George Alfred Brown, later
George Alfred George-Brown, Baron George-Brown,
PCHer Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. Its members are largely senior politicians, who were or are members of either the House of Commons or House of Lords of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.The Privy Council, the...
(2 September 1914 – 2 June 1985) was a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
politicianA politician or political leader is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making. This includes people who hold decision-making positions in government, and people who seek those positions, whether by means of election, coup d'état, appointment, electoral fraud, conquest,...
who served as Deputy Leader of the
Labour PartyThe Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
from 1960 to 1970, and was a senior
CabinetA Cabinet is a body of high-ranking members of government, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or Executive Committee.- Overview :...
minister (including as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs) in the Labour government of the 1960s. He was a leader of the right wing within the Labour Party and an effective, if aggressive, election campaigner, but was ultimately unable to cope with the pressures of high office without
excessive drinkingAlcoholism is a term with multiple and sometimes conflicting definitions. In common and historic usage, alcoholism is any condition that results in the continued consumption of alcoholic beverages, despite health problems and negative social consequences...
. Always known as 'George Brown', he had to change his surname from Brown to George-Brown in order to incorporate his first name into his
peerageThe Peerage is a system of titles in the United Kingdom, which represents the upper ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system. The term is used both collectively to refer to the entire body of titles, and individually to refer to a specific title...
title, which was created on 6 November 1970.
Early life
Brown was born in his maternal grandmother's flat, which was in a working-class housing estate in
LambethLambeth is a place in the London Borough of Lambeth, although the area is now more commonly known as Waterloo, after the railway station whose viaduct separates the former centre of the village from the River Thames...
built by the housing
charityA charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . The term is relatively general and can technically refer to a public charity or a private foundation. It differs from other types of NPOs in that its focus is centered around goals of a general philanthropic nature A charitable...
the
Peabody TrustThe Peabody Trust is one of London's largest and oldest housing associations. Its own website says that it "... exists to tackle poverty, provide good, affordable housing and to make a difference through every project or initiative it undertakes."...
. His father had worked as a grocer's packer, lorry driver and served in
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
as a chauffeur to senior army officers. Brown went to Gray Street Elementary School in Blackfriars where he did well enough to pass an entrance examination to the West Square Central School, which was a junior
grammar schoolA grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally schools teaching classical languages but more recently academically-oriented types of secondary school.The original purpose of...
. Brown had already adopted his parents' left-wing views and later claimed (probably accurately) to have delivered leaflets for the
Labour PartyThe Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
in the
1922 general electionThe UK general election of 1922 was held on 15 November 1922. It was the first election held after most of the Irish counties left the United Kingdom to form the Irish Free State, and was won by Andrew Bonar Law's Conservatives, who gained an overall majority over Labour, led by John Robert Clynes...
when he was 8 years old.
The school wanted Brown to stay on beyond the age of 15, but Brown decided to leave to earn his living and help his parents financially. He started work as a junior clerk in the ledger department of a City firm, but was made redundant after pressing his fellow clerks to join a
trade unionA trade union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas, such as working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labor contracts with employers...
. From 1932 he worked as a fur salesman for the
John Lewis PartnershipThe John Lewis Partnership is a major United Kingdom worker co-operative retailer which operates John Lewis department stores, Waitrose supermarkets and the direct services company Greenbee...
, dropping his cockney accent to appeal to society customers. Brown earned a great deal on commission. During this time, Brown continued his education through
London County CouncilLondon County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889-1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
night schools and the
Workers' Educational AssociationThe Workers’ Educational Association seeks to provide access to education and lifelong learning for adults from all backgrounds, and in particular those who have previously missed out on education. The International Federation of Workers Education Associations has consultative status to UNESCO...
. The poverty of his upbringing led Brown in later life to resent those who had a more privileged background and a university education.
Trade Union organiser
Shortly before marrying Sophie Levene on 22 April 1937, Brown was appointed as a ledger clerk with the Transport and General Workers Union, moving to be District Organiser for
WatfordWatford is a town and district in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south, by the urban parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District...
the next year. Brown was already active within the Labour Party and the Labour League of Youth. He ran as a moderate candidate for the Chairmanship but at the Labour Party conference in 1937 he was defeated by
Ted WillisEdward Henry Willis, Baron Willis , commonly known as Ted Willis, was a British television dramatist who was also politically active in support of the Labour Party.-Political life:...
of the left. At the 1939 Labour Party conference Brown made his mark by a strong speech demanding the expulsion of
Stafford CrippsSir Richard Stafford Cripps was a British Labour politician and Chancellor of the Exchequer from November 1947 to October 1950.-Early life:...
for his advocacy of a
Popular FrontA popular front is a broad coalition of different political groupings, often made up of leftists and centrists. Being very broad, they can sometimes include centrist and liberal forces as well as socialist and communist groups...
. Cripps refused to speak to Brown for the rest of his life.
His TGWU activities brought him into close contact with
Ernest BevinErnest Bevin was a British labour leader, politician, and statesman best known for his time as Minister of Labour in the war-time coalition government, and as Foreign Secretary in the post-war Labour government.-Early life:...
, the Union's founder and General Secretary. Bevin was one of the Labour leaders brought into the wartime coalition government. Brown himself served as a temporary civil servant in the Ministry of Agriculture from 1940 onwards.
Member of Parliament
As a TGWU official, Brown was an attractive candidate to Labour constituencies seeking a candidate, as the TGWU would sponsor him and pay election expenses. He was selected for
BelperBelper is a town and civil parish in the local government district of Amber Valley in Derbyshire, England.It is eight miles north of Derby, on the A6, by the River Derwent, and has a population of 20,548 in 8,790 households . It has regular bus services to Derby and to the north, to Ripley and...
, a mixed constituency near
DerbyDerby is a city in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
which was one of the top Labour target seats. In the
1945 general electionThe United Kingdom General Election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks...
Brown won the seat with a majority of nearly 9,000. He was invited as one of a dozen 'Young Victors' to a private dinner given by
Hugh DaltonEdward Hugh John Neale Dalton, Baron Dalton PC, generally known as Hugh Dalton was a British Labour Party politician, and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1945 to 1947...
on 30 July 1945 who was talent-spotting and networking. Brown was immediately picked to be a
Parliamentary Private SecretaryA 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 salaried by one or more...
(PPS) by
George IsaacsGeorge Alfred Isaacs JP DL was a British politician and trades unionist who served in the government of Clement Attlee.Isaacs was born in Finsbury to a Methodist family. He married Flora Beasley in 1905...
, who had followed the promoted Bevin as
Minister of LabourThe Secretary of State for Employment was a position in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. In 1995 it was merged with Secretary of State for Education to make the Secretary of State for Education and Employment...
.
The job of a PPS was almost made for Brown, who 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'). He transferred to be PPS to
Chancellor of the ExchequerThe Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called The Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
Hugh DaltonEdward Hugh John Neale Dalton, Baron Dalton PC, generally known as Hugh Dalton was a British Labour Party politician, and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1945 to 1947...
in April 1947, at a time when the economic situation of Britain had barely improved and the Chancellor needed the maximum political support. Brown launched an unsuccessful plot to have
Clement AttleeClement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955...
replaced as
Prime MinisterThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom and the Head of Her Majesty's Government...
by Ernest Bevin, although without consulting Bevin who did not approve.
Ministerial office
Attlee, despite knowing all about Brown's plot to depose him, swiftly appointed Brown as Joint Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture. The Prime Minister had decided that it would be best if Brown were kept busy. At the Ministry of Agriculture, Brown worked to pass the Agriculture Act 1947 which provided price support to farmers, and also to provide more arable land and ease shortages of machinery and foodstuffs. Government policy aimed at increasing food production so that rationing could be lifted, but progress was slow. However, Attlee grew to appreciate his talent.
When his mentor Bevin died in April 1951, Brown was appointed
Minister of WorksThe First Commissioner of Works and Public Buildings was a position within the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It took over some of the functions of the First Commissioner of Woods and Forests in 1851 when the portfolio of Crown holdings was divided into the public...
in the reshuffle - at the head of a Ministry but not in the Cabinet. Brown inherited a long-running struggle by the Government to have the
Tower of LondonHer Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London , is a historic fortress and scheduled monument in central London, England, on the north bank of the River Thames...
open to tourists on Sunday, and managed to solve it by outsmarting the Constable of the Tower in negotiations.
Opposition
No sooner had Brown got to grips with his office, than he was forced to leave it when Labour lost the
1951 general electionThe 1951 United Kingdom general election was held eighteen months after the.1950 general election, which the Labour Party won, but with a very slim majority of just five seats...
. As with other Government ministers, Brown found himself forced to rely on an inadequate Parliamentary salary which led him to consider a return to being a trade union official. However,in 1953 he was hired as a consultant by the
Mirror GroupTrinity Mirror plc is a large British newspaper and magazine publisher. It is Britain's biggest newspaper group, publishing 240 regional papers as well as the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, People, Sunday Mail and Daily Record. Its headquarters are at Canary Wharf in London...
newspapers, enabling him to stay in politics.
Brown was a partisan participant in the Labour Party's internecine struggles in the early 1950s, opposing the
BevaniteBevanism was the ideological argument for the Bevanites, a movement on the centre left of the Labour Party in the late 1950s and led by Nye Bevan. The main points were:...
campaign. His natural campaigning ability became prominent, but also his tendency to be rude to those with whom he had disagreements. Shortly after the
1955 general electionThe 1955 United Kingdom general election was held on 26 May 1955, four years after the previous general election. It resulted in a substantially increased majority of 60 for the Conservative government under Sir Anthony Eden against the Labour Party under Clement Attlee...
, Brown was elected to the
Shadow CabinetThe Shadow Cabinet is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition form an alternative cabinet to the government's, whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the government...
for the first time; from that December Brown found it easier to win promotion as his friend
Hugh GaitskellHugh Todd Naylor Gaitskell was a British Labour politician, who served in a number of Cabinet positions under various governments, and was the Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1955, until his untimely death in 1963.-Early life:He was born in London, England, and...
became Leader of the Labour Party. Brown had a private but widely publicised shouting-match with
SovietThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
leaders Nikita Khruschev and
Nikolai BulganinNikolai Alexandrovich Bulganin was a prominent Soviet politician, who served as Minister of Defense and Prime Minister ....
when he was part of a Labour Party delegation invited to dine with them on their British visit in April 1956. That year, he lost the election for
Treasurer of the Labour PartyThe Treasurer of the Labour Party is a position on the National Executive Committee of the British Labour Party.Although a post with little power, in the past, it was often hotly contested by people who later became big names in British politics: Arthur Greenwood beat Herbert Morrison in 1943, Hugh...
to
Aneurin BevanAneurin Bevan , usually known as Nye Bevan, was a Welsh Labour politician. He was a key figure on the left of the party in the mid-20th century and was the Minister of Health responsible for the formation of the National Health Service.-Youth:Bevan was born in Tredegar, Monmouthshire, in the South...
.
Deputy leadership
After Bevan died in the summer of 1960, the Deputy Leadership of the Labour Party became vacant at a time when the Labour Party was severely divided over
Clause IVClause IV historically refers to part of the 1918 text of the United Kingdom Labour Party constitution which set out the aims and values of the party...
of the party constitution. Brown was encouraged to stand as the candidate of the
GaitskelliteGaitskellism was the ideology of a faction of the British Labour Party. Led by Hugh Gaitskell, Gaitskellites represented the political right of the Labour Party and were opposed by the Bevanites, the political left of the party led by Aneurin Bevan...
right; the other candidates were left-winger Frederick Lee and the moderate but insufficiently senior
James CallaghanLeonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC , was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980...
. Brown was elected, beating Lee by 146 votes to 83 when Callaghan had been eliminated. Gaitskell as Leader and Brown as Deputy Leader did not seem to most on the left of the Labour Party to be a balanced ticket, and Brown was challenged for the job in both 1961, by
Barbara CastleBarbara Anne Castle, Baroness Castle of Blackburn, PC, GCOT was a British left-wing politician, born Barbara Anne Betts in Chesterfield, Derbyshire , who adopted her family's politics, joining the Labour Party.Elected to Parliament in 1945, she rose to become one of the most important...
, and 1962, by
Harold WilsonJames Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC was a British Labour Party politician; one of the most prominent British politicians of the latter half of the 20th century, he served two terms as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, firstly from 1964 to 1970, and again from 1974...
. Part of his job was to improve Labour's
by-electionA by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections...
campaigning, and he was successful in winning several - most notably,
MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough is a town in the Tees Valley conurbation of North East England and sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire. It is the largest and most populous settlement within the Borough of Middlesbrough, which encompasses the town and several outlying villages which have become...
West.
Gaitskell's sudden death in January 1963 left Brown no choice but to challenge for the Party Leadership. However he mishandled the campaign badly. At the first Shadow Cabinet meeting after Gaitskell's death, Brown and his Leadership rival Harold Wilson agreed to a clean fight. Wilson, who was accused by the right of undermining party unity, then informed the press that each agreed to serve under the other, which countered his reputation for plotting; Brown repudiated any such agreement, laying himself open to that accusation.
Personal problems
Many on the right of the Labour Party, most notably
Anthony CroslandCharles Anthony Raven Crosland , otherwise Tony Crosland or C.A.R. Crosland, was a British Labour Party politician and author, and an important socialist theorist. He served as Member of Parliament for South Gloucestershire and later for Great Grimsby...
and
Denis HealeyDenis Winston Healey, Baron Healey CH, MBE, PC is an English Labour politician, who served as Secretary of State for Defence from 1964 to 1970 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1974 to 1979.-Early life:...
, supported James Callaghan for the leadership. They were opposed to Wilson's being elected leader, but they also didn't trust Brown. Part of the reason for the mistrust of Brown was private knowledge of his excessive drinking, which exacerbated his rude and aggressive style of politics. Crosland called the leadership election "A choice between a crook (Wilson) and a drunk (Brown)." 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.
The mainstream press had not publicised his drinking, but it later became apparent when Brown was invited on
Associated-RediffusionAssociated-Rediffusion, later Rediffusion, London, was the British ITV contractor for London and parts of the surrounding counties, on weekdays between 1954 and 29 July 1968...
television to pay tribute to
John F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
after his assassination (Brown was probably the closest Labour politician to Kennedy). Brown had come from a dinner in
ShoreditchShoreditch is an area of London within the London Borough of Hackney. It is a built-up part of the inner city immediately to the north of the City of London, located east north east of Charing Cross.-Boundaries:...
where he had already drunk a great deal, and drank more while preparing to go on air - having a row with actor
Eli WallachEli Herschel Wallach is an American film, television and stage actor, who gained fame in the late 1950s. For his performance in Baby Doll he won a BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer and a Golden Globe nomination. One of his most famous roles is that of Tuco in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly...
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. Brown had to issue a public apology.
Brown bitterly resented his leadership defeat, which came only weeks after he had defeated Wilson for the deputy leadership. He disappeared for five days after the result was declared, using an assumed name to book a flight to
GlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
; the newspapers were full of stories about the vanishing politician. When he returned he demanded of Wilson that he be appointed Shadow Foreign Secretary, which Wilson refused.
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 electionThe United Kingdom general election of 1964 was held on 15 October 1964, more than five years after its predecessor, and thirteen years after the Conservative Party had first taken power...
. 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). Brown later calculated that he had made 100 speeches. In one he made a gaffe by suggesting that the mortgage interest rate could be cut to 3 per cent; the Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer
Reginald MaudlingReginald 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...
was quick to capitalise on this and ask how much it would cost.
Department of Economic Affairs
Labour won the election with a narrow majority. As previously arranged with Wilson, Brown was appointed to the newly created
Department of Economic AffairsThe Secretary of State for Economic Affairs was briefly an office of Her Majesty's government in the United Kingdom. It was established by Harold Wilson in October 1964...
through which they both hoped to institute long-term economic planning and remove some of the power of the
TreasuryHM Treasury, in full Her Majesty's Treasury, informally The Treasury, is the United Kingdom government department responsible for developing and executing the British government's public finance policy and economic policy.- History :...
. Brown also took the honorific title of
First Secretary of StateThe Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is a senior member of the British Cabinet. There is not always a Deputy Prime Minister; the office itself is not part of the UK's uncodified constitution, nor does the Government possess a formal permanent office of Deputy Prime Minister...
to cover his seniority as Deputy Leader of the Party (Brown, but no-one else, claimed that he was actually the Deputy Prime Minister).
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 leading economic ministers were presented with three options, including
devaluationDevaluation is a reduction in the value of a currency with respect to other monetary units. In common modern usage, it specifically implies an official lowering of the value of a country's currency within a fixed exchange rate system, by which the monetary authority formally sets a new fixed rate...
of the
Pound SterlingThe pound sterling , often simply called the pound, is the currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and British Antarctic Territory...
, to meet the crisis. They decided on a temporary surcharge on imported goods. However, over the next few months Brown was persuaded by his deputy Anthony Crosland that ruling out devaluation had been a mistake. The pound continued to be under pressure in 1965 and Brown struggled over a 12-hour meeting at the
Trades Union CongressThe Trades Union Congress is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in the United Kingdom, representing the majority of trade unions...
to persuade the unions to accept a tougher prices and incomes policy, to which he was personally opposed.
The most important function of the DEA was to prepare a 'National Plan' for the economy. Brown became personally identified with the project, which helped increase enthusiasm for it among officials and the Labour Party, while also interesting the press. After nearly a year's work the Plan was unveiled on 16 September 1965, pledging to cover 'all aspects of the country's development for the next five years'. The Plan called for a 25% growth in
Gross Domestic ProductThe gross domestic product or gross domestic income is a basic measure of a country's economic performance and is the market value of all final goods and services made within the borders of a country in a year...
from 1964 to 1970, which worked out at 3.8% annually. There were 39 specific actions listed, although many were criticised as vague.
July measures
After the
1966 general electionThe 1966 UK general election on 31 March 1966 was called by sitting Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Wilson's decision to call an election turned on the fact that his government, elected only two years previously in 1964 had an unworkable small majority of only 4 MPs...
at which Labour won re-election with a landslide, the government was hit by a severe financial crisis. 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. Brown believed that these measures would damage the economy.
Chancellor of the ExchequerThe Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called The Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
James Callaghan found himself in the middle, as he opposed devaluation but felt that without prompt action it was inevitable. Wilson tried to keep Brown on board, even offering to make him Chancellor should Callaghan resign, but Brown stood firm. When the Cabinet voted by 17-6 against devaluation, Brown sent a letter of resignation.
Wilson craftily sent the letter back to Brown so that he could deny having received it, and then sent
George WiggGeorge Edward Cecil Wigg, Baron Wigg PC was a British politician who only served in relatively junior offices but had a great deal of influence behind the scenes, especially with Harold Wilson. Wigg served in the British Army for almost all his career up to his election as Member of Parliament...
to try to talk Brown out of it. This did not prevent the news reaching the public; Wigg then changed his position and told Brown that Wilson would accept his resignation. Bizarrely this convinced Brown to stay and he accepted all of Wilson's terms for staying in the government in a late night meeting before announcing his "un-resignation" to the press in Downing Street.
Foreign Secretary
Brown was reshuffled to become Foreign Secretary in August 1966, a job he coveted. This decision had implications for the government's stance on the
European Economic CommunityThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 Member States, located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community...
as Brown had always favoured entry. Wilson had been sceptical, but not opposed outright, to joining but Brown persuaded him and the rest of the Labour Party to support an application. In May 1967 it was announced that Britain had made its second application to join. Like the first, it was vetoed by
Charles de GaulleCharles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II...
.
Brown's drinking was became more pronounced as he became depressed by his loss of face in July 1966. His reaction to his depression was to launch vituperative attacks, for example at the son of newspaper proprietor Cecil King in October 1967. After Wilson was told of this, Brown came round and told Wilson that he had just had a terrible row with his wife and could not continue in Government. More and more people were becoming aware of Brown's alcoholism, and
Private EyePrivate Eye is a fortnightly British satirical and current affairs magazine, currently edited by Ian Hislop. Since its first publication in 1961, Private Eye has been a prominent critic of public figures deemed incompetent, inefficient or corrupt, and has become a self-styled "thorn in the side" of...
managed to hint at the scandal with a parody of a memo titled "Brown: F.O. Acts". The memo gave translations into various languages for the words tired, overwrought, expansive, overworked, colourful, and emotional. This coined the phrase "
tired and emotionalTired and emotional is a chiefly British euphemism for "drunk". It was popularised by the British satirical magazine Private Eye in 1967 after being used in a spoof diplomatic memo to describe the state of Labour Cabinet minister George Brown, but is now used as a stock phrase...
" as a euphemism for drunk; this phrase was first used by his agent, Edward Eldred, when he had to make excuses for Brown's behaviour after a long flight.
Brown,indeed,once boasted that "Many Members of Parliament drink and womanise - now, I've never womanised"; which was almost certainly true. There was never a whisper about his sex-life during his career.
Rumoured Archbishop of Montevideo incident
During his time, and subsequently, a widely circulated but evidently false rumour had it that Brown had embarrassed himself while drunk at an official reception in South America. Brown was said to have lumbered over to a tall, elegant vision in red, and requested the honour of the next dance, to be told, "I will not dance with you for three reasons. The first is that you are drunk. The second is that the band is not playing a waltz, but the Peruvian national anthem. The final reason is that I am the Cardinal
Archbishop of MontevideoThe Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Montevideo is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic church in Uruguay.Erected as the Apostolic Vicariate of Montevideo in 1830, the vicariate was promoted to the Diocese of Montevideo on July 13, 1878...
." Although the story is amusing, checks have not substantiated it. Brown did not visit South America during his term, and the story had originally circulated about a different minister.
Resignation
Despite devaluation in November 1967, the pound came again under severe pressure in March 1968. When Wilson wanted to declare an emergency
bank holidayA bank holiday is a public holiday in both the United Kingdom and Ireland. There is some automatic right to time off on these days, although the majority of the population not employed in essential services A bank holiday is a public holiday in both the United Kingdom and Ireland. There is some...
to give breathing space, he attempted to contact his Foreign Secretary. Brown could not be found and his staff reported his condition as "only 'so-so' when last seen," and so Wilson convened a special meeting of the
Privy CouncilHer Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. Its members are largely senior politicians, who were or are members of either the House of Commons or House of Lords of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.The Privy Council, the...
without him. Brown was incensed that Wilson had not tried further to contact him, and got together with other ministers who had not been informed to face down Wilson at a meeting in the early hours of the morning. Brown, who appeared very drunk, incoherently shouted at Wilson, who was almost as angry and stood up for himself. At the end of the meeting Brown stormed out.
It was unclear whether he had resigned but Brown did nothing the next day to apologise. At 6 o'clock that evening he sent a letter which said "I think it better that we should part company" but did not mention "resignation". Wilson decided to reply by accepting Brown's resignation but also sent a message saying that Brown had half an hour to say whether the letter had been misinterpreted. Brown did not act on this and so left the government, but not in the blaze of glory for which he had hoped.
Defeat
Brown's constituency of Belper had been the site of considerable development since he had been elected. Most of the new housing was for middle-class areas near Derby and contained mostly Conservative voters. Although a Boundary Commission report in 1969 recommended the removal of this area, the Government decided to postpone the changes and Brown was forced to fight in a seat which was trending away from him. Added to this problem, he remained deputy leader of the Labour Party and toured the country making speeches for other Labour candidates during the
1970 general electionThe United Kingdom general election of 1970 was held on 18 June 1970, and resulted in a surprise victory for the Conservative Party under leader Edward Heath, who defeated the Labour Party under Harold Wilson. The election also saw the Liberal Party and its new leader Jeremy Thorpe lose half their...
. His Conservative opponent
Geoffrey Stewart-Smith Geoffrey Stewart-Smith was a British politician. He served one term as Conservative Member of Parliament for Belper in Derbyshire after he defeated the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party George Brown...
had spent the last four years nursing the constituency. Brown lost his seat by more than 2,000 votes.
Life peerage
Brown swiftly decided not to try to regain his seat but to go to the House of Lords, and received a life peerage in the
Dissolution Honours ListThe Dissolution Honours List names those individuals receiving Honours from the Monarch at a time following the Dissolution of the United Kingdom Parliament. Thus, as a course such a list is typically uncommon. Typically, the list will include retiring MPs who are to be Life Peers...
. When the award was announced, Brown told the press, "As I understand it, I have to pick a title — but I hope to everybody, I will simply remain George Brown." This foreshadowed a long dispute over the wording of the title. Brown wished to be "Lord George Brown", but
Garter King of ArmsKing of Arms is the senior rank of an officer of arms. In many heraldic traditions, only a king of arms has the authority to grant armorial bearings. In other traditions, the power has been delegated to other officers of similar rank.-Heraldic duties:...
argued that peerage titles traditionally included only surnames, not forenames. Brown had no sympathy with the objection, and noted that there had been counter-examples such as
Lord Ritchie-CalderPeter Ritchie Ritchie-Calder, Baron Ritchie-Calder was a noted Scottish author, journalist and academic.Calder first worked as a journalist in Dundee and Glasgow, where he became noted as a socialist and peace activist....
and Lord Francis-Williams. Eventually, Garter King of Arms gave way on condition that Brown simultaneously change his surname to George-Brown, so finally his title ended as
Baron George-Brown, of Jevington in the County of
SussexSussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is a historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
.
In 1971 he published his autobiography
In My Way, which Harold Wilson said privately was where he had always found Brown. He found work at the textile company Courtaulds, and later worked for Commercial Credit (Holdings) and British Northrop.
On 2 March 1976 George-Brown announced that he was leaving the Labour Party in protest at government legislation which strengthened the
closed shopA closed shop is a form of union security agreement under which the employer agrees to only hire union members, and employees must remain a member of the union at all times in order to remain employed....
. Typically and tragically, this announcement was overshadowed when he collapsed and fell into a gutter, having to be helped out by newspaper reporters, which was presumed to be a result of his drinking.
The TimesThe Times is a daily national newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register....
the next day printed the opinion that "Lord George-Brown drunk is a better man than the Prime Minister sober." Harold Wilson was still in office, and the opinion had been voiced occasionally in private for many years by those who disliked the Labour left.
Death
George-Brown became the president of the
Social Democratic Alliance-Foundation:The group was founded in June 1975 by councillors and other individuals on the right wing of the Labour Party. Peter Stephenson, the editor of Socialist Commentary, became its chairman. The group claimed to stand in the tradition of Hugh Gaitskell's Campaign for Democratic Socialism,...
in January 1981, and was a signatory to an advert in
The GuardianThe Guardian is a British daily newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. Founded in 1821, it is unique among major British newspapers in being owned by a foundation .The Guardian Weekly, which circulates worldwide, provides a compact digest of four newspapers...
on 5 February, placed by the
Campaign for Social DemocracyThe Campaign for Social Democracy was a minor political party operating in the United Kingdom in the 1970s.They were formed in September, 1973 by Dick Taverne, who had resigned from the Labour Party, after falling out with his Constituency Labour Party over the European Economic Community.He had...
. However, he did not announce his membership of the
Social Democratic PartyThe Social Democratic Party was a political party of the United Kingdom that existed nationwide between 1981 and 1988. It was founded by four senior Labour Party 'moderates', dubbed the Gang of Four: Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams...
or SDP for another four years. By that point, his reputation had so declined that Bill Rodgers, who had been Brown's Parliamentary Private Secretary at the DEA and the Foreign Office, described him as "an embarrassment rather than an asset to his old friends who founded the SDP." His brother
RonRonald Brown or Ron Brown may refer to:*Ron Brown , American football player and Olympic athlete*Ron Brown , Tight Ends Coach for the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, and Fellowship of Christian Athletes personality*Ron Brown , WCBI-TV television personality*Ron Brown *Ron Brown...
, who had been a Labour MP since 1964, had also joined the party. On 24 December 1982 Brown walked out on his wife of 45 years to set up home with his 35-year old secretary, Maggie Haimes. However, he did not change his 1969 will which gave his estate to Lady George-Brown. As his health deteriorated, he converted from his previous Anglo-Catholic religious beliefs, entering the Roman Catholic church near his death. Suffering
cirrhosis of the liverCirrhosis is a consequence of chronic liver disease characterized by replacement of liver tissue by fibrous scar tissue as well as regenerative nodules , leading to progressive loss of liver function...
, Lord George-Brown died after a stroke on 2 June 1985, at the home in
TruroTruro is a city in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, and is the centre for administration, leisure and retail in Cornwall, with a population of 20,920. It is the only city in the county, and the most southerly city in Great Britain...
which he shared with Maggie Haimes. He was cremated at
Golders Green CrematoriumGolders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. It is owned by the London Cremation Co plc, and opened in 1902, designed by the architect Sir Ernest George....
in London; his ashes are buried under a rose bush in the gardens.