Jan 10, 2026
A few years ago, I spent a week watching the first season of The Crown, and a line stuck out to me that made me chuckle. While I don’t remember the exact context, the Labour opposition candidate contra Winston Churchill, Clement Attlee, was reminded that Winston referred to him as “a sheep in sheep’s clothing.”.
Upon some cursory research, the quote appears to be real. I considered this to be yet another example of Churchill’s wit, but didn’t realize the line is likely more specific.
As a member of the Labour Party, Clement Attlee was involved in the British socialist Fabian Society. At the time, the coat of arms for the Fabian Society was a wolf in sheep’s clothing (see above). More information about why this was chosen as their coat of arms can be found on the Wikipedia article.
It seems that Churchill was doing more than simply goading Attlee as a man of little threat… he was, specifically, poking fun at his membership in a subversive organization, while not possessing the temerity to subvert!
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