More than sixty years after his death, Aneurin Bevan remains a core figure in the story of the Labour Party and the left. A book by Nye Davies that sets out to explore Bevan’s political thinking appears this autumn and is to be launched at an event hosted by Llafur, the Welsh People’s History Society, in Bevan’s home town of Tredegar.

Published by the University of Wales Press, The Political Thought of Aneurin Bevan will be launched on 28 September 2024. To book a free place, please email enquiries@llafur.org.

Location: Bedwellty House & Park, Morgan Street, Tredegar NP22 3NA

Agenda

• 11:00am -11:10am – Welcome
• 11:10am -11:40am – Initial introductory talk from Nye Davies
• 11:40am-12:30pm – Panel discussion including panellists Nye Davies, Sue Demont and Tim Price. Chaired by Mark Drakeford.

About the book
Despite his contemporary legacy as an institutional pioneer, there remain fundamental disagreements concerning Bevan’s politics. During times of intense internal Labour Party conflict, Bevan is regularly invoked by different factions to serve different purposes. Some revere him as a pragmatic institution builder, while others emphasise his political radicalism and dedication to socialism.

In response, this book takes a new approach by treating Bevan as a political thinker and reconstructing his political thought. This offers an alternative perspective on a complex figure and provides new insight into Bevan’s intellectual development and the ideas that drove his politics – including his analysis of class conflict, his commitment to parliamentary politics, and his outlook on international relations. The book also locates Bevan within the Labour Party’s ideological traditions, highlighting moments of tension and compromise with the core tenets of labourism.

Further details about the book at the University of Wales Press website. 

About The Author
Nye Davies lectures in Politics at Cardiff University, and is a member of the Wales Governance Centre. His research focuses on the Labour Party, Welsh politics and political thought.