Hugh Gaitskell and a number of other Labour MPs signed to back page of 1958 Keighley Constituency Labour Party Annual Dinner......

Hugh Gaitskell and a number of other Labour MPs signed to back page of 1958 Keighley Constituency Labour Party Annual Dinner menu card booklet. Others includes T A Roberts, Tom Leech, A B Ward. Hugh Gaitskell (1906-1963) was a university economist who had been drawn to labour causes during the General Strike of 1926. In 1945 he was elected to Britain's House of Commons, and rose rapidly in the Labour Party: Minister of Fuel and Power (1947), Minister of Economic Affairs and Chancellor of the Exchequer (1950). As Chancellor of the Exchequer, he responded to the budget shortfalls caused by the Korean War by curtailing National Health Service benefits. This caused a rift between Gaitskell and the Labour Party's left wing which never healed, and contributed to the Party's loss of power in the 1951 elections. Gaitskell became Labour Party leader in 1955, but continued to quarrel with the left wing over issues from nationalization of industries to unilateral nuclear disarmament. He died in 1963 of a rare autoimmune disease. Peter Wright's controversial 1987 book, Spy catcher, revived on very slender evidence old charges that Gaitskell was assassinated by the KGB. Gaitskell's efforts to move the Labour Party away from orthodox socialist doctrines foreshadowed the later successes of new Labour under Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. Comes with biography details. Good Condition. All signed pieces come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £3.99, EU from £5.99, Rest of World from £7.99. CAT: ENT