Reginald Bevins
Encyclopedia
Reginald Bevins (20 August 1908 – 16 November 1996) was a British
politician who served as a Liverpool
Member of Parliament
(MP) for fourteen years. A lower-middle class Conservative
, he served in the governments of the 1950s and 1960s, playing an important role in establishing independent television
.
business, and also became interested in politics: he joined the Labour Party
. In 1935 he was elected to Liverpool City Council
.
, Bevins enlisted in the Royal Artillery
. He served as a gunner in 1940, and was stationed in the middle East and in Europe. He completed his tour of duty as a Major in the Royal Army Service Corps
, and became a strong supporter of the Conservative Party
. At the conclusion of the war he immediately went in search of a Parliamentary nomination. He was chosen to run for the West Toxteth division
Labour-held seat; he lost by 4,814 votes, on a pro-Labour swing much less than the national average.
division in a by-election
. Although he did not win, he reduced the Labour majority to under 2,000. Boundary changes announced the next year created a united seat in Liverpool Toxteth
, and the sitting Member of Parliament for East Toxteth, Patrick Buchan-Hepburn
, chose to move constituencies to Beckenham. Bevins was chosen to try to keep the new seat Conservative.
by 2,620 votes. When the Conservative Party returned to office in 1951, Bevins was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary
to the Minister of Housing and Local Government, Harold Macmillan
. His knowledge of Liverpool municipal housing issues was valuable to the Minister who was leading a housing drive. In November 1953, he was brought into the government himself as Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works.
, Bevins was appointed Postmaster-General
, placing him in control of a government department. Although the role was not in Macmillan's cabinet and rather low in the formal priorities, it had a higher public profile than this situation would suggest. Bevins was also appointed to the Privy Council
and became "The Right Honourable
Reginald Bevins".
, who was involved in Associated TeleVision
. Bevins had a delicate role as the potential profitability of the new entertainment medium was high; Bevins observed that when Lord Thomson
said commercial television was "a licence to print money", he had been more indiscreet than inaccurate. In November 1962, Bevins was telephoned by journalists who asked him about the new BBC
satire programme That Was The Week That Was
; Bevins said he intended to do something about it. However, Macmillan immediately sent him a memo telling him to do nothing.
After the Great Train Robbery
in August 1963, Bevins was criticised for laxity in security as the robbery had happened on a mail train
. He moved to increase security but resisted calls to have armed police guarding the trains. That October, Bevins was shocked at the choice of Sir Alec Douglas-Home
as the new Prime Minister (to replace Macmillan), as he thought Douglas-Home was part of the upper-class traditional leadership of the Conservatives who would find it difficult to win support from the voting population.
The General Post Office
workers' pay negotiations of 1964 were particularly fraught. The government was running an incomes policy
but Bevins pressed for an offer of 5%; the Cabinet insisted on a lower offer, which resulted in a strike threat. The eventual settlement was 6·5%, and Bevins ended up taking the blame for fuelling wage inflation; he felt resentful, on the ground that his own approach would have led to a lower settlement.
, Bevins lost his marginal seat. He immediately declared he would have no further political involvement until the upper-class establishment was removed from the leadership. Although supporting Reginald Maudling
, he was cheered by Edward Heath
's election in 1965. He knew he would have no chance of a comeback in politics and wrote a book called The Greasy Pole, which laid bare his bitterness with his treatment. He also called for reforms of Parliamentary procedure to reduce the Parliamentary week to three days and to sit for only 20 weeks in the year.
Bevins went back into industry, working for Francis Industries, an engineering company. His son Anthony Bevins became a political journalist.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
politician who served as a Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for fourteen years. A lower-middle class Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
, he served in the governments of the 1950s and 1960s, playing an important role in establishing independent television
British television
Public television broadcasting started in the United Kingdom in 1936, and now has a collection of free and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channelsTaking the base Sky EPG TV Channels. A breakdown is impossible due to a) the number of...
.
Early life
Bevins was one of five children born to a Liverpool lower middle class family, was educated at the Dovedale Road School and then at Liverpool Collegiate School. He joined the insuranceInsurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
business, and also became interested in politics: he joined the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
. In 1935 he was elected to Liverpool City Council
Liverpool City Council
Liverpool City Council is the governing body for the city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. It consists of 90 councillors, three for each of the city's 30 wards. The council is currently controlled by the Labour Party and is led by Joe Anderson.-Domain:...
.
Wartime service
At the outbreak of the Second World WarWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Bevins enlisted in the Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
. He served as a gunner in 1940, and was stationed in the middle East and in Europe. He completed his tour of duty as a Major in the Royal Army Service Corps
Royal Army Service Corps
The Royal Army Service Corps was a corps of the British Army. It was responsible for land, coastal and lake transport; air despatch; supply of food, water, fuel, and general domestic stores such as clothing, furniture and stationery ; administration of...
, and became a strong supporter of the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
. At the conclusion of the war he immediately went in search of a Parliamentary nomination. He was chosen to run for the West Toxteth division
Liverpool West Toxteth (UK Parliament constituency)
Liverpool West Toxteth was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Members of Parliament :...
Labour-held seat; he lost by 4,814 votes, on a pro-Labour swing much less than the national average.
Search for a seat
Bevins, who remained on the City Council after his change of parties, became a popular figure in the Liverpool Conservative Association. In 1947 he was chosen to fight the Liverpool Edge HillLiverpool Edge Hill (UK Parliament constituency)
Liverpool Edge Hill was a borough constituency within the city and metropolitan borough of Liverpool, in the English county of Merseyside, centred around Edge Hill...
division in a by-election
Liverpool Edge Hill by-election, 1947
The Liverpool Edge Hill by-election, 1947 was a parliamentary by-election held in England to elect a new Member of Parliament for the British House of Commons constituency of Liverpool Edge Hill on 11 September 1947...
. Although he did not win, he reduced the Labour majority to under 2,000. Boundary changes announced the next year created a united seat in Liverpool Toxteth
Liverpool Toxteth (UK Parliament constituency)
Liverpool Toxteth was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...
, and the sitting Member of Parliament for East Toxteth, Patrick Buchan-Hepburn
Patrick Buchan-Hepburn, 1st Baron Hailes
Patrick George Thomas Buchan-Hepburn, 1st Baron Hailes, GBE, CH , was a British Conservative politician and the only Governor-General of the short-lived West Indies Federation, from 3 January 1958, to 31 May 1962, when the country was disbanded.-Background and education:Buchan-Hepburn was the...
, chose to move constituencies to Beckenham. Bevins was chosen to try to keep the new seat Conservative.
Parliament
He succeeded in the 1950 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1950
The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first general election ever after a full term of a Labour government. Despite polling over one and a half million votes more than the Conservatives, the election, held on 23 February 1950 resulted in Labour receiving a slim majority of just five...
by 2,620 votes. When the Conservative Party returned to office in 1951, Bevins was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...
to the Minister of Housing and Local Government, Harold Macmillan
Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....
. His knowledge of Liverpool municipal housing issues was valuable to the Minister who was leading a housing drive. In November 1953, he was brought into the government himself as Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works.
Rise through Government
Mr. Macmillan became Prime Minister in January 1957 and moved Bevins back to the Ministry of Housing and Local Government. He had a key role in guiding through Parliament the Rent Act 1957, which removed rent control and was highly controversial. After the 1959 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1959
This United Kingdom general election was held on 8 October 1959. It marked a third successive victory for the ruling Conservative Party, led by Harold Macmillan...
, Bevins was appointed Postmaster-General
United Kingdom Postmaster General
The Postmaster General of the United Kingdom is a defunct Cabinet-level ministerial position in HM Government. Aside from maintaining the postal system, the Telegraph Act of 1868 established the Postmaster General's right to exclusively maintain electric telegraphs...
, placing him in control of a government department. Although the role was not in Macmillan's cabinet and rather low in the formal priorities, it had a higher public profile than this situation would suggest. Bevins was also appointed to the Privy Council
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
and became "The Right Honourable
The Right Honourable
The Right Honourable is an honorific prefix that is traditionally applied to certain people in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Anglophone Caribbean and other Commonwealth Realms, and occasionally elsewhere...
Reginald Bevins".
Postmaster General
Among the responsibilities for the Postmaster General was television. Bevins was, like Macmillan, a supporter of commercial television when many in the Conservative Party regarded it as un-British. He had guidance from a friend of Macmillan, Norman CollinsNorman Collins
Norman Collins was a British writer, and later a radio and television executive, who became one of the major figures behind the establishment of the Independent Television network in the UK...
, who was involved in Associated TeleVision
Associated TeleVision
Associated Television, often referred to as ATV, was a British television company, holder of various licences to broadcast on the ITV network from 24 September 1955 until 00:34 on 1 January 1982...
. Bevins had a delicate role as the potential profitability of the new entertainment medium was high; Bevins observed that when Lord Thomson
Roy Thomson, 1st Baron Thomson of Fleet
Roy Herbert Thomson, 1st Baron Thomson of Fleet GBE was a Canadian newspaper proprietor and media entrepreneur.-Career:...
said commercial television was "a licence to print money", he had been more indiscreet than inaccurate. In November 1962, Bevins was telephoned by journalists who asked him about the new BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
satire programme That Was The Week That Was
That Was The Week That Was
That Was The Week That Was, also known as TW3, is a satirical television comedy programme that was shown on BBC Television in 1962 and 1963. It was devised, produced and directed by Ned Sherrin and presented by David Frost...
; Bevins said he intended to do something about it. However, Macmillan immediately sent him a memo telling him to do nothing.
After the Great Train Robbery
Great Train Robbery (1963)
The Great Train Robbery is the name given to a £2.6 million train robbery committed on 8 August 1963 at Bridego Railway Bridge, Ledburn near Mentmore in Buckinghamshire, England. The bulk of the stolen money was not recovered...
in August 1963, Bevins was criticised for laxity in security as the robbery had happened on a mail train
Travelling Post Office
A Travelling Post Office was a type of mail train in the UK where the post was sorted en-route. The last Travelling Post Office services were ended on 9 January 2004, with the carriages used now sold for scrap or to preservation societies....
. He moved to increase security but resisted calls to have armed police guarding the trains. That October, Bevins was shocked at the choice of Sir Alec Douglas-Home
Alec Douglas-Home
Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel, KT, PC , known as The Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963 and as Sir Alec Douglas-Home from 1963 to 1974, was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1963 to October 1964.He is the last...
as the new Prime Minister (to replace Macmillan), as he thought Douglas-Home was part of the upper-class traditional leadership of the Conservatives who would find it difficult to win support from the voting population.
The General Post Office
General Post Office
General Post Office is the name of the British postal system from 1660 until 1969.General Post Office may also refer to:* General Post Office, Perth* General Post Office, Sydney* General Post Office, Melbourne* General Post Office, Brisbane...
workers' pay negotiations of 1964 were particularly fraught. The government was running an incomes policy
Incomes policy
Incomes policies in economics are economy-wide wage and price controls, most commonly instituted as a response to inflation, and usually below market level.Incomes policies have often been resorted to during wartime...
but Bevins pressed for an offer of 5%; the Cabinet insisted on a lower offer, which resulted in a strike threat. The eventual settlement was 6·5%, and Bevins ended up taking the blame for fuelling wage inflation; he felt resentful, on the ground that his own approach would have led to a lower settlement.
Defeat
At the 1964 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1964
The United Kingdom general election of 1964 was held on 15 October 1964, more than five years after the preceding election, and thirteen years after the Conservative Party had retaken power...
, Bevins lost his marginal seat. He immediately declared he would have no further political involvement until the upper-class establishment was removed from the leadership. Although supporting Reginald Maudling
Reginald Maudling
Reginald Maudling was a British politician who held several Cabinet posts, including Chancellor of the Exchequer. He had been spoken of as a prospective Conservative leader since 1955, and was twice seriously considered for the post; he was Edward Heath's chief rival in 1965...
, he was cheered by Edward Heath
Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath, KG, MBE, PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as Leader of the Conservative Party ....
's election in 1965. He knew he would have no chance of a comeback in politics and wrote a book called The Greasy Pole, which laid bare his bitterness with his treatment. He also called for reforms of Parliamentary procedure to reduce the Parliamentary week to three days and to sit for only 20 weeks in the year.
Bevins went back into industry, working for Francis Industries, an engineering company. His son Anthony Bevins became a political journalist.