Henry Willink

The Right Honourable
Sir Henry Willink
MC, QC
Willink in 1948
Minister of Health
In office
1943–1945
Preceded byErnest Brown
Succeeded byAneurin Bevan
Member of Parliament
for Croydon North
In office
19 June 1940 – 29 January 1948
Preceded byGlyn Mason
Succeeded byFred Harris
Personal details
Born
Henry Willink

(1894-03-07)7 March 1894
Liverpool, Lancashire
Died20 July 1973(1973-07-20) (aged 79)
Political partyConservative

Sir Henry Urmston Willink, 1st Baronet, MC, PC, QC (7 March 1894 – 20 July 1973) was a British politician and public servant. A Conservative Member of Parliament from 1940, he became Minister of Health in 1943.[1] During his time in power he was appointed Special Commissioner for those made homeless by the London Blitz and was involved with the production of the Beveridge Report.[2]

The details of the report proposed a comprehensive free healthcare system, this led to the white paper A National Health Service,[3] published in 1944, suggesting the creation of such a service, which did not include the nationalisation of hospitals.[4] Such a policy was later implemented by the Labour Party through the creation of the National Health Service which differed from the proposals suggested by Willink.[5] At the time he claimed the nationalisation of voluntary hospitals "will destroy so much in this country that we value".[6][7]

  1. ^ Archives, The National. "Glossary - H". www.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  2. ^ Archives, The National. "Glossary - H". www.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  3. ^ "A National Health Service (1944) | Policy Navigator". navigator.health.org.uk. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  4. ^ "A national health service white paper was published in March 1944 | Policy Navigator". navigator.health.org.uk. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  5. ^ Archives, The National. "Beveridge and Bevan". www.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  6. ^ Guardian Staff (29 September 1999). "Blair's war on enemies of ambition". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  7. ^ "National Health Service Bill - Hansard". hansard.parliament.uk. Retrieved 30 September 2019.