Arthur Greenwood

For the U.S. congressional representative from Indiana, see Arthur H. Greenwood.
The Right Honourable
Arthur Greenwood
CHPC
Paymaster General
In office
9 July 1946  5 March 1947
Prime Minister Clement Attlee
Preceded by Frederick Lindemann
Succeeded by Hilary Marquand
Lord Privy Seal
In office
27 July 1945  17 April 1947
Prime Minister Clement Attlee
Preceded by Max Aitken
Succeeded by Philip Inman
Minister without Portfolio
In office
17 April 1947  29 September 1947
Prime Minister Clement Attlee
Preceded by A. V. Alexander
Succeeded by Geoffrey FitzClarence
In office
11 May 1940  22 February 1942
Prime Minister Winston Churchill
Preceded by Maurice Hankey
Succeeded by William Jowitt
Leader of the Opposition
In office
February 1942  23 May 1945
Prime Minister Winston Churchill
Preceded by Frederick Pethick-Lawrence
Succeeded by Clement Attlee
Deputy Leader of the Labour Party
In office
26 November 1935  25 May 1945
Leader Clement Attlee
Preceded by Clement Attlee
Succeeded by Herbert Morrison
Minister of Health
In office
7 June 1929  24 August 1931
Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald
Preceded by Neville Chamberlain
Succeeded by Neville Chamberlain
Member of Parliament
for Wakefield
In office
21 April 1932  9 June 1954
Preceded by George Brown Hillman
Succeeded by Arthur Creech Jones
Member of Parliament
for Nelson and Colne
In office
15 November 1922  27 October 1931
Preceded by Robinson Graham
Succeeded by Linton Thorpe
Personal details
Born 8 February 1880 (1880-02-08)
Died 9 June 1954 (1954-06-10)
Nationality British
Political party Labour

Arthur Greenwood CH PC (8 February 1880 9 June 1954) was a British politician. A prominent member of the Labour Party from the 1920s until the late 1940s, Greenwood rose to prominence within the party as secretary of its research department from 1920 and served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health in the short-lived Labour government of 1924. In 1940, he was instrumental in resolving that Britain would continue fighting Nazi Germany in World War II. He was also noted for problems with alcoholism.[1]

Greenwood was first elected to the House of Commons at the 1922 general election for the constituency of Nelson and Colne in Lancashire. He held the seat until being defeated at the 1931 election, but returned to Parliament the following year, winning a by-election in the Yorkshire constituency of Wakefield. Greenwood continued to represent Wakefield until his death in 1954.

Greenwood became Deputy Leader of the Labour Party under Clement Attlee. Arguably his most famous moment came on 2 September 1939 when, acting for an absent Attlee, he was called to respond to Neville Chamberlain's ambivalent speech on whether Britain would aid Poland. Preparing to respond, he was interrupted by an angry Conservative backbencher, Leo Amery, who exclaimed "Speak for England, Arthur!"[2]

A flustered Greenwood proceeded to denounce Chamberlain's remarks, to the applause of his colleagues. When the wartime coalition government was formed, Winston Churchill appointed him to the War Cabinet as Minister without Portfolio in 1940. He was generally seen as ineffectual, but in May 1940 he emerged as Churchill's strongest and most vocal supporter in the lengthy War Cabinet debates on whether to accept or reject a peace offer from Germany.[3] Without the vote in favour of fighting on by Greenwood and Clement Attlee, Churchill would not have had the slim majority he needed to do so.[4]

After that his position declined and he resigned in 1943. The same year, he was elected as Treasurer of the Labour Party, beating Herbert Morrison in a close contest.[5]

Until the end of World War II, Greenwood also performed the function of Leader of the Opposition, though he did not receive the salary.

During the Attlee government, he served successively as Lord Privy Seal and Paymaster-General.

Greenwood was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium on 14 June 1954. His ashes and memorial lie in Bay 17 of the East Boundary Wall.[6]

Family

Greenwood's son Anthony Greenwood (later Lord Greenwood) (19111982) was an MP from 1946 until 1970, first for Heywood and Radcliffe and later for Rossendale, and a member of Harold Wilson's governments.

References

  1. Marr, Andrew: A History of Modern Britain (2009 paperback), page xvi
  2. Olson, Lynne. Troublesome Young Men: The Rebels Who Brought Churchill To Power and Helped Save England (Toronto, Anchor Canada, 2008)
  3. Jenkins, Roy, Churchill: A Biography (London, Macmillan, 2001), page 601
  4. Marr, Andrew: A History of Modern Britain (2009 paperback), page xvii
  5. "Greenwood, Arthur", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
  6. Golders Green Crematorium guide notes

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Robinson Graham
Member of Parliament for Nelson and Colne
19221931
Succeeded by
Linton Thorpe
Preceded by
George Brown Hillman
Member of Parliament for Wakefield
19321954
Succeeded by
Arthur Creech Jones
Political offices
Preceded by
Neville Chamberlain
Minister of Health
19291931
Succeeded by
Neville Chamberlain
Preceded by
The Lord Hankey
Minister without Portfolio
19401942
Succeeded by
Sir William Jowitt
Preceded by
Frederick Pethick-Lawrence
Leader of the Opposition
19421945
Succeeded by
Clement Attlee
Preceded by
The Lord Beaverbrook
Lord Privy Seal
19451947
Succeeded by
The Lord Inman
Preceded by
Vacant
Paymaster-General
19461947
Succeeded by
Hilary Marquand
Party political offices
Preceded by
Clement Attlee
Deputy Leader of the Labour Party
19351945
Succeeded by
Herbert Morrison
Preceded by
George Lathan
Treasurer of the Labour Party
19431954
Succeeded by
Hugh Gaitskell
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