Stafford Cripps
British politician and diplomat (1889–1952) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Sir Richard Stafford Cripps CH QC FRS[1] (24 April 1889 – 21 April 1952) was a British Labour Party politician, barrister, and diplomat.
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Stafford Cripps | |
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Chancellor of the Exchequer | |
In office 13 November 1947 – 19 October 1950 | |
Prime Minister | Clement Attlee |
Preceded by | Hugh Dalton |
Succeeded by | Hugh Gaitskell |
Minister for Economic Affairs | |
In office 29 September 1947 – 13 November 1947 | |
Prime Minister | Clement Attlee |
Preceded by | New creation |
Succeeded by | Post abolished (Trial post) |
President of the Board of Trade | |
In office 27 July 1945 – 29 September 1947 | |
Prime Minister | Clement Attlee |
Preceded by | Oliver Lyttelton |
Succeeded by | Harold Wilson |
Minister of Aircraft Production | |
In office 22 November 1942 – 25 May 1945 | |
Prime Minister | Winston Churchill |
Preceded by | John Llewellin |
Succeeded by | Ernest Brown |
Leader of the House of Commons Lord Privy Seal | |
In office 19 February 1942 – 22 November 1942 | |
Prime Minister | Winston Churchill |
Preceded by | Winston Churchill (as Leader of the House of Commons) Clement Attlee (as Lord Privy Seal) |
Succeeded by | Anthony Eden (as Leader of the House of Commons) Robert Gascoyne-Cecil (as Lord Privy Seal) |
Solicitor General for England and Wales | |
In office 22 October 1930 – 24 August 1931 | |
Prime Minister | James Ramsay MacDonald |
Preceded by | James Melville |
Succeeded by | Thomas Inskip |
Member of Parliament for Bristol South East Bristol East (1931–1950) | |
In office 16 January 1931 – 25 October 1950 | |
Preceded by | Walter John Baker |
Succeeded by | Tony Benn |
Personal details | |
Born | Richard Stafford Cripps[1] (1889-04-24)24 April 1889 Chelsea, London, England |
Died | 21 April 1952(1952-04-21) (aged 62) Zürich, Switzerland |
Political party | Labour |
Other political affiliations | Popular Front |
Spouse | Dame Isobel Cripps |
Children | 4, including Peggy Cripps |
Parent(s) | Charles Cripps Theresa Potter |
Relatives | Kwame Anthony Appiah (grandson) |
Alma mater | University College London |
A wealthy lawyer by background, he first entered Parliament at a by-election in 1931, and was one of a handful of Labour frontbenchers to retain his seat at the general election that autumn. He became a leading spokesman for the left-wing and co-operation in a Popular Front with Communists before 1939, in which year he was expelled from the Labour Party. During this time he became intimately involved with Krishna Menon and the India League.
During World War II, he served as Ambassador to the USSR (1940–42), during which time he grew wary of the Soviet Union,[citation needed] but achieved great public popularity because on being invaded by Nazi Germany the USSR stated its co-operation with the Allies and restoring peace, causing Cripps to be seen in 1942 as a potential rival to Winston Churchill for the premiership. He became a member of the War Cabinet of the wartime coalition, but failed in his efforts (the "Cripps Mission") to resolve the wartime crisis in India, where his proposals were too radical for Churchill and the Cabinet, and too conservative for Mahatma Gandhi and other Indian leaders, but nonetheless kept the trust and friendship of V. K. Krishna Menon, allowing him to retain a role in Indian affairs, including the 1946 Cabinet Mission to India and, ultimately, the selection of the final Viceroy. He later served as Minister of Aircraft Production, an important post but outside the inner War Cabinet.[2]
Cripps rejoined the Labour Party in 1945, and after the war he served in the Attlee ministry, first as President of the Board of Trade and between 1947 and 1950 as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Labour party member and historian Kenneth O. Morgan claimed of his role in the latter position that he was "the real architect of the rapidly improving economic picture and growing affluence from 1952 onwards".[3]
The economy improved after 1947, benefiting from American money given through grants from the Marshall Plan as well as loans. However, the pound had to be devalued in 1949. He kept the wartime rationing system in place to hold down consumption during an "age of austerity", promoted exports and maintained full employment with static wages. The public especially respected "his integrity, competence, and Christian principles".[2]