Alfred Robens, Baron Robens of Woldingham

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Robens presenting his report into workplace health and safety in 1972
Robens presenting his report into workplace health and safety in 1972

Alfred Robens, Baron Robens of Woldingham PC CBE (18 December 1910 – 27 June 1999) was an English trade unionist, Labour politician and industrialist. His political ambitions, and aspiration to become Prime Minister, were frustrated by bad timing but his energies were diverted into industry as chairman of the National Coal Board and author of the Robens report into health, safety and welfare at work. His outlook was paternalistic and he was a firm believer in social engineering. In later life, he moved away from his early socialism towards the Conservative Party. His reputation remains tarnished by his insensitive handling of the Aberfan disaster.

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[edit] Early life

Robens was born in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester, the son of George Robens, a cotton salesman and Edith Robens. He left school at 15 to work as an errand boy but his career truly began when he joined the Manchester and Salford Co-operative Society as a clerk, becoming a director when he was 22. He was an official in the Union of Distributive and Allied Workers from 1935 to 1945 and, being certified medically unfit for military service in World War II, he served as a Manchester City Councilllor from 1941 to 1945. He married Eva Powell on 9 September 1936 and the couple adopted a son, Alfred (born 1935).[1]

[edit] Politics

Following the War, in the dramatic Labour victory of 1945, Robens was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for the mining constituency of Wansbeck, Northumberland. Robens started on a sustained rise through the parliamentary ranks, serving in junior posts at the Ministry of Transport (1945-1947) and at the Ministry of Fuel and Power under Hugh Gaitskell. Robens moved to the new constituency of Blyth, later Blyth Valley, in 1950 following boundary changes. In 1951, Robens was briefly Minister of Labour and National Service but the Conservative Party won the general election later that year.[1]

In opposition, Robens continued to rise in the party, being appointed shadow Foreign Secretary by Clement Attlee, and starting to be considered as a future candidate for party leader. Robens himself "yearned to become Prime Minister".[2] However, Robens failed to impress during the Suez crisis of 1956 and party leader Gaitskell felt him too left wing. He was replaced as shadow foreign secretary by Aneurin Bevan and felt that his political ambitions had been frustrated. Thus, in 1960, when Conservative Prime Minister Harold Macmillan offered him the chairmanship of the National Coal Board (NCB) he accepted enthusiastically. Gaitskell died two years later and Tweedale has expressed the view that, had he persisted in politics, Robens would likely have become Prime Minister rather than Harold Wilson.[1]

[edit] National Coal Board

Robens took up his appointent at the NCB in 1961 and was created a life peer as Baron Robens of Woldingham in the County of Surrey on 28 June.[1] Amongst those critical of this sudden elevation were his successor as MP for Blyth, Eddie Milne.[citation needed] Robens' leadership of the NCB was high-handed. He expected unflinching loyalty from colleagues and subordinates alike, and was confrontational with politicians. He enjoyed the trappings of power including a Daimler with registration "NCB 1", an executive aeroplane and an apartment in Eaton Square, London. Such behaviour brought him the nickname "Old King Coal", a pun on Old King Cole. However, he threw himself into the job with vigour and enthusiasm, visiting pits, arguing with miners at the coalface and developing a deep knowledge of the industry.[1]

As Chairman of the NCB, Robens was associated with substantial cuts in the mining industry, many of them reflecting market forces and government policies originated before he assumed the post. Although he lobbied to protect the industry, his reputation as a socialist suffered. For a while, Robens had a constructive working relationship with miners' leader Will Paynter but industrial relations deteriorated and, by the end of Robens' tenure in 1971, the stage was set for the discontent, confrontations and strikes of the 1970s.[1]

Robens expressed concern at the poor health and safety record of the coal industry and championed campaigns to reduce accidents and to counter chronic occupational diseases, such as pneumoconiosis. Although the number of fatal and serious accidents fell by over 60% during his tenure, there was also a fall in the workforce of over 50%, from 583,000 to 283,000.[1]

The largest single blow to his reputation came from his reaction to the 1966 disaster at Aberfan, in which a spoils heap collapsed on Pantglas school in a landslide of slurry, killing 116 children and 28 adults. He refused to have the NCB fund the removal of other spoils heaps from Aberfan. The work was eventually funded by a £150,000 (£1.8 million at 2003 prices[3]) "raid" by the government on the disaster relief fund that had been raised by public appeal. This came atop Robens' refusal to postpone his installation as Chancellor of the University of Surrey to come to Aberfan, so that he did not arrive until the following day.[1] At first, Robens claimed that the disaster had been caused by "natural unknown springs" beneath the tip, but evidence emerged that the existence of these springs was common knowledge. The public inquiry into the disaster was highly critical of Robens. He tendered his resignation to the government, although it was refused. There have been allegations that the resignation offer was "bogus" and Robens had been assured that it would not be accepted.[4] There is no evidence that prosecution for corporate manslaughter was considered at the time.[5] Robens was exonerated by the official history of the NCB[6] but, as of 2008, he remains condemned in other quarters.[1]

In 1969, he was selected by Barbara Castle to chair a committee on workplace health and safety. This led to the 1972 Robens Report which controversially championed the idea of self-regulation by employers. The Report itself led to the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the creation of the Health and Safety Commission and the Health and Safety Executive.[7][8]

[edit] Later life

Following the Conservative victory in the 1970 general election, Robens found the new administration's distaste for nationalisation at odds with his own rather paternalistic views on social engineering. He fell into conflict with Prime Minister Edward Heath and Minister of State for Industry Sir John Eden. Robens left the NCB in 1971 but always insisted that his tenure was a success.[1]

Robens had become a director of the Bank of England in 1966[1] and a member of the board of directors of Times Newspapers in 1967.[citation needed] He was Chairman of Vickers from 1971 to 1979, opposing the Labour plans for nationalisation that led to the Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act 1977. He was Chairman of Johnson Matthey from 1971 to 1983, and a director of Trust House Forte and several other companies. His lifestyle was increasingly at odds with his socialist beginnings and by 1979, he had become aligned with the Conservative Party.[1]

He left public life in 1982, retiring with his wife to Laleham Abbey, once the home of Richard Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan. Robens suffered the first of two debilitating strokes in 1992.[1]

[edit] Other public appointments

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Tweedale (2008)
  2. ^ Robens (1972) p.4
  3. ^ O‘Donoghue, J. et al. (2004). "Consumer Price Inflation since 1750". Economic Trends 604: 38-46, March. 
  4. ^ McLean (1997)
  5. ^ McLean & Johnes (2000) p.41
  6. ^ Ashworth (1986)
  7. ^ "Factory safety Bill should await committee's report", The Times, February 13 1971, p. 19, col A. 
  8. ^ Cullen (1996)

[edit] Bibliography

Obituaries:

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Robert Scott		 Member of Parliament for Wansbeck
1945–1950		 Constituency abolished
New constituency Member of Parliament for Blyth
1950–1960		 Succeeded by
Eddie Milne
Other offices
Preceded by
Sir James Bowman		 Chairman of the National Coal Board
1961–1971		 Succeeded by
Derek Ezra
Languages