Aneurin Bevan was the Labour Party leader widely credited with being the father of the modern national health care system in the UK. Born in Tredegar, Bevan worked his way from a humble beginning to be an influential government official and all-around firebrand. Throughout his life, he held a variety of posts, including Minister of Health, Labour Party MP for Ebbw Vale, Shadow Foreign Secretary, and shortly before his death, Deputy Leader.
Bevan overcame a childhood speech impediment to become an influential and entertaining speaker of great wit and power. His presentations were lively and well-attended and he is well known for his sharp wit.
He became a lightning rod for the left opposition due to his strong personal and political rhetoric, including this opinion of the Tories:
That is why no amount of cajolery, and no attempts at ethical or social seduction, can eradicate from my heart a deep burning hatred for the Tory Party that inflicted those bitter experiences on me. So far as I am concerned they are lower than vermin.
His powerful and clever political leadership was crucial to the development of the National Health Service, which faced stiff resistance from the medical establishment.
Through a combination of cajolery, political maneuvers and outright bribery, Bevan was able to institute the first comprehensive medical coverage system in the UK, which still exists today. In 1948, Bevan announced that the newly formed agency gave the UK the “moral leadership of the world”.