Crosland, (Charles) Anthony (Raven) (1918–1977)

British Labour politician, president of the Board of Trade 1967–69, secretary of state for local government and regional planning 1969–70, secretary of state for the environment 1974–76, and foreign secretary 1976–77. He entered Harold Wilson's first government in 1964, and after holding junior office, he entered the cabinet as secretary of state for education.

Crosland was educated at Highgate School, London, and Trinity College, Oxford. From 1947 to 1950 he was a fellow and lecturer of Trinity College. He was Labour MP for South Gloucestershire 1950–55 and was MP for Grimsby from 1959 until his death. On the right wing of the Labour Party, he supported Hugh Gaitskell in the internal party debates over Clause Four and unilateral nuclear disarmament. He was opposition spokesperson on the environment 1970–74 and was appointed foreign secretary following the reconstruction of the government on James Callaghan's appointment as prime minister.

A man of outstanding natural gifts, he wrote a number of books and pamphlets, his main book being The Future of Socialism (1956), the theme of which was that Western capitalism had solved the problems both of stability and of steady progress, and also that there was no need for Labour to be identified with a ‘thou shalt not’ philosophy.