Nye: The Political Life of Aneurin Bevan

By Nicklaus Thomas-Symonds
IB Tauris, 336pp, £25.00
ISBN 9781780762098
Published 19 November 2014

The author

A barrister-at-law at Civitas and lecturer in politics at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, Nicklaus Thomas-Symonds was, he says, “a determined child”.

“My drive comes from my father. If you ask him to do something, he always does it immediately. My mother is a very caring person, so the combination of the two - my father’s approach to “getting things done” and my mother’s compassion - make me a socialist, interested in the lives and minds of great socialist politicians and what they have achieved.”

He hails from the South Wales mining town of Blaenavon. “My grandfather was a miner, and my father worked in Llanwern steelworks for the best part of 40 years. 

“My whole approach to being a Labour Party activist in my local area comes from this background. Those who worked in the industries of the South Wales valleys of the past were reliant on each other: in the mines, one person’s life often depended on the next one. This has forged an incredibly strong sense of community of which I am very proud to be a part, and has given me a sense that we achieve more working together than we do on our own.”

He lives in Abersychan, “three miles from where I was brought up. I am married to Rebecca and we have two beautiful daughters: Matilda, 5, and Florence, 2. Both are fans of the Disney film, Frozen, so I am subjected to watching it repeatedly. We also have a border collie, Ellie.”

Thomas-Symonds studied politics, philosophy and economics at the University of Oxford. He observes that “whilst Oxford – rightly – seeks excellence, it is also doing great work to encourage students with a state school background to apply. As someone who has been involved in admissions, and in outreach work, over many years, this is often a problem of perception, of young people feeling ‘Oxbridge is not for me’. 

“Changing this perception, and encouraging even more talented people to apply, is totally compatible with Oxford’s ‘brightest and best’ policy.  I was delighted to play a small part in the excellent Oxbridge Ambassador for Wales project carried out by my local MP in Torfaen, Paul Murphy, the recommendations for which include the establishment of regional hubs in which groups of state schools can share experiences and support in the Oxbridge admissions process, which I have no doubt will have a positive impact, too.

His own undergraduate days were, he says, “Happy! I worked hard and also got to know a wide variety of people. In fact, I liked it so much, I have yet to leave!”

Aged just 21, he became a lecturer at Oxford. “I actually – once – taught someone I had lived with in my second year. He had taken a year out, and I taught him for a revision class. However, he dealt with it well and all was fine! I was – obviously – concerned about teaching successfully when I started, but the ability and maturity of the students made it easy for me.”

Thomas-Symonds’ Bevan study follows his 2010 book Attlee: A Life in Politics. “Being on the left politically draws me to inspirational progressive figures. I enjoy debating with those on the right, but would be less keen on a full book on a right-wing figure: if you spend a few years of your life on a biographical subject, being broadly sympathetic to their aims and values makes it a more enjoyable experience. I would like to write a biography of Harold Wilson. I am fascinated by how his governments grappled with the social changes of the 1960s and the economic challenges of the 1970s.”

What role did bravery and personal integrity play in Attlee’s and Bevan’s accomplishments? Did they do good things because they were good and brave men? 

“They did achieve great things because they were good and brave men, but for other reasons, too. Bevan was a man of conviction, but also a very talented user of power as a Cabinet minister, particularly in his lengthy negotiations with the British Medical Association which enabled the NHS to come into existence. As prime minister Attlee had a unique talent to hold together a highly talented - but also argumentative! - group of Cabinet colleagues: in short, to bring the best out of other great men.”

On the subject of politicians’ qualities, the Welsh MP Owen Smith has said that David Cameron is “unfit to lace the boots” of Aneurin Bevan. What about Tony Blair?

Thomas-Symonds responds: “David Cameron has attacked the most vulnerable in our society with the ‘bedroom tax’; his government has left hundreds of thousands of people relying on food banks; he has undermined the principles of Bevan’s NHS in England with his Health and Social Care Act 2012: Owen Smith MP was entirely right to say he is unfit to lace Nye Bevan’s boots. 

“As to what Bevan would have thought of Tony Blair: I wouldn’t try to argue that he would agree with everything, but I think it has to be remembered that Bevan was a man of idealism and pragmatism. He would have had great admiration for the National Minimum Wage Act 1998, and welcomed the Blair government’s substantial investment in the National Health Service, transforming it from the state in was left in by the Tories in 1997. Bevan was, above all, a man of power, and using power for improving people’s lives. He would have admired Blair’s three general election victories. He would not have been in any doubt that the real enemy was the Tories, and respected Blair’s political skill in regularly defeating them.”

Was he ever tempted to choose an area of law more traditionally associated with progressive politics and activism, such as labour law or human rights law? 
“I have chosen to live in my home area of Torfaen, and to commute to Cardiff to practise law. That inevitably restricts the areas of law I can specialise in compared to say, London, but I have never been tempted to move away from the Eastern Valley, to practise other areas of law, or for other reasons. Anyway, in my view all areas of the law need people with a social conscience and progressive politics.” 

Leaving aside the huge amount of work that monographs of this kind must represent, and work as a Labour Party activist, is it difficult to combine working as a barrister in Cardiff with lecturing in Oxford - be it in terms of time, travel or focus?

“Barristers are self-employed, so that gives me the flexibility to do other things. It’s important to use all your time efficiently. Having a very supportive partner is also crucial, My oldest daughter, Matilda, was born when I was writing my first book; my second daughter, Florence, was born when I was writing the second. Writing after sleepless nights was particularly challenging,” he admits.

As a Labour Party activist, what is Thomas-Symonds’ response to those on the left who see pro-business, pro-privatisation, union-unfriendly leanings in the party’s policies and actions, and who believe it no longer stands up for justice and the rights and concerns of working men and women?

“Having gone to Oxford and become a barrister myself from a working-class background, I am very passionate about social mobility, and aspiration. The Labour Party is – rightly – pro-business, but I don’t accept that it is ‘pro-privatisation” and ‘union-unfriendly’. The unions are an essential part of the Labour movement, and always have been. The Labour Party has always been a broad coalition of those committed to social justice, from 1900 when the Labour Representation Committee was formed by trade unionists together with representatives of socialist societies. The Labour Party has always been tolerant of difference and debate, and it is important to have all parts of the party represented in the Parliamentary Labour Party. 

He concludes: “I do not believe there is ever great social progress without Labour governments. Just as next May, only one of two people will become Prime Minister: David Cameron or Ed Miliband. Of those two, only Ed Miliband can deliver social justice, and improvements in the lives of working men and women.

What gives him hope? “Last week I was guest speaker at my old school’s prize evening in Pontypool. I was delighted to see that two pupils had won Oxbridge places. The talent of people in my local area gives me great hope and optimism for the future.”

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Karen Shook