Richard Crossman

Refusing to give up hope, Nick worked tirelessly through diplomatic channels to secure their release.

His persistence, together with the support of British politician Richard Crossman and Prime Minister Harold Macmillan's office, resulted in his mother becoming one of only twelve people permitted by Joseph Stalin to leave the Soviet Union, a testament to Nick's determination and devotion to his family.

Education remained the cornerstone of Nick's life.

He earned degrees in engineering from Trinity College, University of Cambridge, and mathematics from Birkbeck College, University of London.

And, you know, was there a point at which someone said, "Look, you know, we could do this or this, but I reckon we should do this." Uh, I mean, I know Gareth Evans had, or had a, a cabinet diary book, I think.

Uh, famously Richard Crossman, uh, in-

Yes

...

... is much smaller and, um, and he was also pushing against much older conventions.

Yeah.

I mean, you mentioned Richard Crossman in the UK.

That, that diary was explosive.

His charisma is not what it once was, that he just doesn't seem to be putting the effort into the speeches that he gives, or if he even shows up for the events and rallies that the Bevanites are organising.

He's not part of the fight in the way that, of course, she and other accolades like Bevanites Dick Crossman and Michael Ford, or indeed Harold Wilson, were at that time.

He kind of fades out.

And you could say, well, perhaps he just had this anxiety that he was going to lose Watford, and that was the end of it.

And as you say, Lee, there are many politicians who work in politics and journalism and go back and forth.

And you've given some examples on the right, but it was very true of the Freedman's generation on the left as well.

You had Michael Foote, who was editor of Tribune, Dick Crossman, who was one of those keep left Labour MPs, who'd go on to serve in the Wilson cabinet, but then he himself would become editor of the New Statesman.

Barbara Castle had been a journalist before she became an MP.

Can I be really interesting, Paul, and obviously massive congratulations on the book.

And what you just said really struck a chord with me because by chance, before I dived into your book, I'd been looking again at The God That Failed, the 1949 collection of essays that Richard Crossman wrote.

edited about, you know, looking back on communism and its failures and so on.

And the reason I mention it is because after what you just said is that this is one of the most interesting chapters and it's by Arthur Koestler, a very important 20th century thinker and novelist and so on.