AN interesting letter from Myra Gartshore (September 29) brought back memories of the Labour Party under Clement Attlee taking power in 1945. That was when the Labour Party lived up to its origins.
With Britain bankrupt after the war, its managed to build one and a half million council homes with toilets, bathrooms and gardens. Then there came the NHS, which was created by Nye Bevan in spite of fierce opposition from the Tories. To accomplish this task he said that in the end he had to force money down the doctor's throats to get them to comply.
Although lacking charisma, Mr Atlee orchestrated his ability to combine the talents of his diverse ministers in producing possibly the best government since the 1930s. In later life he defended himself with a little poem:
Few thought he was even a starter.
Some thought themselves much smarter.
But he finished PM, CH and OM.
An Earl and a Knight of the Garter.
Wilf O'Malley,
11 Delnies Road, Inverness.
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