John Strachey | |
|---|---|
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| Secretary of State for War | |
| In office 28 February 1950 – 26 October 1951 | |
| Monarch | George VI |
| Prime Minister | Clement Attlee |
| Preceded by | Manny Shinwell |
| Succeeded by | Antony Head |
| Minister of Food | |
| In office 27 May 1946 – 28 February 1950 | |
| Preceded by | Sir Ben Smith |
| Succeeded by | Maurice Webb |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 21 October 1901 Guildford, Surrey, UK |
| Died | 15 July 1963 (aged 61) Marylebone, London, UK |
| Political party | Labour |
| Other political affiliations | Communist Party of Great Britain (until 1940) Popular Front New Party (1931) |
| Alma mater | Magdalen College, Oxford |
Evelyn John St Loe Strachey (21 October 1901 – 15 July 1963) was a British Labour politician and writer.
A journalist by profession, Strachey was elected to Parliament in 1929. He was initially a disciple of Oswald Mosley, and, feeling that the Second Labour Government was not doing enough to combat unemployment, joined Mosley in founding the New Party in 1931. He broke with Mosley later in the year and so did not follow him into fascism. Strachey lost his seat in 1931, was a Communist sympathiser for the rest of the 1930s and broke with the Communist Party in 1940.
During the Second World War, Strachey served as a Royal Air Force officer in planning and public relations roles. He was once again elected to Parliament as a Labour MP in 1945 and held office under Clement Attlee as Minister of Food (he became an unpopular figure because of the continued food rationing) and as Secretary of State for War. He continued to be a Labour MP, generally as a supporter of the party's right wing until his death.
Throughout his career, Strachey was a prolific writer of books and articles from a communist perspective in the 1930s and as a social democrat after the Second World War.