ABSTRACT
Bevan never gained the really big offices of state and, indeed, would probably have been temperamentally unsuited to being Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer or Foreign Secretary. Nevertheless, he was an excellent Minister of Health and Housing and a more than passable Minister of Labour. His precise political leanings have been the subject of controversy however, with Michael Foot emphasizing Bevan’s traditional Labour credentials and John Campbell referring to Bevan’s Communist/Marxist roots. Nevertheless, Bevan s great claim to fame is that he created the NHS, which stemmed more from his own ideas than those of William Beveridge and the wartime social reformers. Also, according to Harold Macmillan in his television discussion of the past political masters and politicians, Bevan ranked alongside Lloyd George and Churchill as one o f the great parliamentary orators of his generation, using his famous stutter to great effect. His speaking ability might well have passed from the popular memory but his main legacy, the NHS, is still with us.
