From labour to National Government (Chapter 4) Flashcards
How did Ramsay MacDonalds 1929 cabinet reflect the minority government he was leading?
Pit was predominantly right-wing and moderate.
Reforms implemented by Ramsay MacDonald’s 1929 government:
- Housing Acting 1930.
- Education Bill 1930.
- Coal Mines Act 1930.
- Agricultural Marketing Act 1931.
- London Transport Bill 1931.
Housing Act 1930:
- Arthur Greenwood
- increased subsidies for house building.
- new slum clearance schemes ( more slums were cleaned between 1934 and 1939 than in the whole previous half of the century.
Education Bill 1930:
-Trevelyan (president of the board of education).
- Introduced a bill that would have raised the school leaving age to 15.
- Rejected by Catholic MPs who felt that the Bill hadn’t paid attention to the needs of Catholic schools.
Coal Mines Act 1930:
- attempt to reduce bitterness of GS
- reduced working day to 7.5 hrs.
- commission set up to consider how unprofitable mines could be phased out.
Agricultural Marketing Act 1931:
- provide an overarching society to improve the supply of food to the public.
- extension of the government policy adopted after the war to assist farming by laying down quotas of production.
- policy prevented food prices rising too high.
London Transport Bill 1931:
- Herbert Morrison
- public corporation for cheap and efficient public transport for London.
What foreign affairs issues did the MacDonald government face in 1929?
- Henderson part of the negotiations the led to the acceptance of the Young Plan.
- Ramsay MacDonald held talks in America - led to the Britain, America and Japan accepting the 5:5:3 ratio for warship building.
What were Anglo-soveit relations like in 1929?
- MacDonald showed no inclination to follow a socialist path nationally.
- Unwilling to risk national interests by aligning Britain with Soviet ideas of revolution.
- However, in 1929 the government resumed full relations with the USSR.
How did MacDonalds 1929 government tackle the issue of Indian independence?
- The Indian Congress Party declares independence in 1929, not waiting for the outcome of talks on dominion status.
- Gandhi, recognising that Britain would not accept this, began a salt protest.
- MacDonald organises a round table talk in Britain - by the time Gandhi arrived for the talk, the Labour government had resigned.
What was unemployment at in 1931?
3 million.
What was chancellor Phillip Snowdens response to the financial crisis in 1931?
- Took a conventional approach.
- believed in balanced budgets - meant restricting public expenditures to essentials.
- frustrated younger members of the labour party.
What did the May Committee 1931 suggest?
- Declined to consider a new economic approach.
- more cuts in public expenditure.
- Suggested unemployment pay be cut by 10%.
How did MacDonald’s cabinet respond to the May Committee?
- International bankers were unwilling to advance further loans to Britain unless it reduced its welfare expenditure.
- MacDonald decides to make the cuts.
- 10/21 members of cabinet rejected it.
Why was Ramsay MacDonald viewed as the great betrayer?
- Unable to carry a united government, MacDonald goes to Buckingham palace with the intention to resign.
- King George V urges him to to form a national government.
What was MacDonald’s reason for forming a national government?
- Claimed that the economic crisis facing Britain was so serious it could only be met with a cross-party government.
What impact did forming a national government have on the labour party in 1931?
- only a few ministers and Labour MPs supported the National government.
- Labours popular support fell by 1.7 million and lost 236 seats.
Nazi-Soviet Pact 1939
Hitler-Stalin Nonaggression Pact; 10-year peace treaty; Russia can keep 1/3 of Poland when Hitler attacks it.
What economic problems did the national government face?
A loan of £80 million was immediately advanced by American bankers - gov had to abandon the gold standard - pound fell by a quarter.
Invergordon Mutiny - 12,000 sailors in a protest against scheduled cuts in service pay declared they would not obey orders.
When was the Wall Street Crash?
1929
What was the impact of the Wall Street Crash on Britain?
- Britain’s trade with the USA had previously been the major means by which it had raised capital to pay its loans.
- Meant Britain could no longer meet the capital to pay them.
What was the overall unemployment figure for all British trades in 1936?
12.5%.
Where was unemployment in the UK highest?
- manufacturing centres of Birmingham and the Black Country.
- coal and steel in Yorkshire and Wales.
- textiles in Lancashire.
- shipbuilding in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Why do revisionist historians not call 1936 a depression in Britain?
- Depression was a regional affair.
- In areas were Britain was dependent on the old industries, the depression was severe.
- In the Home Counties there was an increase in the purchasing of domestic commodities and other luxuries.
What were living standards like between the wars?
- The south enjoyed economic growth.
- Complaints that the Southern dominated parliament didn’t understand the plights of the North.
- Real wages increased during the depression.
By how much did wages rise between 1924 and 1935?
Real wages rose by an average of 17%.
It gave people more purchasing power.
By how much did cinema audiences grow between 1924 and 1935?
From 36,000 a year to 8 million.
Why was housing a success for the national government?
- By 1929 4 million houses had been built.
- Increased subsidies were granted to councils who were prepared to tackle club clearance and overcrowding.
- In 1914 10% of the population owned their own homes, 50 years alter it rose to 60%.
What was the national governments strategy for tackling unemployment?
Cutting public expenditure.
What was the response to the National Governments cut in public expenditure?
- Hunger Marches.
- Jarrow March 1936, unemployed Tyneside shipyard workers walked from Jarrow to London
What was the result of the 1935 election?
Conservatives (national gov) won 435 seats.
Labour won 154.
How was the economic issue in Britain dealt with in 1932?
- Adopting imperial preference.
- Britain introduced an import duties act which imposed a 10% levy on non-imperial goods.
- An imperial economic conference in Ottawa adopted imperial preference as a trading principle.
Why did imperial preference in 1932 not work?
- the agreement did not apply it to all dominions.
- there was some inter-dominion trade but not enough for it solve Britain’s economic issues.
Who succeeds MacDonald as PM?
Stanley Baldwin.
How did Baldwin deal with the abdication crisis 1936?
- Edward VIII wanted to marry divorcee Wallis Simpson - Baldwin took a constitutional approach.
- Marrying a divorced woman would be incompatible with his position as head of the Church of England.
What were Baldwin’s strengths as PM?
- Calm and firm leadership at a time of political extremism in Europe.
- Welcoming to opponents - made him a figure around whom compromise and conciliation could develop.
- Dealt with major domestic crises (1926 General Strike and the abdication crisis).
- Made the National Government work.
What were Baldwin’s weaknesses as PM?
- Lacked insight into economic matters - couldn’t contribute to resolving unemployment.
- Detachment from foreign affairs limited his understanding of the developments of Nazi Germany.
What were Oswald Mosley’s propositions to tackle unemployment?
- greater use of tariffs to raise revenue.
- money raised through tariffs to fund pensions and unemployment.
- funded early retirement schemes to open up jobs for younger workers.
- government controls of the banks to prevent financial problems arising.
How did Oswald Mosley respond to government rejecting his proposals for unemployment?
- Resigned from the Labour Party.
- Founded the New Party - failed to get electoral support.
- Then sets up the British Union of Fascists.
- Never advanced beyond the periphery of politics.
How did public opinion influence the National Governments decisions in foreign policy?
- Reluctance of people to regard war as a legitimate step in national policy.
- As a result none of the political parties felt free to advocate a rearmament programme.
What was the result of the Peace Ballot 1934-5?
House-to-house poll.
11.5 million people took part and most responded strongly in favour of Britain remaining part of the League of Nations an backed a reduction of armaments.
How did Britain respond to the Spanish Civil War 1936-9?
- National Government remained neutral.
- When the war was won by Franco, showed the unwillingness of the National government to take risks in foreign affairs.
What was Chamberlain’s appeasement policy 1937-9:
- He believed that war was avoidable and that Hitler could be appeased.
- Appeasement followed the wishes of the people.
What was the Czech Crisis 1938?
-Czech leader, Benes asks for France + Britain’s guarantees of protection.
-Hitler meets chamberlain twice to discuss joining of Sudetenland with Germany. Includes 3 million Germany speaking people and industry.
- Chamberlain’s decision was popular and his decision was though to have ensured world peace.
What was the opinion of the British Military on Chamberlain’s policy of appeasement?
-Through the 1930’s chiefs in the armed services warned that their forces were underfunded and overstretched and could not successfully engage in a European conflict.
Why where Germany’s reoccupation of the Rhineland and Sundtenland seen as justified?
- people recognised the harshness of the versailles settlement.
- reclamation of the Rhineland seems to be in keeping with the principle of self-determination which the allies had made the basis of the peace talks in 1919.
Why did people welcome the growth of fascist Germany?
Made a buffer between communist Russia and Europe.
Seen to prevent the spread of Bolshevism.
