This island is made mainly of coal and surrounded by fish. Only an organizing genius could produce a shortage of coal and fish at the same time.
Meaning of the quote
The quote is saying that even though the island is full of coal and surrounded by fish, somehow the people in charge managed to create a shortage of both. This suggests that the leaders must be very skilled at mismanaging resources and making poor decisions, even in a place that should have an abundance of these important natural resources.
About Aneurin Bevan
Aneurin ‘Nye’ Bevan was a prominent Welsh Labour politician who played a key role in establishing the British National Health Service. Born to a working-class family, he rose through the ranks of the miners’ union before becoming an influential Member of Parliament and a leading figure in the Labour Party’s left-wing ‘Bevanite’ faction.
More quotes from Aneurin Bevan
This is my truth, tell me yours.
Welsh politician (1897-1960)
He seems determined to make a trumpet sound like a tin whistle.
Welsh politician (1897-1960)
I would rather be kept alive in the efficient if cold altruism of a large hospital than expire in a gush of warm sympathy in a small one.
Welsh politician (1897-1960)
No amount of cajolery, and no attempts at ethical or social seduction, can eradicate from my heart a deep burning hatred for the Tory Party. So far as I am concerned they are lower than vermin.
Welsh politician (1897-1960)
I read the newspapers avidly. It is my one form of continuous fiction.
Welsh politician (1897-1960)
It is not possible to create peace in the Middle East by jeopardizing the peace of the world.
Welsh politician (1897-1960)
I have never regarded politics as the arena of morals. It is the arena of interest.
Welsh politician (1897-1960)
We know what happens to people who stay in the middle of the road. They get run down.
Welsh politician (1897-1960)
I know that the right kind of political leader for the Labour Party is a desiccated calculating machine.
Welsh politician (1897-1960)
The Tories, every election, must have a bogy man. If you haven’t got a programme, a bogy man will do.
Welsh politician (1897-1960)
Fascism is not in itself a new order of society. It is the future refusing to be born.
Welsh politician (1897-1960)
Poor fellow, he suffers from files.
Welsh politician (1897-1960)
Reading is not a duty, and has consequently no business to be made disagreeable.
Welsh politician (1897-1960)
It is an axiom, enforced by all the experience of the ages, that they who rule industrially will rule politically.
Welsh politician (1897-1960)
This island is made mainly of coal and surrounded by fish. Only an organizing genius could produce a shortage of coal and fish at the same time.
Welsh politician (1897-1960)
The Prime Minister has an absolute genius for putting flamboyant labels on empty luggage.
Welsh politician (1897-1960)
The purpose of getting power is to be able to give it away.
Welsh politician (1897-1960)
Stand not too near the rich man lest he destroy thee – and not too far away lest he forget thee.
Welsh politician (1897-1960)
Politics is a blood sport.
Welsh politician (1897-1960)
Freedom is the by-product of economic surplus.
Welsh politician (1897-1960)
No attempt at ethical or social seduction can eradicate from my heart a deep burning hatred for the Tory Party. So far as I am concerned they are lower than vermin.
Welsh politician (1897-1960)
Reactionary: a man walking backwards with his face to the future.
Welsh politician (1897-1960)