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National Government (1931–1935)
Multi-party coalition government formed by Ramsay MacDonald
Summary
Multi-party coalition government formed by Ramsay MacDonald
| Field | Value | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| flag | Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government, 1901-1952).svg | |||||
| flag_border | false | |||||
| cabinet_number | 2nd | |||||
| cabinet_type | National Government | |||||
| jurisdiction | the United Kingdom | |||||
| incumbent | 1931–1935 | |||||
| image | Ramsay-MacDonald (cropped).jpg | |||||
| caption | Ramsay MacDonald | |||||
| date_formed | ||||||
| date_dissolved | ||||||
| government_head_title | Prime Minister | |||||
| government_head | Ramsay MacDonald | |||||
| state_head_title | Monarch | |||||
| state_head | George V | |||||
| government_head_history | 1929–1935 | |||||
| deputy_government_head | Stanley Baldwin | |||||
| total_number | 107 appointments | |||||
| political_parties | {{unbulleted list | |||||
| Liberal Party (1931–1932)<ref>{{cite letter | recipient | Ramsay MacDonald | subject=Resignation letter by Liberal ministers to Ramsay MacDonald | date=28 September 1932 | publisher=Samuel papers | id=SAM/A/89/84}} |
| legislature_status | Supermajority (coalition) | |||||
| legislature_term | 36th UK Parliament | |||||
| election | 1931 general election | |||||
| opposition_party | Labour Party | |||||
| opposition_leaders | {{unbulleted list | |||||
| previous | First National Government | |||||
| successor | Third National Government |
| Conservative Party | Liberal Party (1931–1932) | National Labour | Liberal National Party | Arthur Henderson (1931) | | Lord Parmoor (1931) |
The National Government of 1931–1935 was formed by Ramsay MacDonald following his reappointment as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom by King George V after the general election in October 1931.
As a National Government it contained members of the Conservative Party, Liberals, Liberal Nationals and National Labour, as well as a number of individuals who belonged to no political party. The Liberal Nationals had previously not held office in MacDonald's previous National Government, though two junior ministers appointed as Liberals had defected to them. Their relationship with the main Liberal Party had been unclear but following the election, the Liberal Nationals officially repudiated the official Liberal Party whip.
During the course of the Ministry the ministers from the Liberal Party, led by Sir Herbert Samuel, resigned over the adoption of a protectionist policy caused by the government negotiating the Ottawa Accords in 1932. The other Liberal faction in the Ministry, the Liberal National Party, had accepted the Conservative policy of protectionism before the National government had been formed so its ministers continued in office.
In June 1935, MacDonald resigned and was replaced as prime minister by Stanley Baldwin.
Cabinet
November 1931 – May 1935
- Ramsay MacDonald – Prime Minister and Leader of the House of Commons
- John Sankey, 1st Viscount Sankey – Lord Chancellor
- Stanley Baldwin – Lord President
- Philip Snowden, 1st Viscount Snowden – Lord Privy Seal
- Neville Chamberlain – Chancellor of the Exchequer
- Sir Herbert Samuel – Home Secretary
- Sir John Simon – Foreign Secretary
- Sir Philip Cunliffe-Lister – Colonial Secretary
- J. H. Thomas – Dominions Secretary
- Douglas Hogg, 1st Viscount Hailsham – Secretary of State for War and Leader of the House of Lords
- Sir Samuel Hoare – Secretary of State for India
- Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 7th Marquess of Londonderry – Secretary for Air
- Sir Archibald Sinclair – Secretary of State for Scotland
- Sir Bolton Eyres-Monsell – First Lord of the Admiralty
- Walter Runciman – President of the Board of Trade
- Sir John Gilmour – Minister of Agriculture
- Sir Donald Maclean – President of the Board of Education
- Henry Betterton – Minister of Labour
- Hilton Young – Minister of Health
- William Ormsby-Gore – First Commissioner of Works
Changes
- June 1932 – Lord Irwin succeeds Donald Maclean (deceased) as President of the Board of Education
- September 1932 – Stanley Baldwin succeeds Philip Snowden as Lord Privy Seal, remaining also Lord President. John Gilmour succeeds Herbert Samuel as Home Secretary. Sir Godfrey Collins succeeds Sir Archibald Sinclair as Scottish Secretary. Walter Elliot succeeds Gilmour as Minister of Agriculture.
- December 1933 – Stanley Baldwin ceases to be Lord Privy Seal, and his successor in that office is not in the cabinet. He continues as Lord President. Kingsley Wood enters the cabinet as Postmaster-General
- June 1934 – Oliver Stanley succeeds Henry Betterton as Minister of Labour
Key
- = Member of National Labour
- = Member of the Conservative Party
- = Member of the Liberal Party
- = Member of the Liberal National Party
List of ministers
Members of the Cabinet are in bold face.
| Office | Name | Party | Dates | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime Minister, | |||||
| First Lord of the Treasury | |||||
| and Leader of the House of Commons | Ramsay MacDonald | National Labour Organisation}}" | National Labour | 5 November 1931 – 7 June 1935 | |
| Lord Chancellor | John Sankey, 1st Baron Sankey | National Labour Organisation}}" | National Labour | November 1931 | |
| Lord President of the Council | Stanley Baldwin | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | November 1931 | |
| Lord Privy Seal | Philip Snowden | National Labour Organisation}}" | National Labour | 5 November 1931 | |
| Stanley Baldwin | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 29 September 1932 | ||
| Anthony Eden | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 31 December 1933 | ||
| Chancellor of the Exchequer | Neville Chamberlain | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 5 November 1931 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury | David Margesson | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 10 November 1931 | |
| Financial Secretary to the Treasury | Walter Elliot | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | November 1931 | |
| Leslie Hore-Belisha | National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)}}" | Liberal National | 29 September 1932 | ||
| Duff Cooper | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 29 June 1934 | ||
| Lords of the Treasury | Walter Womersley | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 12 November 1931 – 7 June 1935 | |
| Victor Warrender | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 12 November 1931 – 30 September 1932 | ||
| Geoffrey Shakespeare | National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)}}" | Liberal National | 12 November 1931 – 30 September 1932 | ||
| Austin Hudson | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 12 November 1931 – 12 April 1935 | ||
| Lambert Ward | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 12 November 1931 – 1 May 1935 | ||
| George Davies | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 11 October 1932 – 7 June 1935 | ||
| James Blindell | National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)}}" | Liberal National | 30 September 1932 – 7 June 1935 | ||
| James Stuart | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 1 May 1935 – 7 June 1935 | ||
| Archibald Southby | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 23 April 1935 – 7 June 1935 | ||
| Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading | Liberal Party (UK)}}" | Liberal | 24 August 1931 – 5 November 1931 | |
| John Simon | National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)}}" | Liberal National | 5 November 1931 | ||
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | Anthony Eden | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | November 1931 | |
| James Stanhope | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 18 January 1934 | ||
| Secretary of State for the Home Department | Herbert Samuel | Liberal Party (UK)}}" | Liberal | November 1931 | |
| John Gilmour | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 28 September 1932 | ||
| Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department | Oliver Stanley | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | November 1931 | |
| Douglas Hacking | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 22 February 1933 | ||
| Harry Crookshank | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 29 June 1934 | ||
| First Lord of the Admiralty | Bolton Eyres-Monsell | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 5 November 1931 | |
| Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty | Edward Stanley | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 10 November 1931 | |
| Civil Lord of the Admiralty | Euan Wallace | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 10 November 1931 | |
| Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries | John Gilmour | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | November 1931 | |
| Walter Elliot | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 28 September 1932 | ||
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries | Herbrand Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr | National Labour Organisation}}" | National Labour | 10 November 1931 | |
| Secretary of State for Air | Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 7th Marquess of Londonderry | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 5 November 1931 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for Air | Philip Sassoon | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | November 1931 | |
| Secretary of State for the Colonies | Philip Cunliffe-Lister | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 5 November 1931 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies | Robert William Hamilton | Liberal Party (UK)}}" | Liberal | November 1931 | |
| Ivor Windsor-Clive, 2nd Earl of Plymouth | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 29 September 1932 | ||
| Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs | Jimmy Thomas | National Labour Organisation}}" | National Labour | November 1931 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs | Malcolm MacDonald | National Labour Organisation}}" | National Labour | November 1931 | |
| President of the Board of Education | Donald Maclean | Liberal Party (UK)}}" | Liberal | November 1931 | |
| Edward Wood, 1st Baron Irwin | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 15 June 1932 | succeeded as 3rd Viscount Halifax 19 January 1934 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education | Herwald Ramsbotham | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 10 November 1931 | |
| Minister of Health | Hilton Young | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 5 November 1931 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health | Ernest Brown | National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)}}" | Liberal National | 10 November 1931 | |
| Geoffrey Shakespeare | National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)}}" | Liberal National | 30 September 1932 | ||
| Secretary of State for India | Samuel Hoare | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | November 1931 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for India | Philip Kerr, 11th Marquess of Lothian | Liberal Party (UK)}}" | Liberal | 10 November 1931 | |
| Rab Butler | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 29 September 1932 | ||
| Minister of Labour | Henry Betterton | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | November 1931 | |
| Oliver Stanley | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 29 June 1934 | ||
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Labour | Robert Hudson | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 10 November 1931 | |
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | J. C. C. Davidson | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 10 November 1931 | |
| Paymaster General | Ernest Lamb, 1st Baron Rochester | National Labour Organisation}}" | National Labour | 23 November 1931 | |
| Minister for Pensions | George Tryon | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | November 1931 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Pensions | Cuthbert Headlam | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 10 November 1931 | |
| Postmaster-General | Kingsley Wood | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 10 November 1931 | |
| Assistant Postmaster-General | Graham White | Liberal Party (UK)}}" | Liberal | November 1931 | |
| Ernest Nathaniel Bennett | National Labour Organisation}}" | National Labour | 21 October 1932 | ||
| Secretary of State for Scotland | Archie Sinclair | Liberal Party (UK)}}" | Liberal | November 1931 | |
| Godfrey Collins | National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)}}" | Liberal National | 28 September 1932 | ||
| Under-Secretary of State for Scotland | Noel Skelton | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | November 1931 | |
| President of the Board of Trade | Walter Runciman | National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)}}" | Liberal National | 5 November 1931 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade | Leslie Hore-Belisha | National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)}}" | Liberal National | 10 November 1931 | |
| Leslie Burgin | National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)}}" | Liberal National | 29 September 1932 | ||
| Secretary for Overseas Trade | John Colville | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 10 November 1931 | |
| Secretary for Mines | Isaac Foot | Liberal Party (UK)}}" | Liberal | November 1931 | |
| Ernest Brown | National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)}}" | Liberal National | 30 September 1932 | ||
| Minister of Transport | James Pybus | National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)}}" | Liberal National | November 1931 | |
| Oliver Stanley | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 22 February 1933 | ||
| Leslie Hore-Belisha | National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)}}" | Liberal National | 29 June 1934 | ||
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport | Ivor Windsor-Clive, 2nd Earl of Plymouth | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 25 November 1931 | |
| Cuthbert Headlam | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 29 September 1932 | Office vacant 5 July 1934 | |
| Secretary of State for War | |||||
| and Leader of the House of Lords | Douglas Hogg, 1st Viscount Hailsham | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 5 November 1931 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for War | James Stanhope, 7th Earl Stanhope | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 10 November 1931 | |
| Donald Howard, 3rd Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 24 January 1934 | ||
| Financial Secretary to the War Office | Duff Cooper | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | November 1931 | |
| Douglas Hacking | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 29 June 1934 | ||
| First Commissioner of Works | William Ormsby-Gore | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 5 November 1931 | |
| Attorney General | William Jowitt | National Labour Organisation}}" | National Labour | November 1931 | |
| Thomas Inskip | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 26 January 1932 | ||
| Solicitor General | Thomas Inskip | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | November 1931 | |
| Boyd Merriman | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 26 January 1932 | ||
| Donald Somervell | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 29 September 1933 | ||
| Lord Advocate | Craigie Aitchison | National Labour Organisation}}" | National Labour | November 1931 | |
| Wilfrid Normand | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 2 October 1933 | ||
| Douglas Jamieson | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 28 March 1935 | ||
| Solicitor General for Scotland | Wilfrid Normand | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 10 November 1931 | |
| Douglas Jamieson | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 2 October 1933 | ||
| Thomas Cooper | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 15 May 1935 | ||
| Treasurer of the Household | Frederick Thomson | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 12 November 1931 | |
| George Penny | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 1 May 1935 | ||
| Comptroller of the Household | Walter Rea | Liberal Party (UK)}}" | Liberal | 12 November 1931 | |
| George Penny | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 30 September 1932 | ||
| Victor Warrender | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 1 May 1935 | ||
| Vice-Chamberlain of the Household | George Penny | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 12 November 1931 | |
| Victor Warrender | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 30 September 1932 | ||
| Lambert Ward | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 1 May 1935 | ||
| Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms | George Bingham, 5th Earl of Lucan | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 12 November 1931 | |
| Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard | Donald Howard, 3rd Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 12 November 1931 | |
| Lords in Waiting | Arthur Chichester, 4th Baron Templemore | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 12 November 1931 – 24 January 1934 | |
| Henry Gage, 6th Viscount Gage | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 12 November 1931 – 7 June 1935 | ||
| Wentworth Beaumont, 2nd Viscount Allendale | Liberal Party (UK)}}" | Liberal | 12 November 1931 – 28 September 1932 | ||
| Geoffrey FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 24 January 1934 – 7 June 1935 | ||
| Charles Duncombe, 3rd Earl of Feversham | Conservative Party (UK)}}" | Conservative | 24 January 1934 – 7 June 1935 |
Notes
References
- Bassett, Reginald. 1931 Political Crisis (2nd ed., Aldershot: Macmillan 1986)
- Butler, David, and G. Butler, Twentieth Century British Political Facts 1900–2000
- Hattersley, Roy. Borrowed Time: The Story of Britain Between the Wars (2008) pp 143–72.
- Howell, David. MacDonald's Party: Labour Identities and Crisis, 1922–1931 (Oxford U.P. 2002).
- Hyde, H. Montgomery. Baldwin: The Unexpected Prime Minister (1973)
- Jenkins, Roy. * Baldwin* (1987) excerpt and text search
- Marquand, David. Ramsay MacDonald (1977)
- Mowat, Charles Loch. Britain between the Wars: 1918–1945 (1955) pp. 413–79
- Raymond, John, ed. The Baldwin Age (1960), essays by scholars 252 pages; online
- Skidelsky, Robert. Politicians and the Slump: the Labour Government of 1929–1931. (1967.)
- Smart, Nick. The National Government. 1931–40 (Macmillan 1999)
- Taylor, A.J.P. English History 1914–1945 (1965) pp 321–88
- Thorpe, Andrew. The British general election of 1931 (Oxford UP, 1991).
- Thorpe, Andrew. Britain in the 1930s. The Deceptive Decade, (Oxford: Blackwell, 1992).
- Williamson, Philip. National Crisis and National Government. British Politics, the Economy and the Empire, 1926–1932, (Cambridge UP, 1992).
pl:Trzeci rząd Ramsaya MacDonalda
References
- {{cite letter. (28 September 1932). [[Herbert Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel. Samuel papers]]
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