Leslie Hore-Belisha

Leslie Hore-Belisha, 1st Baron Hore-Belisha (September 7, 1893 - February 16, 1957) was a British Member of Parliament and Cabinet minister who is remembered for his innovations in road transport and for being a victim of anti-semitism.

Hore-Belisha was born in Devonport, Plymouth with the surname Belisha. When his mother married Sir Adair Hore in 1912 he adopted the double-barrelled surname Hore-Belisha. His family were wealthy enough to finance his education on the continent, including at Paris and Heidelberg, before he attended St. John's College, Oxford where he was President of the Oxford Union Society. He served overseas in the First World War, being promoted to the rank of Major, and after the end of the war qualified as a Barrister.

In 1922 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Liberal Party in his birthplace constituency of Plymouth Devonport. He won the seat in the 1923 general election, and became known in Parliament as a flamboyant and brilliant speaker. He generally allied with the right-wing of the Liberals who were critical of their party's support for the Labour minority governments, and joined with Sir John Simon in becoming a 'Liberal National' on formation of the National Government in 1931.

After the general election of that year, Hore-Belisha was appointed as a junior Minister at the Board of Trade, where he worked effectively. He remained in the Government when the official Liberals withdrew in September 1932 over free trade, and was promoted to Financial Secretary to the Treasury. Hore-Belisha showed considerable intelligence and drive in Government, but his intense energy tended to alienate more traditional elements who also resented his status as an 'outsider'.

From 1934 Hore-Belisha served as Minister of Transport and came to public prominence at a time when motoring was becoming available to the masses. He rewrote the Highway Code and was responsible for the introduction of the driving test and the Belisha Beacon (which the public named after him); innovations which all led to a dramatic drop in road accidents.

Having succeeded in this post he was controversially appointed as Secretary of State for War in 1937 under Neville Chamberlain. The appointment sparked comment as Hore-Belisha replaced Alfred Duff Cooper who had been very popular. Some also felt that such a high-profile appointment should not go to a Liberal National. However, Hore-Belisha's Jewish faith also aroused anti-semitism among parts of the Conservative party. He was labelled a warmonger, Bolshevik and worse and there was pressure to get him out of the Cabinet at the earliest opportunity.

Thinking war was looming, Belisha sought permission to introduce conscription in 1938 but was rebuffed by Chamberlain who would not agree to increase defence spending. Undeterred Belisha sought to reshape the armed forces in the same way he had done at Transport, improving pay, pensions and promotion prospects for lower class soldiers, whose advancement could often be blocked due to nepotism amongst the upper classes. He also improved barrack room conditions, having showers and recreation facilities installed and giving married soldiers the right to live with their families. Finally, early in 1939 he was allowed to introduce conscription to meet the threat of Nazi Germany.

As Secretary of State for War Belisha resolved to modernise the rather hidebound British armed forces and immediately sacked three prominent members of the Imperial General Staff in order to replace them with fresher minds. His attitude immediately alienated seasoned campaigners such as Field Marshals John Dill and John Gort, the latter of whom could barely bear to be in the same room as the Minister.

Belisha's changes infuriated the military establishment and this communicated to the lower ranks. In the early months of World War II he banned a popular song which was widely sung in the armed forces (to the tune of Edward VIII, both during and after the abdication crisis. Seeing an opportunity King George VI had a quiet word with Chamberlain who sacked Hore-Belisha in January 1940.

Hore-Belisha attempted to rebuild his career under Winston Churchill but his re-appointment was blocked by a combination of his wounded intransigence and continued Conservative prejudice. He resigned from the Liberal Nationals in 1942 and then sat as a 'National Independent' MP. In the Conservative 'Caretaker' government of 1945 he was briefly appointed Minister for National Insurance.

In the 1945 election, Hore-Belisha was defeated in Devonport by Michael Foot, still standing as a National Independent. He thereafter joined the Conservative Party and was elected to Westminster City Council from 1947. He fought unsuccessfully in Croydon South in 1950, before Churchill gave him a peerage in 1954. He died three years later.

Preceded by: Alfred Duff Cooper

Secretary of State for War 1937—1940

Followed by: Oliver Frederick Stanley