David Nicholson at the Bevan Festival

David Nicholson spoke at the Bevan Festival, march and rally in Tredegar on the 6^th of July 2025 as part of the celebrations for Aneurin Bevan and his legacy. Some points from his speech are summarised here:

• that Aneurin Bevan’s written work gives us an indication of what his views and positions would be over cutting disability benefits and funding arms spending
• that both Aneurin Bevan and later Harold Wilson resigned when Labour introduced NHS charges to fund the Korean war
• that Aneurin Bevan would have spoken out against Labour position on Palestine where journalists (among many thousands of people) have been killed
• that Aneurin Bevan was expelled from Labour for 9 months in 1939 for calling for a united socialist front of all parties of the left including the Communist Party of Great Britain
• that in 1941, Aneurin Bevan criticised the coalition war government for banning the Morning Star – Daily Worker
• that he would have criticised Labour today for proscribing the peaceful protest group Palestine Action
• that there is massive contrast between the principled and courageous positions of Aneurin Bevan and Keir Starmer’s Labour Party