"Bevan’s fight is now our fight"

Today we gather to honour not just Aneurin Bevan, but all those whose beliefs reshaped our nation – but it is Bevan’s vision that continues to guide our struggle for fairness and dignity.

Bevan was born in 1897 in Tredegar, right here in the South Wales Valleys, into a mining family that knew hardship, poverty, and exploitation. From a young age, he saw with piercing clarity the injustices faced by working people – and he resolved to change them. His beliefs were rooted in lived experience. For Bevan, socialism was not an abstract theory. It was a necessity born out of suffering and solidarity.

He believed, first and foremost, in equality. Bevan declared, “No society can legitimately call itself civilised if a sick person is denied medical aid because of lack of means.” He saw healthcare as a human right – not a commodity, not a privilege for the few, but a right for all. That belief gave birth to the National Health Service in 1948, built upon three principles: it would meet the needs of everyone, be free at the point of delivery, and be based on clinical need, not the ability to pay.

Bevan believed in the dignity of labour. As a miner, he experienced first-hand the dangers of unsafe workplaces and the contempt of employers who treated working people as expendable. His socialism was a declaration that workers are not merely economic units – they are human beings with dreams, families, and inherent worth. He believed the wealth created by workers should serve society, not be hoarded by the few.

He believed in education as liberation. Bevan taught himself relentlessly, reading Marx, literature, and economics while working underground. He once said, “I am not prepared to sacrifice the liberties of any section of the British people to improve the material wellbeing of any other.” For him, education was the foundation of freedom – enabling the working class to challenge power and injustice with knowledge as their weapon.

He believed in internationalism. Bevan opposed fascism passionately, seeing the struggles of workers in Britain as inseparable from those of workers everywhere. He believed that peace, justice, and solidarity could not be contained within borders.

He believed in public ownership. Bevan argued that essential services should never be run for profit but for the public good. He was proud of nationalising hospitals to create the NHS and supported public ownership of utilities and industries to guarantee decent services and jobs.

And he believed in political courage. He often said, “We know what happens to people who stay in the middle of the road. They get run down.” Bevan taught us that compromise is sometimes necessary, but surrendering our principles is unforgivable. He refused to water down his vision to appease those who would dismantle it piece by piece.

Bevan’s beliefs were not easy or comfortable. They demanded that we confront inequality head-on. They demanded that we stand up to power. And they demand that we continue his struggle today.

Because comrades, the NHS he created is under threat. The very idea of universal public services is being chipped away by privatisation and austerity. Bevan warned us about this. He said, “The NHS will last as long as there are folk left with the faith to fight for it.”

Today, as trade unionists, community campaigners, and citizens, it is our duty to keep that faith alive. We honour Bevan not just with words but with action – by defending the NHS from cuts, by fighting for fair pay for health workers, by demanding public ownership of services, by ensuring that education remains a liberating force and not merely a debt burden, and by building a society based on dignity, solidarity, and justice for all.

If Aneurin Bevan was here today, comrades, do you think he would stand silently while billionaires profit from our NHS? While nurses use food banks and hospitals are handed to private firms piece by piece?

No. Bevan would be raging. He would be marching with us. He would be in the streets, on the picket lines, in Parliament, in every union branch and community hall, demanding that we rise up to protect what we built together.

If Bevan was here today, he would tell us that our struggle is not over. He would remind us that the NHS was born out of collective courage, out of working people refusing to accept crumbs while the rich feasted. He would tell us:

“Get off your knees. Organise. Strike if you must. Speak truth to power. Because there is no force on earth greater than ordinary people demanding what is rightfully theirs.”

If Bevan was here today, he would not ask us to remember him with statues or gentle words. He would demand that we live his beliefs with action. That we protect the NHS, expand public ownership, and build a society where no child goes hungry, no worker is exploited, and no person is denied care because of profit.

Let us be clear. Bevan’s fight is now our fight. His anger is our anger. His hope is our hope. And his courage must be our courage.

So today, let us leave here not only to celebrate him – but to be him. To carry his fire forward until justice is not a dream but a reality for every single person in this country.

Because if Bevan was here today – he would not be silent. And neither shall we.

By Mark Turner, Unite Wales Political Officer and founder of the Bevan Festival