AHC: Richard Crossman PM?

Had he chosen to stand, being the intellectual force behind the Bevanites after Bevan's death, in 1960, he could well have solidified his position as the de facto leader of the Labour Left. That was when the future of the Left was made and, without Wilson standing, the three others who'd been rumoured to stand against Gaitskell (Anthony Greenwood, Barbara Castle and Richard Crossman) had their chance to become the de facto leader.

Thus, when 1963 comes around and Gaitskell pops his clogs, Crossman would have the best chance at defeating George Brown and claiming the leadership. From there, he has a good chance in 1964.
 
Was reading up more on the period and came across the 1959 Labour Deputy Election and Bevan's stomach cancer.
Had this caused a problem earlier and he didn't stand it would be safe to presume it would go to a Bevanite.
That Bevanite would then be in a better situation to challenge Gaitskell in 1961?
 
Was reading up more on the period and came across the 1959 Labour Deputy Election and Bevan's stomach cancer.
Had this caused a problem earlier and he didn't stand it would be safe to presume it would go to a Bevanite.
That Bevanite would then be in a better situation to challenge Gaitskell in 1961?

That is certainly a good idea.

Another one would be the 1955 Expulsion Crisis, which nearly saw Bevan expelled from the Labour Party due to the machinations of Edith Summerskill and members of the right wing on the NEC. On the 23rd March 1955, the NEC met to decide upon Bevan's possible expulsion and the vote to expel him was defeated... by 14 votes to 13. Two of the main reasons for this passing were

  1. Ian Mikardo's daughter learning about the date of the proposed meeting beforehand and changing the date of her wedding in order to accommodate her father, allowing him to cast his vote for retaining Bevan as a Labour member.
  2. Jean Mann, an MP from the right of the party and "implacable anti-Bevanite", supported Bevan and voted for his retention.

Keep the original wedding date and have Mann turn that anti-Bevanite hatred into a vote against the man himself and Bevan is expelled from the party. This changes the 1955 leadership election, of course, but Gaitskell is still the likely winner. Things can follow on from there in a variety of different ways, but Crossman is the most senior Bevanite (alongside Mikardo) in the party and would be the guiding light of the younger Bevanites. If Bevan was never readmitted to the party, then I'm sure "Crossmanite" would be the general term for the left in the post-1955 period.
 

RyanF

Banned
Was reading up more on the period and came across the 1959 Labour Deputy Election and Bevan's stomach cancer.
Had this caused a problem earlier and he didn't stand it would be safe to presume it would go to a Bevanite.
That Bevanite would then be in a better situation to challenge Gaitskell in 1961?

I don't think that anyone would be able to defeat Gaitskell in a 1961 leadership election, I couldn't see Crossman coming any closer than Wilson did in 1960.

Perhaps as @Comisario suggests he becomes leader of the left after Bevan's death, perhaps becoming Deputy Leader along the way, then after Gaitskell's death he runs for leadership.

A straight Crossman vs. Callaghan leadership contest would be interesting, and the result by no means set in stone.
 
Slight divergence from the topic but would Mikardo have a better chance against the right in a leadership election had he got deputy leader as opposed to Crossman in the same position?
Of course he'd have to keep his seat.
 
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