Hugh Todd Naylor Gaitskell (1906-1963) was Head of the Department of Political Economy at UCL between 1938 and 1939, Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1950 to 1951, and Leader of the Labour Party from 1955 to 1963. The Gaitskell Papers at UCL consist of papers relating to Gaitskell’s early life and career, parliamentary and political speeches and correspondence, constituency papers, material relating to his various engagements, including documents from his official visit to Denmark and Sweden in 1954. The four newspaper cuttings from Swedish newspapers displayed here alongside their English translation demonstrate that the visit was an important occurrence: 

  • ‘Hugh Gaitskell i Göteborg: Neutralisering av Tyskland fara för västdemokratierna’ (Hugh Gaitskell in Gothenburgh: the neutralisation of Germany a danger for the Western democracies) in Morgon-Tidningen, 19 September 1954); 
  • ‘Tyskland må få återupprusta’ (Germany must be allowed to rearm) in Stockholm-Tidningen, 19 September 1954; 
  • ‘Hugh Gaitskell i Göteborg: “Englands ställning bättre”’ (Hugh Gaitskell in Gothenburgh: England’s position better) in Morgon-Tidningen, 21 September 1954;
  • ‘Hugh Gaitskell på stockholmsbesök: England klarar tyska konkurrensen’ (Hugh Gaitskell visits Stockholm. Great Britain copes with german competition) in Morgon-Tidningen, 22 September 1954;

The articles mostly report on Gaitskell’s comments in relation to international politics, including Germany’s role in post-war Europe. 

Location: UCL Special Collections, Gaitskell Papers