Denis Healey: The Best Prime Minister Labour never had? 

I was in tears when i heard Denis Healy read his poem about Lady Astor s coments about his colleagues in Italy. R I P Denis and your fellow comrades !

I love listening to Michael Cockerell's voice. I also find Dennis Healey a fascinating figure. I loved reading his autobiography. Wonderful writer, what a talented and hard working guy, on a mission to make the world a better place rather than insincere reasons for being in politics. Huge intellect, yet socially clumsy and unaware. Definitely not a networker, which probably prevented him from reaching the very top. I also loved the way he proudly declared he had four willies and Mrs Thatcher only had one.

That remark about David Owen at the end was priceless, and flawlessly delivered. Healey had it til the end.

Healey's economic stats as Chancellor: 5 negative quarters of GDP growth, 1 quarter of 0 GDP growth, 5 quarters of +0.something, 6 at +1.something and 1 barely over 2%.

Wonderful documentary. Politically I deferred from Mr Healey, but I had immense respect for him for his passions, honesty and especially as a person and family man.

Another excellent documentary, good to see one which doesn't have constant background music.

Good insight into Labour Party Post WW2 and the formidable Dennis Healey MP.

56:18 I hope he and Edna are together again now.

What a fabulous documentary.

Huge intellect, huge charisma and one of Labour's lost leaders

Listening to the likes of Healey, Jenkins, Castle and Williams does make me think that the country missed a trick not having them in power into the eighties. Because they were all these pragmatic politicians, but with these tremendous personalities that made them human, unlike the blinkered, hardened, politically obsessed to the point exclusion tendencies of Thatcher and those around her, which has led us into this world of bland career politicians who only seem able to be able to suck up to the market whilst being obsessed with the mountain out of a mole hill world of PR. Not that he was perfect by any means, but I wish we had the likes of a Healey personality near the top of the labour party today.

Appreciate your amazing uploads so much. Thanks!

At least he in part kept us out of Vietnam.

Ken Livingston at 46 min “The shift has become irreversible.” 🤭

This is a brilliant compilation and probably more revealing than intended. More should look at it. It was also said of a compatriot of Dennis in the Italian campaign , NZ Prime Minister RD Muldoon a NZ Nat ( not a Tory and would not have been) that he was the best PM , NZLP never had. Healy was probably even tougher ( the 1977 UK Budget is the NZLP 1957 'Nordy' Black Budget ) and somewhat more sober and just a a shade brighter, But in there direct overlap of Commonwealth financial authority in 1975-1979 and earlier on related issues in 67-70 a recorded conversation between Healy and RD would have been notable officially and after hours. Dennis was to some extent a good looking, black Irish thug as well as a brilliant bureaucrat. He was no predecessor of Thatcher or Lawson, Healey hard line in 1977 was just hard enough for long enough to save socialist UK, if not with much sympathy for the unionists and new left class. Many would see his doubtlessly necessary downsizing of the British military, navy and aerospace industries as rather clumsy and lacking a real sympathy with the technical detail or flexibility, required for any independent conventional capability as was needed in the Falklands. The points seen by John Nott in 1981 about the fact the RN frigate and destroyer designs were unbalanced ageing scenario conceived ship lacking easily and cheapily added effective close in AA say 8 old or mod Oelikons or 4 L60/L70 Bofors and two DP AA auto 4 inch on the Leanders or Tribals like the French or Chileans would have fitted at say ten percent more cost per frigate. Under Mountbatten the County class cruiser replacements and the Leander class frigates ( half potentially nuclear armed AS frigate and half an AD picket ;third class unarmed cruiser; follow on the wartime Bellona class) were built as clean lined yacht like warships like the modern 21C Dutch Holland class OPV high endurace corvette with little visible armament by WW2 stds and partly clean uncluttered high tech UK sales platform for the white heat of a nuclear age clean Britain selling high tech industry products rather than its traditional defence role The aircraft carrier phase out was handled badly. In 1959 the media and political class assumed the Tiger and Hermes were the last Britsh cruiser and aircraft carrier. The 1960s carrier force had been built on legacy hulls from WW2 against Churchill's opposition and while half good was mainly strut with neither the Vixens or Scimitars effective or reliable if the the UK had really had to fight over Indonesia or Rhodesia Angola in 1966. The fact was that no Labour or Tory politician actually agreed with Mountbatten and the RN 3-5 CVAO1 programme and few felt the Invincible useful compared with a complete reconstruction of Hermes, Bulwark and Eagle in 1969. The Ark Royal was as ready to scrap as HMS LIon in 1957 and was never much use as a worn out legacy even before commissioning. Healey failed to point that out and was mainly a economic, poltical and defence hatchet man not a builder or a modern UK or true Leader. A great showman, operator and political bureaucrat.

Ridiculous that other Labour MP's bood him when he said they would have to continue with some of the painful cuts. Do they want the government to spend more money and go bankrupt?

Yes, but he didn't really want the job at the time. Sensible, brave, cultured, humane, pragmatic, brilliant but if you don't spend much time and effort assembling a band of supporters around you your chances of getting to No.10 are greatly reduced. Some say that he was not only the best Defence Secretary since WW2 but the only real one, the services had to take cuts but Healey retained their respect. Not only due to his war record but his intellect too. He might have fought many political battles but he was not a 'hater'.

Fascinating man, and so grateful to see the documentary here. Can't stream it directly in the States. Many thanks.

Interesting listening to Anthony Wedgwood-Benn, Viscount Stansgate, at time 42.30 onwards and his criticisms of previous Labour Governments. If he felt so strongly about the issues and the 'capitulations' as he called them, why did he not resign from the Cabinet?

Does anyone know where the opening music is from? 1:40

Thanks.

Whatever your political leanings the one thing that is clear to see is that politicians used to have substance and character.They were household names and appeared in all the TV shows of the time.Its hard to even name or recognise most of the chinless wonders we have today.

Also it was Healey who started the economic policies which would eventually bring Britain into prosperity I. The 1980s and 90s (and probably in 2000s too.) Thatcher carried on his work but made the mistake of moving too fast and of being insensitive towards the unions and the skilled workers.

Wonderful documentary. Fascinating man.

healy had a wonderful brain and intellect and a sense of fun too.i have always admired him enormously .he was beyond compare!

Amazing man

12:50 is about as moving as it gets

Can anyone tell what Gabriel Garcia Márquez’s books he’s was reading? About 7:00

A politician with integrity and care for the UK unlike Mr Johnson

Are used to frequent bookstore in Hyde Park in Leeds I work there during the late 90s and my boss at the time but have a lock in so that he can roam around the rare book collection to his heart was content arrantly he used to make not in frequent trips there

I think hugh gatskell was probably that from labour party not sure about tony benn and hertert morrison,roy jenkins as they were quite left wing

A proper politician be there seen it done it bravo

Like John Smith, even those on the left of the party liked him! (well, except Benn and Corbyn. But I suppose when you're the image of the left you're gonna be in some sort of opposition)

Flawed yet brilliant man.

It's a little know but true fact that the Chuckle brothers were running Labours policy's in the 80's. Good job they have there act together now and can form a truly effective opposition 🙄

Great film, pity about the naff things the uploader has stuck on the beginning and end of it.

Who was Ken Livingstone in his last incarnation?

41:53 check out Jeremy Corbyn on the right

I dont get it all this inflation was th value of the £ falling

Oh to have someone with Healeys intellect nowadays. Instead we have soundbites politicians. Let’s hope Keir Starmer can change this.

Would love to see the full debate with the Communist party General Secretary John Gollan.

What is that Russian song at 49 mins?

Labour today could use Denis Healey today after the last General Election

Wow the Left calling someone Hitler, how unique 21:55

Strange documentary, more of a hagiography to be exact. Whilst lavishing him with praise, he appears to stumble from one disaster to another and coming across as an arrogant bully. Not, I am sure what the makers intended. The scene at the Russian train station was nauseating.

Thanks so much for posting this. Excellent politician and even better man.

Didn't agree with him but I liked him.

What a contrast to Jeremy Corbyn

I'm not going to waste my time watching this but the best Labour PM we never had was John Smith by a country mile

Prehaps not best Prime Minister we never had (Id say John Smith is the best candidate for that) but definitely the best foreign secretary we never had

28:20 - "i don't think he was a man who felt totally dedicated to the factual truth" hmmmm

My favourite politician of all time neXt to Tony Benn and no, i have never voted Labour in my life!

Lol "Tony Benn. Smiley faced leader of the hard-left" Not very sympathetic. I've never been anywhere near Tony Benn's views, but he and Foot seem pleasant chaps in retrospect, especially compared to the nightmare that is 90% of the current Labour part. Glad Benn & Foot didn't rule us, anyway. Though they'd have got us out of the EEC/EU before Maastricht.

The best Labour PM UK never had? That would be Tony Benn, no?

Shirley Williams doing her normal impression of a considered elder stateswoman whilst slandering and vilifying all the lesser mortals whose opinions she felt obliged to consider despite knowing she was always right.An odious woman.

Yes these English, kids, dress so darn..

41:45 - a certain future party leader on the right frame About as successful as Michael Foot

The British economy was buckling due to Socialism, the debt left over from the Second World War and the Arab Oil Crisis. Not entirely, the Labour Party's fault.

no that goes to tony benn

Rofl at 40:26 cartoon

Healey was a clown.

A triple first from Oxford I believe...Didn't know he was once a card carrying communist.

He was a bit of a bully and a know it all He really didn’t make an effort in 1980 to win the contest and for better or for worse , many saw Michael Foot as a better personality to be leader

Not the best leader we never had. For those maybe not old enough to remember, he took the UK to the IMF in ‘76...

Had Healey been elected as Labour leader whistle Thatcher was in no 10, he would have beaten her in an election. Maybe not in 1983 but definitely in 1987. Thatcher had the great fortune to have 3 Labour leaders who weren't up to the job of PM. Callaghan was a has been Foot was too old fashioned and weak Kinnock loved the sound of his voice too much.

I lived through all of this, and I promise you the word "brilliant" was never used in the same sentence as his name. Where this "best Prime Minister" twoddle comes from, one suspects perhaps over a few gins at the BBC. All in all, a load of toddle about a very 'silly billy'.

Nah Dennis was economically illiterate. He thought the economy operated like a household budget. He was one of the architects of labour's downfall.

i the 2013 cu

Hes haves thicker eyes brows. Mind eyes brows is not so. Bushy hes haves thick hair.on his, scalp.then me but nothing wrong.with thats.hes a serious indivi... nothing too play with.hes let you knows I'm not yours. Toys.don't go there. Oh please miss things o'm a human, indivi. .

Hennesy comes off as scripted and cringey.

I thought this was a left wing channel??

One can never trust, anyone who tends to change from one political ideology, to another, from communist, to Labour, and then to the right wing of Labour. Maybe he was just manouvering about "to stay on top".

healey was an unpleasant person without vision. nothing on benn