National Government

Question 1

How national was the national government

Answer 1

• dominated by the conservatives
• consisted of 4 members of Macdonald previous ministry, 4 conservatives, 2 liberals
• role was to pass the national economy act

Question 2

What did the national government aim to pass

Answer 2

The national economy act

Question 3

When was there an election held

Answer 3

October 1931- conservative pressure led to an election

Question 4

Results of the October 1931 election

Answer 4

• overwhelming victory for candidates who supported the national programme
• 470 conservative MP’s
• 46 labour MPs
• liberals split into three
• sir john Simon- agreed with national proposals, including the introduction of tariff reform- a major Tory policy (35 seats)
• sir Herbert Samuel- committed to free trade (33 seats)
• Lloyd George- insisted on his own radical policies (4 seats)
• Macdonald remained PM- elected under a “mandate”, party only 13 seats
• conservatives thus gained 55% of total vote, labour got 30%

Question 5

What was the political impact of the formation of the national government

Answer 5

• labour suffered the most significant political impact- split of the party and loss of leadership, fractured Labour ideologically
• labour suffered electoral collapse and suffered marginalisation throughout the 1930’s- remained in opposition with limited influence, Nat gov governed with a huge majority
• liberal party was destroyed- split three ways and disappeared as a major political force
• rise of the conservatives- Baldwin served under Macdonald, but had more MPs, so any mishandling of events would lead to criticism being directed at Macdonald despite Baldwin effectively being PM
• conservatives used the national government to secure power under the guise of national unity and enhance their legitimacy. Enforced key conservative policies such as appeasement, tariff reform and rearmament which were largely shaped by conservative ideology

Question 6

When was the election in the middle of the 30’s

Answer 6

November 1935

Question 7

Why did the national government continue throughout the 30s

Answer 7

• Baldwin justified this by pointing to the menace of dictatorships abroad

Question 8

What did the national government sign

Answer 8

National manifesto- signed by Baldwin, Macdonald, and Simon and placed importance on maintaining the league, defending the empire and crediting the national government with economic recovery and highlighting the divisions within the about party.

Question 9

Results of the 1935 election

Answer 9

• Nat gov- 432 seats
• Labour- 154 seats
• liberals - 21 seats

Question 10

Ramsay Macdonald strengths

Answer 10

• investment in foreign policy- Geneva protocol, League of Nations etc
• this reduced the influence of the socialist left in the Labour Party, moving it away from being simply the political expression oof the interests of the trade unions
• successfullly stabilised the sterling and investor confidence in the national government through the removal of the gold standard and introducing public spending cuts

Question 11

MacDonald weaknesses

Answer 11

• man without a party to back him- loss of ally Snowden and loss of key policies
• seen as bending to conservative policies- 1932 import duties act- forced a policy of abandoning free trade
• loss of labours key policy such as protection of cheap food for workers unpopular
• therefore, authority quickly faded, became more symbolic

Question 12

Baldwin strengths

Answer 12

• managed the constitutional crisis with political tact and constitutional clarity
• managed to deal with threat of political extremism well- 1936 political order act, banned political uniforms etc

Question 13

Baldwin weaknesses

Answer 13

• failure to tackle unemployment- jarrow march
• limit to help given- only certain areas benefitted from the special areas act, limited social reform
• Baldwin slow to rearm and deal with the threat of Germany

Question 14

Chamberlain strengths

Answer 14

1938 Munich agreement gave Britain time to build resources

Question 15

Chamberlain weaknesses

Answer 15

• appeasement failed
• appeasement was to avoid war with Germany when Germany began to take areas of land
• Munich agreement 1938- Germany allowed to have Sudetenland on the order they were not allowed to have the rest of czechoslovakia
• hitler ignored the agreement and invaded czechoslovakia
• slow to rearm
• failure to listen to Churchill who expressed concern about the growing power of Germany and disliked the Munich agreement

Question 16

Foreign policy

Answer 16

• Wall Street crash had added economic issues and brought more extreme leaders- hitler, Mussolini
• Japanese had invaded Chinese Manchuria
• for European countries, this went against League of Nations and the Locarno treaty
• Baldwin- slow to rearm, did not attempt any negotiation, led to downfall
• chamberlain- policy of appeasement to avoid war, 1938 Munich agreement
• internal divisions over Italy- Italy invaded Ethiopia, but foreign sec Hoare was keen to keep it as an ally, had initially support LofN in imposing sanctions on Italy, but then arranged an agreement allowing Italy to claim most of Ethiopia, leaked, hoard resigns, as it went against LofN, made domestic gov look weak and corrupt