The antidote to our Flatulent Leader was, by common consent, Clement Attlee; modest, taciturn, humane and efficient. Oh yes, and honest too. Stories about Clem are legion: one of my favourites is when he arrived at Buckingham Palace following his victory. For a few moments Attlee and the King stood silent. Finally Attlee remarked “they’ve made me prime minister.” To which the King replied, “I know. I heard it on the wireless.” It is said that he used to get around the country in a Morris Minor driven by his wife, while he sat beside her doing the crossword. While he went in to attend whatever meeting it was had driven him to, she picked up her knitting.
But Attlee may have been a lone figure, but he was not alone in triumph. The Attlee government was successful beyond any successor administration because he included, and kept in check, the big beasts of the day: Bevin, Bevan, Morrison, Greenwood, Dalton, Cripps etc.. I do not recall the name of his “special adviser,” if he had one. I am sure I do not need to stress the contrast his ministers provide to scheming and incompetent yes-men-and-women with whom Johnson has surrounded barricaded himself.
Lies and Rules 