unfussiest of conviction politicians he was the punctilious service-class clerk par excellence.
2
Margaret Thatcher
Monetarism. The Falklands War. Deregulation of the City of London. The Miners' Strike. Privatization. The Poll Tax. From her historic crowning as the nation's first female Prime Minister to the Jacobean drama of her overthrow the Iron Lady's tenure in Number 10 played out like a gaudy 80s soap opera in which she was utterly dominant. Her devastating neo-liberal break with the post-war consensus fundamentally altered the fabric of British society; to the joy of the affluent South and despair of the industrial North. She attacked the twin totems of working class and civic pride (trade unions, local government) with a determination that bordered on zealotry, all in an effort to shrink the size of the state to unprecedented levels. On a more existential note she instigated a debate about the virtues and vices of untrammelled Capitalism and libertarianism that still resounds today. Warrior queen for many, heartless witch for many others we are all still shaped by the decisions of her iconic ministries.
1
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George is the template for the modern, reforming political leader. A matchless orator he was the first politician to galvanise the anger and frustration of the masses as Britain lay on the threshold of democracy, whilst his revolutionary policies on pensions and social insurance laid the groundwork for the Welfare State. The iconoclasm he demonstrated in taking on both the House of Lords and the idle rich was equalled only by the cyclonic energy he employed to push through his hugely ambitious legislation. He may have been a narcissistic demagogue but only a public figure with such titanic self-belief could have turned around Britain's hitherto lackadaisical war effort, which he did almost single-handedly. Even his subsequent descent into squalid corruption foreshadows the myriad tawdry scandals of later MPs. A political life lived to the fullest, his is the yardstick which all Westminster careers should be measured against.
