Description
Labour Party Secretary, Socialist International Chairman
by Morgan Phillips
Born in 1902 to a Welsh coalmining family, Morgan Phillips worked his way up within the Labour Party in Britain to become General Secretary. Nine months after his appointment, the Party won the 1945 General Election and formed its first ever majority government.
Six years of government were followed by a tumultuous decade in opposition. As Richard Crossman saw it, ‘the Labour Party would have disintegrated during the years of dissension that followed Aneurin Bevan’s resignation without the presence of Morgan Phillops in Transport House’.
Morgan Phillips’ autobiography, published for the first time, describes the highs and the lows of the post-war Labour Party and his dealings not just with Nye Bevan but also with Clement Atlee, Herbert Morrison, Ernest Bevin and other leading figures of the movement. It also records his unique role in rebuilding the Socialist International, an organisation of which he became the first Chairman in 1951.
This posthumous publication will ensure that Morgan Phillips’ contribution to the Labour Party and to democratic socialism will always be remembered.
Published by Spokesman for Labour Heritage
