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The Diaries of Richard Crossman #4
The Backbench Diaries of Richard Crossman
British politics from October 1951 to December 1964 as experienced by a Labour MP.
1136 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 1981
About the author
Richard Crossman
58 books9 followersRichard Howard Stafford Crossman, OBE, sometimes published as R.H.S. Crossman, was an English academic and British Labour Party politician. A university classics lecturer by profession, he was elected a Member of Parliament in 1945 and became a significant figure among the party's advocates of Zionism. He was a Bevanite on the left of the party, and a long-serving member of Labour's National Executive Committee (NEC) from 1952.
Crossman was a Cabinet minister in Harold Wilson's governments of 1964–1970, first for Housing, then as Leader of the House of Commons, and then for Social Services. In the early 1970s Crossman was editor of the New Statesman. He is remembered for his highly revealing three-volume Diaries of a Cabinet Minister, published posthumously.
Crossman was a Cabinet minister in Harold Wilson's governments of 1964–1970, first for Housing, then as Leader of the House of Commons, and then for Social Services. In the early 1970s Crossman was editor of the New Statesman. He is remembered for his highly revealing three-volume Diaries of a Cabinet Minister, published posthumously.
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November 24, 2014
I can only repeat my review of the first volume of the Diaries. This is a much more sketchy picture of the Labour party in the 1950s and 1960s but it is an essential preface to an understanding of the dynamics and politics of Harold Wilson's governments from 1964 to 1970
The diaries are a fascinating account of government in the 1960s seen through the eyes of an melange of academic and politician who could and did contradict himself on successive pages. It says such much for Crossman's integrity as a diarist that he did not self correct but allowed the reactions of the day to stand. For those of us who recall the 1960s, they provide an insight into both politics and government; indeed set against the dilution of government discipline in the Blair regime, the governance of Harold Wilson and his cabinet seems a model of integrity and collective sense; which it dd not seem to be at the time. The diaries are beautifully written and for me an essential companion to 1960s politics.
The diaries are a fascinating account of government in the 1960s seen through the eyes of an melange of academic and politician who could and did contradict himself on successive pages. It says such much for Crossman's integrity as a diarist that he did not self correct but allowed the reactions of the day to stand. For those of us who recall the 1960s, they provide an insight into both politics and government; indeed set against the dilution of government discipline in the Blair regime, the governance of Harold Wilson and his cabinet seems a model of integrity and collective sense; which it dd not seem to be at the time. The diaries are beautifully written and for me an essential companion to 1960s politics.
Displaying 1 of 1 review