Herbert Morrison

Herbert Stanley Morrison, Baron Morrison of Lambeth, CH, PC (3 January 1888 – 6 March 1965) was a British politician who held a variety of senior positions in the Cabinet as a member of the Labour Party. During the inter-war period, he was Minister of Transport during the Second MacDonald ministry, then after losing his parliamentary seat in the 1931 general election, he became Leader of the London County Council in the 1930s. After returning to the Commons, he was defeated by Clement Attlee in the 1935 Labour Party leadership election but later acted as Home Secretary in the wartime coalition.

Quick Facts Leader of the Opposition, Monarch ...

The Right Honourable The Lord Morrison of Lambeth CH PC
Morrison in 1947
Leader of the Opposition
In office 25 November 1955 – 14 December 1955
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Anthony Eden
Preceded by	Clement Attlee
Succeeded by	Hugh Gaitskell
Foreign Secretary
In office 9 March 1951 – 26 October 1951
Prime Minister	Clement Attlee
Preceded by	Ernest Bevin
Succeeded by	Anthony Eden
Lord President of the Council
In office 26 July 1945 – 9 March 1951
Prime Minister	Clement Attlee
Preceded by	The Lord Woolton
Succeeded by	The Viscount Addison
Leader of the House of Commons
In office 26 July 1945 – 16 March 1951
Prime Minister	Clement Attlee
Preceded by	Anthony Eden
Succeeded by	James Chuter Ede
Deputy Leader of the Labour Party
In office 25 May 1945 – 2 February 1956
Leader	Clement Attlee
Preceded by	Arthur Greenwood
Succeeded by	Jim Griffiths
Home Secretary Minister of Home Security
In office 4 October 1940 – 23 May 1945
Prime Minister	Winston Churchill
Preceded by	John Anderson
Succeeded by	Donald Somervell
Minister of Supply
In office 12 May 1940 – 4 October 1940
Prime Minister	Winston Churchill
Preceded by	Leslie Burgin
Succeeded by	Andrew Rae Duncan
Leader of the London County Council
In office 9 March 1934 – 27 May 1940
Preceded by	William Ray
Succeeded by	Charles Latham
Minister of Transport
In office 7 June 1929 – 24 August 1931
Prime Minister	Ramsay MacDonald
Preceded by	Wilfrid Ashley
Succeeded by	John Pybus
Parliamentary offices Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal Life peerage 2 November 1959 – 6 March 1965 Member of Parliament for Lewisham South Lewisham East (1945–1950) In office 5 July 1945 – 18 September 1959 Preceded by Sir Assheton Pownall Succeeded by Carol Johnson Member of Parliament for Hackney South In office 14 November 1935 – 15 June 1945 Preceded by Marjorie Graves Succeeded by Herbert William Butler In office 30 May 1929 – 7 October 1931 Preceded by George Garro-Jones Succeeded by Marjorie Graves In office 6 December 1923 – 9 October 1924 Preceded by Clifford Erskine-Bolst Succeeded by George Garro-Jones
Personal details
Born	Herbert Stanley Morrison (1888-01-03)3 January 1888 London, England
Died	6 March 1965(1965-03-06) (aged 77) London, England
Political party	Labour
Spouses	Margaret Kent ​ ​ (m. 1919; died 1953)​ Edith Meadowcroft ​ (m. 1955)​
Children	1
Relatives	Peter Mandelson (grandson)

Close

Morrison organised Labour's victorious 1945 election campaign, and was appointed Leader of the House of Commons and acted as Attlee's deputy in the Attlee ministry of 1945–51. Attlee, Morrison, Ernest Bevin, Stafford Cripps, and initially Hugh Dalton formed the "Big Five" who dominated those governments. Morrison oversaw Labour's nationalisation programme, although he opposed Aneurin Bevan's proposals for a nationalised hospital service as part of the setting up of the National Health Service. Morrison developed his social views from his work in local politics and always emphasised the importance of public works to deal with unemployment. In the final year of Attlee's premiership, Morrison had an unhappy term as Foreign Secretary. He was hailed as "Lord Festival" for his successful leadership of the Festival of Britain, a critical and popular success in 1951 that attracted millions of visitors to fun-filled educational exhibits and events in London and across the country.

Morrison was widely expected to succeed Attlee as Labour leader but Attlee, who disliked him, postponed stepping down until 1955. Morrison, who was by then nearing 70 and considered too old, came a poor third in the 1955 Labour Party leadership election.^[1]