National Government (United Kingdom)
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In the
The all-party coalitions of
Crisis of 1931
The
In 1931, the situation deteriorated and there was much fear that the budget was unbalanced, which was borne out by the independent
The financial crisis grew worse and decisive government action was needed as the leaders of both the Conservative and Liberal Parties met with
Early days
The Government was initially applauded by most, but the Labour Party were left in a state of confusion with the loss of several of their most prominent figures, and MacDonald,
Debate then broke out about further steps to tackle the economic problems. At the same time the Labour Party officially expelled all of its members who supported the National Government, including MacDonald. Increasingly, the majority of the Cabinet came to believe that a protective tariff was necessary to support British industry and provide revenue and that a general election should be fought to secure a mandate but this was anathema to the Liberal Party. The Liberals' acting leader and
It was eventually agreed that the government as a whole would seek a "Doctor's Mandate" to take a free hand and that each party would issue its own manifesto. Supporters of MacDonald formed the
As few Labour MPs refused to abandon the wishes of the Trade Unionists led by Ernest Bevin, the support for the re-elected National Government was heavily Conservative.
1931–1935
Although the Conservatives had a bare majority in Cabinet of 11, compared to 9 non-Conservatives, the former held comparatively few of the most important jobs. The two groups of Liberals were similarly unbalanced in terms of posts, the official Liberals holding one more seat than the National Liberals, despite the parliamentary position being reversed. That balance was to cause tensions, particularly as the
The government entered protracted wrangling over whether or not to introduce tariffs. Both the Liberals and Snowden found it particularly difficult to accept but were in a heavy minority. However, both MacDonald and Baldwin wished to maintain the multiparty nature of the Government. On the suggestion of Hailsham, it was agreed to suspend the principle of Cabinet collective responsibility to allow the Liberals to oppose the introduction of tariffs while remaining in government. This held for some months.[10]
In 1932, Sir Donald MacLean died. MacDonald came under pressure not to merely appoint another Liberal, particularly as it was felt that they would be over-represented, and so instead appointed the Conservative Lord Irwin (later Lord Halifax). Further tensions emerged over the Ottawa Agreement, which set up a series of tariff agreements within the British Empire, and the remaining Liberals and Snowden resigned their ministerial posts although they continued to support the government from the backbenches for another year. MacDonald considered resigning as well to allow a party government to take office but was persuaded to remain even though his health was now in decline. In domestic politics, he increasingly allowed Baldwin to give a lead, but in foreign affairs, the main direction was determined by MacDonald and Simon.
The most prominent policy of the National Government in the early 1930s was the proposal to introduce
Baldwin takes over
With MacDonald's health failing, he retired as prime minister in June 1935, to be succeeded by Baldwin.[11]
Increasingly foreign affairs were coming to dominate political discourse and in November Baldwin led the government to victory in the
Baldwin's last years in office were seen as a period of drift, but in late 1936 he achieved a notable triumph in resolving the
Peacetime government of Neville Chamberlain
In foreign affairs, the government sought to increase Britain's armaments, while maintaining the unity of the Empire and Dominions and preventing any one power from becoming dominant on the continent of Europe. These proved increasingly difficult to reconcile, as many Dominions were reluctant to support Britain in the event of her going to war, and so military action risked splitting the Empire. Chamberlain took a strong personal lead in foreign affairs and sought to bring about peaceful revision of European frontiers in areas where many commentators had long-acknowledged grievances. In this, he received much popular support at the time, but the policy has been much attacked since. The most prominent point in the policy of appeasement came in September 1938, when the Munich Agreement was negotiated. Following the agreement, the government sped up the re-armament process in the hope of being ready for war when it came. At the same time, it took a tougher line in foreign affairs, including making a guarantee to defend Poland against Germany.[16]
Outbreak of war
When Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, Britain declared war in tandem with France, supported by all of the Dominions except Ireland. For some time there had been calls to expand Chamberlain's war ministry by bringing in members of the official Labour and Liberal parties but both parties refused to join (with the one exception of Liberal MP Gwilym Lloyd George, who joined the government as Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade). For the first few months of war Britain saw comparatively little action apart from at sea, but the failure of the Norwegian campaign led to a massive outcry in Parliament.
On 7 and 8 May 1940, a two-day debate took place in Parliament, known to history as the Norway Debate. Initially a discussion of what had gone wrong in that field, it soon turned into a general debate on the conduct of the war with fierce criticism expressed by all sides of the House. The government won the debate, albeit with a reduced majority, but over the next two days it became increasingly clear that Labour and the Liberals would have to be brought into government and that Chamberlain was unable to achieve this. On 10 May 1940, Germany invaded the Low Countries and Chamberlain finally bowed to pressure and resigned, bringing the life of the National Government to a close. It was succeeded by an all-party coalition headed by Winston Churchill.[17]
Caretaker government of 1945
In May 1945, following the defeat of Germany the coalition government broke up and Churchill formed a new administration, including Conservatives, Liberal Nationals and various non-party individuals who had been previously appointed to Ministerial posts. However, significantly, with the exception of the Earl of Rosebery, there were no other Liberal Nationals in the Cabinet, excluding even the Lord Chancellor Lord Simon.[18] This government nevertheless used the title National Government and could be seen as the heir to the 1930s governments, even though the personnel were very different. The government fought the 1945 general election as a National Government but lost.
Following the defeat, elements of the old National Government 'all party coalition' idea continued with
References
- ^ "MacDonald forms a coalition". The Guardian. 25 August 1931. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ Buchan, John (1932). The Gap in the Curtain. London: Hodder and Stoughton. p. 162.
A Coalition...only shares the loot, but a national government pools the brains.
- ^ Neil Riddell, Labour in Crisis: The Second Labour Government 1929-1931 (Manchester UP, 1999).
- ^ Chris Wrigley, "The Fall of the Second MacDonald Government, 1931." in T. Heppell and K. Theakston, How Labour Governments Fall (Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2013) pp. 38-60.
- Charles Loch Mowat, Britain between the Wars: 1918-1945 (1955) pp 413–79
- ^ Andrew Thorpe, "The British General Election of 1931" (Oxford UP, 1991) online
- ^ Andrew Thorpe, "Arthur Henderson and the British political crisis of 1931." Historical Journal 31#1 (1988): 117-139. in JSTOR
- ^ Nick Smart, The National Government, 1931–40 (Macmillan Education UK, 1999) pp. 9-36.
- ^ Stuart Ball, "The Conservative Party and the Formation of the National Government: August 1931." Historical Journal 29#1 (1986): 159-182.
- ^ David Marquand, Ramsay MacDonald (1977).
- ^ Keith Middlemas and A.J.L. Barnes, Baldwin: a biography (1969).
- ^ Paul W. Doerr, British foreign policy, 1919-1939 (Manchester UP, 1998).
- ^ Spencer Mawby, "The Transformation and Decline of the British Empire: Decolonisation After the First World War" (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015).
- ^ James C. Ching, "Stanley Baldwin's speech on the abdication of Edward VIII." Quarterly Journal of Speech 42.2 (1956): 163-169.
- ^ Robert C. Self, Neville Chamberlain: a biography (Ashgate, 2006) pp 261-90.
- ^ Maurice Cowling, The Impact of Hitler: British Politics and British Policy, 1933-1940 (Cambridge UP, 1975).
- ^ Malcolm Smith, Britain and 1940: history, myth and popular memory (Routledge, 2014).
- ^ The still existing National Labour Organisation were offered no seats at any ministerial level.
Bibliography
- Bassett, Reginald. 1931 Political Crisis (2nd ed., Aldershot: Macmillan 1986) ISBN 0-566-05138-9
- Howell, David. MacDonald's Party: Labour Identities and Crisis, 1922–1931 (Oxford U.P. 2002). ISBN 0-19-820304-7
- Hyde, H. Montgomery. Baldwin: The Unexpected Prime Minister (1973)[publisher missing][ISBN missing]
- ]
- Mowat, Charles Loch. Britain between the Wars: 1918–1945 (1955) PP 413–79[publisher missing][ISBN missing]
- Raymond, John, ed. The Baldwin Age (1960), essays by scholars 252 pages; online[publisher missing][ISBN missing]
- Smart, Nick. The National Government. 1931–40 (Macmillan 1999) ISBN 0-333-69131-8
- Taylor, A.J.P. English History 1914–1945 (1965) pp 321–88[publisher missing][ISBN missing]
- Thorpe, Andrew. Britain in the 1930s. The Deceptive Decade, (Oxford: Blackwell, 1992). ISBN 0-631-17411-7
- Williamson, Philip. National Crisis and National Government. British Politics, the Economy and the Empire, 1926–1932, (Cambridge UP, 1992). ISBN 0-521-36137-0