NATIONAL LEADERS: The Rt. Hon. C. R. Attlee

New Zealand Listener, Volume 3, Issue 65, 20 September 1940, Page 4

NATIONAL LEADERS: The Rt. Hon. C. R. Attlee

HE Right Hon. Clement Attlee, Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the British Labour Party in succession to George Lansbury, comes Of a family of soldiers. He served on Gallipoli, in Mesopotamia and in France during the last war, winning the D.S.O. and reaching the rank of Major. Clement Attlee began his career as a lawyer. He was educated at Haileybury, ene of England’s famous Public Schools, and then went on to Oxford University. He was called to the Bar, went to work at Toynbee Hall, and from there graduated into local government in the East End of London. And there he met and worked with the Webbs, which was really the beginning of his Labour Party activities. In 1922 Clement Attlee won his first seat in Parliament. Two years later he was Under-Secretary of the War Office; in 1929 he became Postmaster-General. After the 1931 elections Attlee was one of the small band of Labour members who retained their seats, and he became Deputy-Leader of the Party. For years famous people have been predicting fame for this shy, sharp, nervous man. Most people think that he is cold and stand-offish, but those who know him speak of his warmth and understanding. Lord Cecil of Chelwood said of him: "There is in Attlee a Campbell Bannerman." Arthur Henderson always spoke of Attlee’s "large hidden re-

serves." Now, at 57, he has the most responsible post of his career. His keen and caustic wit has made him rather feared by opponents, and at times, when he uses both to the best advantage, men of all parties have sensed the fire underneath. But that fire has never broken through the disciplined speech and conduct of this man who has led the Labour Party so quietly but so capably.