The National Government: Political landscape Flashcards
When was Ramsey Macdonald in power?
1924-1924
1929-1935; First as leader of Labour, then 1931-1935 as head of National Government
Why didn’t the Tories not win the 1929 election?
Tories uninspiring w/ ‘Safety First’ campaign for Baldwin- “vote for him because you did before”; won largest share of vote but didn’t translate into majority of seats in Parliament due to FPTP system.
Who won the 1929 election?
Labour won most seats w/support of 59 Lib MPs, were able to form a minority govt, so they could govern and pass laws so long as Libs supported them—> weak govt.
Two examples of social reform passed by the Labour government between 1929-1931
- 1930 Housing Act- slum clearance; providing better Council Housing thru’ ‘ new builds’
- 1930 Coal Mine Act- Mine owners could fix quotas and stabilise (set min) prices; increased financial security for mine workers, arguably at the expense of consumers.
What have historians argued about the Labour Government’s social reform 1929-1931?
Argued it stored economic problems for the future.
What blunted the Labour Government’s hope for social reform?
1929: The Global Depression. By 1930, the govt. were anticipating an ‘economic blizzard’, which built on the stagnation of the ’20s.
Immediate economic problems for the Labour Government in 1931
- Struggling to finance their spending commitments, particularly their welfare reforms
- Nation needed loans from US, France- but international bankers wanted balanced budget as condition for loans
What did the Labour Government propose that led to its split in 1931?
Put together plans to cut spending + raise taxes to balance budget; centrepiece was proposal to cut unemployment benefit by 10%.
How did these proposals split the Labour party?
Keenly supported by PM MacDonald and his Chancellor, Phillip Snowden. Argued proposals would stabilise £ despite causing hardship to many working class. Hated by rest of Labour.
What did the Labour party do as a result of the split?
- Resigned as party of govt on August 24th 1931
- Moved to expel MacDonald and Snowden from party, w/George Lansbury taking over
What role did King George V play in ensuring MacDonald didn’t resign as Prime Minister in 1931?
He appealed to MacDonald’s patriotic duty, argued by resigning M.D. would exacerbate nation’s instability- fear of rise of extremism, especially Communism
What role did the Conservatives, led by Stanley Baldwin play in ensuring Ramsey MacDonald didn’t resign as PM in 1931?
Happy to let MD to continue as PM, thinking that MD would bear brunt of any unpopular economic measures, clearing the way for the Tories to take power at a later d8.
Due to support from King George V and the Tories led by Baldwin. Ramsey MacDonald did what in 1931?
- Announced he’d continue as PM leading a National Government to face the emergency.
- Called for election
What was the situation of Labour and the Liberals in the 1931 election?
- MD worried election’d split Labour- some had joined him in Nat. Govt, others had formed separate Labour party led by George Lansbury
- Libs were similarly split
What was the situation with the Tories in the 1931 election?
Insisted on election- had thrown their lot in w/Nat Govt; wanted a coalition to tackle the crisis so that they’d be voted for in a later election and form a Tory govt.
Outcome of 1931 election
- National Govt. won 554 seats; Tories held 473 of these
- Labour did extremely badly- 52 seats
Who were the Prime Ministers of the National Government?
- Ramsey MacDonald: 1931-1935
- Stanley Baldwin: 1935-1937
- Neville Chamberlain: 1937-1940
- Winston Churchill: 1940-1945 (NOT INTERWAR)
What were the main four problems the National Government had to face in the interwar years?
- Rise of extremism
- Confronting the economic challenge of the Great Depression
- The opposition of the Labour party
- Foreign Policy Threats
Who was Oswald Mosley?
A former Labour minister who formed a ‘new party’; became British Union of Fascists in 1932 after visit to Mussolini in Italy.
The British Union of Fascists
- Racist, anti-semitic
- Funded mostly by Mosley and wealthy aristocrats
- 50k members at its height 1930s
- Oct 1936: Battle of Cable Street; BUF march through Cable Street, E. London, home to many Jews and Irish immigrants; turned into violent clash
What effect did WW2 have on the BUF?
Already unpopular due to ‘un-British uniforms’ and ‘black-shirted thuggery’; WW2 Made them even more unpopular; Mosley was imprisoned for three years until 1943 and the BUF was banned.
What did the British public think of Fascism?
- Battle of Cable Street
- When ppl found out about Hoare-Laval Pact 1935 (allowing Mussolini to conquer Abyssinia), they were furious; demanded deal be abolished, and it was.
In comparison to Fascism, how did Communism fare in Britain in terms of Parliament?
More successful:
- CPGB gained 1 MP in 1924 and 1935
- Only gained max. of 0.4% of vote; electorate rejected it
- Gained some support after Russia helped defeat Nazis.
The Communist Party of Great Britain
- Traditions and strength of TU and Labour prevented Communism from taking off
- Used ‘entryism’- tried to infiltrate Labour to steer their ideas further left; Labour banned CPGB from joining
- Puppets of Russia- against WW2 until Germany’s invasion of Russia in 1941; funded by USSR
What was unemployment like in the 1930s?
- Never fell below 1 million in interwar period, but rose to 3 million in 1932; much of this was long-term unemployment
- 1929: 5% of unemployed had been so for over a year
- By 1932, this had risen to 16.4%
How did mass unemployment affect the Trade Unions?
It led to a fall in TU membership by almost 50%:
From 8 million in 1922 to 4.5 million in 1932
How were traditional industries and the government affected by the Depression?
- Trad. ind. men fought harder 4 jobs + pay against employers wanting to make cuts + improve productivity
- By 1939, trad. heavy ind. in terminal decline; working conditions remained poverty-stricken
- Govt tried to supply support for unemployment but didn’t have resources, tended to side w/employer in trade disputes
What was the key economic decision made by the National Government?
Removing the pound from the Gold Standard in 1931 and devalued the £, from $4.80 to $3.40
What was the impact of the pound being removed from the Gold Standard in 1931 generally and on exports?
- Quicker recovery from Depression than others countries.
- Cheaper exports: prices of British goods fell by 45%; sales up by 28%; industrial production up by 46%
What was the impact of the pound being removed from the Gold Standard in 1931 on employment?
Unemployment fell- 17% to 8.5% between 1932-1937.
How did the government slash interest rates?
- Interest cut: 6% to 2%–> greater borrowing–> triggered boom in mortgages and housebuilding (‘Cheap Money’)
- Rate of long term govt. borrowing cut by 1.5%–> slashed costs of govt. debt repayment
Because of the Great Depression it felt necessary to support British Industry at a time when lots of economies around the world were all similarly suffering. How did the National Government attempt to achieve this?
Introduced 1932 Imports Duties Act- 10% tariff on most imports. Attempts also made in line with this to establish Imperial preference- encourage trading w/Brit Empire nations.
Did the Import Duties Act succeed in supporting British industry?
Didn’t work as a coherent system of free trade- so many Empire nations within the Empire depended on strong networks with other countries around the world outside of the Empire.
How were the National Government successful in responding to the threat of fascism?
- Nat gov’s very existence helped control rise of extremes- it represented consensus and compromise.
- Govt took direct action with/1936 Public Order Act- banned inflammatory political meetings and the wearing of military-style uniforms by political groups
How were the National Government slow in responding to the threat of fascism?
Home Office refused to ban BUF’s Cable Street March. After it, when public hatred for BUF grew, govt passed Public Order Law; delayed sufficiently for BUF to carry out Mile End pogrom- event where many Jewish businesses along Mile End Road in London were damaged.
How did Labour pose a potential threat to the National Government?
Reorganised under Clement Attlee. became official opposition party. Gained 154 seats in 1935 Gen Election- rapidly recovering from slump in votes in 1931.
What was the effect of slashed interest rates?
Evidence of good effect on economy:
- car ownership increased –> manufacturing in that area improved
- 10% home ownership in 1918 vs 32% in 1938- suggests some ppl were able to take advantage of more affordable mortgages.
How did the National Government lower government spending and stimulate recovery in some areas of the economy?
Adopted conservative spending measures eg- Unemployment Act of 1934 introduced “means test”- while most workers were covered by 1920 Unemployment Insurance Act, most benefits only lasted for 15 weeks per year.
Were the conservative spending measures adopted by the National Government necessary?
Could be viewed as necessary- w/out cuts, 1931 May Report predicted the spending deficit would be as high as £120million in 1932.
What were the drawbacks of the conservative spending measures adopted by the National Government?
- Spending cuts made poor poore
- Those who could benefit from other measures - eg cheaper bank loans- were usually Middle Class. Wealth gap subsequently opened up
- Less spending overall arguably impeded speed of overall recovery.
What was the Special Areas Act of 1934?
Introduced grants for particular areas of the country that were particularly depressed areas.
How successful was the Special Areas Act of 1934?
Grants didn’t work in areas of trad industry as productivity was low + employment suffered.
Recovery tended to be in south-east where newer manufacturing industries were based. Tended to do well- involved production of light-manufacturing goods that helped service new homes etc.
How did the Special Areas Act of 1934 affect society?
North/south divide in Britain further opened up- reality was that the Depression in this country was regional and indeed drawn along class lines.
How did the public feel about the policy of appeasement?
Widely supported it:
- Unfairness of TOV used to justify Hitler’s rearming of Germany and even the start of his territorial expansion eg invading Rhineland in ‘36.
“Even as late as 1938, British people would not have widely supported a war.” What evidence supports this statement?
Traumatised from WW1, many were attracted to groups that supported peaceful resolution to conflict:
- 11M ppl responded to LoN Peace Ballot in favour of idea of ‘collective security’ (international, alliances)
- Cannon at St Paul’s Cathedral created Peace Pledge Union, w/over 100K ppl sending postcards pledging to oppose war
Other than the fear of going to war again, what else was the appeasement policy based upon?
- Financial constrains of running the Empire
- Additional threats: Mussolini’s Italy, Stalin’s USSR and Japan in the Far-East.
In the context of the time, there existed the pressure to calculate the management of several risks.
What were the drawbacks of the policy of appeasement and refusing to continue rearmament?
- Would’ve quickened the economy’s recovery during Depression
- Chamberlain continued w/appeasement, even when was clear Hitler wanted power beyond a ‘Greater Germany’. Emotional motivation- lost close cousin in WW1 + since 1918, he’d been a pacifist. Thus, he was inexperienced in the context of daling w/a Dictator.
When did rearmament begin in Britain?
1934:
- RAF increased to 40 squadron- recognition of importance of air power in future conflicts
- British Army was reorganised
- Royal Navy expanded
- Munitions industry grew in partnership w/private capital
Who fought in the Battle of Cable Street, 1936?
BUF and Anti-fascist campaigners (10k ppl from local Jewish People’s Council and the Communist Party of GB)
