George Brown, Baron George-Brown
George Alfred George-Brown, Baron George-Brown,[2] PC (né Brown; 2 September 1914 – 2 June 1985), was a British Labour Party politician who was Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1960 to 1970 and held several Cabinet roles under Prime Minister Harold Wilson, including Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State.He rose quickly through the union ranks as an organiser, and shortly before the 1945 election he was chosen as the Labour Party candidate for the seat of Belper.He stood in the election to gain the role permanently, but was beaten by Harold Wilson; one factor in his defeat was concern from colleagues about the impact of his well-known alcoholism, an affliction that remained with him through his life.Two months after Labour's landslide victory at the snap 1966 election, Wilson moved Brown to the role of Foreign Secretary, a job he had always coveted.His father, of a family long settled in The Borough, but who believed themselves to have Irish origins,[6] had worked in his earlier years as a grocer's packer, then as a lorry and van driver (for Lyons, later for the Evening Standard), and served in the First World War as a chauffeur to senior British Army officers; he later became a fur salesman.A staunch trade unionist, he eventually served as a member of the executive council of the Transport and General Workers' Union, and was later employed as a full-time official.[7][8][9] Aspersions were thus cast on his son's 'working-class credentials' in light of what were perceived to be (however inaccurately given his English, Scottish and Irish forebears) his 'East End commercial middle-class Jewish' roots.[11] Brown had already adopted his parents' left-wing views and later claimed to have delivered leaflets for the Labour Party in the 1922 general election when he was eight years old.At the 1939 Party conference Brown made his mark by a strong speech demanding the expulsion of Stafford Cripps for his advocacy of a Popular Front.Brown was both adept at understanding political issues and how to communicate them, and convivial and generally popular within the Parliamentary Labour Party (save among the left-wing faction, whom he attacked as 'long-haired intellectuals').Government policy aimed at increasing food production so that rationing in the United Kingdom could be lifted but progress was slow; Attlee grew to appreciate his talent.Like other Labour ex-ministers, Brown found himself forced to rely on an inadequate parliamentary salary; this led him to consider a return to being a trade union official.Brown had a private but widely publicised shouting-match with Soviet leaders Nikita Khrushchev and Nikolai Bulganin when he was part of a Labour Party delegation invited to dine with them on their British visit in April 1956.At the first Shadow Cabinet meeting after Gaitskell's death, Brown and his leadership rival Harold Wilson agreed to a clean fight."[citation needed] Many Labour MPs who were prepared to accept Brown as deputy leader were unhappy with the idea of his being in charge, and Wilson was easily elected.Brown had come from a dinner in Shoreditch where he had already drunk a great deal, and drank more while preparing to go on air – having a row with actor Eli Wallach which became physical.When Brown went on air, millions of viewers saw him interpret a fair question as an accusation of his having overstated his closeness, then give a morose and slurred tribute from which it was apparent he was intoxicated.He disappeared for five days after the result was declared, using an assumed name to book a flight to Glasgow; the newspapers were full of stories about the vanishing politician.He retained the deputy leadership and despite his personal differences, played an important part in advising Wilson about Labour's campaign strategy in the 1964 general election.It was decided that Wilson would make only a limited number of major campaign speeches outside London, while Brown would tour the country speaking in all the marginal seats (his main theme was predicting an imminent economic crisis).In one he made a gaffe by suggesting that the mortgage interest rate could be cut to 3%; the Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer Reginald Maudling was quick to capitalise on this and ask how much it would cost.[19] Immediately on taking office Brown was told that the budget deficit for the coming year was forecast at £800 million, double what the Labour Party had predicted as the worst possible figure before the election.The question of devaluation was raised again in a more pressing way, with Brown now strongly supporting it, but Harold Wilson was firmly opposed, preferring a set of deflationary measures including spending cuts and interest rate rises.When Wilson wanted to declare an emergency bank holiday to give breathing space, he attempted to contact his Foreign Secretary.He was survived by his wife, Sophie, Lady George-Brown (née Levene) (1911–1990), daughters, Frieda and Pat, and mistress, Margaret "Maggie" Haimes.
The Right HonourableForeign SecretaryHarold WilsonMichael StewartFirst Secretary of StateRab ButlerSecretary of State for Economic AffairsDeputy Leader of the Labour PartyHugh GaitskellAneurin BevanRoy JenkinsLeader of the OppositionElizabeth IIHarold MacmillanClement AttleeRichard StokesDavid EcclesMember of ParliamentBelperHerbert WraggGeoffrey Stewart-SmithMember of the House of LordsLord TemporalLife peerageLambethLabourLabour PartyCabinetPrime MinisterTransport and General Workers' Union1945 electionConservative1970 electionAttlee governmentShadow Cabinetelectionalcoholism1964 electionHM Treasury1966 electionHouse of LordspeerageJevingtonCounty of SussexPeabody TrustThe BoroughEvening StandardFirst World WarBritish ArmyBlackfriarsWest Squaregrammar schoolconservation area1922 general electionJohn Lewis PartnershipCockneyLondon County CouncilWorkers' Educational AssociationTransport and General Workers UnionWatfordLabour League of YouthTed WillisStafford CrippsPopular FrontSecond World WarRoyal Air ForceErnest Bevincivil servant1945 general electionHugh DaltonParliamentary Private SecretaryGeorge IsaacsMinister of LabourChancellor of the ExchequerParliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture and FisheriesAgriculture Act 1947arable landGovernment policyrationing in the United KingdommentorMinister of WorksCabinet reshuffleTower of LondonConstable of the Tower1951 general electionMirror GroupBevanite1955 general electionNikita KhrushchevNikolai BulganinTreasurer of the Labour PartyClause IVGaitskelliteFrederick LeeJames CallaghanBarbara CastleMiddlesbrough WestJohn F. KennedyOval OfficeWhite HouseAnthony CroslandDenis HealeyPrivate Eyetired and emotionalAssociated-RediffusionShoreditchEli WallachGlasgow1964 general electionReginald MaudlingDepartment of Economic AffairsDeputy Prime MinisterTreasurydevaluationpound sterlingTrades Union Congressincomes policy1966 general electionGeorge WiggThe HagueEuropean Economic CommunityCharles de GaulleCecil KingSir Patrick Reillybank holidayPrivy Council