In February 1941, Churchill Finalizes Arrangements For His War Aims Committee

On May 10, 1940 Churchill became Prime Minister, a post he received in large part because the opposition Labour Party refused to form a coalition government under Neville Chamberlain and insisted instead on him. This was a time of almost unprecedented national crisis, and Churchill saw very clearly that to defend the country a coalition was the only choice. On May 13 he unveiled the new war cabinet, a coalition of those he regarded as the most energetic and talented available to him, regardless of party. These included the Labour Party’s two leaders, future Prime Minister Clement Atllee and Arthur Greenwood, and from his own Conservative Party a mix of his loyalists such as Lord Beaverbrook and Anthony Eden, and those like Kingsley Wood who were adherents of the sizable Chamberlain wing of the party. As he faced Parliament that day with his new cabinet, he famously orated, “I would say to the House, as I said to those who have joined this government: I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”

Despite the desperate situation in which Britain found herself in 1940, and even as other nations wrote her off, inside the country and government there was a spirit forward-looking to a future victory. Atlee led a party whose members were mainly workers, and his constituents wanted to know that they would have a share in the fruits of victory. He demanded that the government demonstrate its commitment to positive war aims. But Labourites were not alone in this feeling. Atlee’s call was supported by the Ministry of Information, led by Conservative Duff Cooper, which argued that a vision of a new post-war Britain had to be offered to the country in order to maintain morale. Churchill concurred and agreed to the establishment of a War Aims Committee in August 1940. But this was the height of the Blitz, with bombs raining on London and many other cities, and it was not until the following February that Churchill set about putting the committee into place. He made the gesture to Labour of offering Arthur Greenwood the chairmanship. Greenwood was known as being particularly interested in reconstruction questions, which was in keeping with what many saw as a main focus for the committee: perpetuating national unity through a social and economic structure designed to secure equality of opportunity among all portions of the community. The noted historian, Professor Arnold Toynbee, proposed that “social services ought to be made available to all that needed them; the voluntary hospital system might have to be superseded, health insurance would be extended, and there would greater equality…in the quality of medical services and treatment…There must be equality of opportunity in education.”

Churchill wrote Greenwood on February 4, 1941, setting up the committee and providing details of its composition and emphasis. He started by saying that ministers concerned with the daily conduct of the war were fully engaged and would not be members. He gave some thoughts and suggestions, such as hoping the committee would “give rather greater prominence to the domestic side of the work.” He continued, stating there would be 11 members, and Churchill listed them: there were to be three Labour members (included Greenwood and Attlee), six Conservative members, and two Liberal Party members.

The Labour Party felt under-represented, and there were smaller parties (like the Scottish National Party) that were not represented at all and thought they should be. Greenwood approached Churchill about increasing the size of the committee, and Churchill responded. Typed Letter Signed, on his 10 Downing Street letterhead embossed “Prime Minister,” London, February 17, 1941, to Greenwood. “Thank you for your letter of February 7. I am glad that you are in general agreement with the proposals made in my letter of February 4. You propose in your letter to add four additional members to the Committee. My own feeling is that the Committee as set out in my letter of the 4th is sufficiently large. I think it would be a mistake to add four other permanent members; but there would, of course, be no objection to either of the two Ministers or Parliamentary Secretaries mentioned in the second paragraph of your letter being summoned to any meetings of the Committee at which matters in which they were particularly concerned were to be dealt with.” He adds in holograph “I hope this will meet your wishes.“

This illustrates his adroitness in handling delicate political matters and skill in assigning personnel to important positions in government. It also shows the astonishing optimism of Churchill, his ministers, and the British people in planning for victory and a post-war new world even while they stood alone against the Nazis and most everyone elsewhere considered their prospects bleak.