Page "Clement Attlee" Paragraph 23

Attlee served as acting leader for nine months from December 1933, after Lansbury fractured his thigh in an accident.

Serving in this capacity raised his public profile.

During this period, financial problems again almost forced Attlee to quit politics, as his wife was ill and there was then no separate salary for the Leader of the Opposition.

He was persuaded to stay on by Stafford Cripps, a wealthy socialist who agreed to pay him an additional salary.