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Britain Transformed 1918-2000 > The National Government: Political landscape > Flashcards

The National Government: Political landscape Flashcards

1
Q

When was Ramsey Macdonald in power?

A

1924-1924

1929-1935; First as leader of Labour, then 1931-1935 as head of National Government

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2
Q

Why didn’t the Tories not win the 1929 election?

A

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.

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3
Q

Who won the 1929 election?

A

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.

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4
Q

Two examples of social reform passed by the Labour government between 1929-1931

A
  • 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.
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5
Q

What have historians argued about the Labour Government’s social reform 1929-1931?

A

Argued it stored economic problems for the future.

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6
Q

What blunted the Labour Government’s hope for social reform?

A

1929: The Global Depression. By 1930, the govt. were anticipating an ‘economic blizzard’, which built on the stagnation of the ’20s.

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7
Q

Immediate economic problems for the Labour Government in 1931

A
  • 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
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8
Q

What did the Labour Government propose that led to its split in 1931?

A

Put together plans to cut spending + raise taxes to balance budget; centrepiece was proposal to cut unemployment benefit by 10%.

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9
Q

How did these proposals split the Labour party?

A

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.

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10
Q

What did the Labour party do as a result of the split?

A
  • Resigned as party of govt on August 24th 1931

- Moved to expel MacDonald and Snowden from party, w/George Lansbury taking over

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11
Q

What role did King George V play in ensuring MacDonald didn’t resign as Prime Minister in 1931?

A

He appealed to MacDonald’s patriotic duty, argued by resigning M.D. would exacerbate nation’s instability- fear of rise of extremism, especially Communism

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12
Q

What role did the Conservatives, led by Stanley Baldwin play in ensuring Ramsey MacDonald didn’t resign as PM in 1931?

A

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.

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13
Q

Due to support from King George V and the Tories led by Baldwin. Ramsey MacDonald did what in 1931?

A
  • Announced he’d continue as PM leading a National Government to face the emergency.
  • Called for election
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14
Q

What was the situation of Labour and the Liberals in the 1931 election?

A
  • 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
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15
Q

What was the situation with the Tories in the 1931 election?

A

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.

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16
Q

Outcome of 1931 election

A
  • National Govt. won 554 seats; Tories held 473 of these

- Labour did extremely badly- 52 seats

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17
Q

Who were the Prime Ministers of the National Government?

A
  1. Ramsey MacDonald: 1931-1935
  2. Stanley Baldwin: 1935-1937
  3. Neville Chamberlain: 1937-1940
  4. Winston Churchill: 1940-1945 (NOT INTERWAR)
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18
Q

What were the main four problems the National Government had to face in the interwar years?

A
  1. Rise of extremism
  2. Confronting the economic challenge of the Great Depression
  3. The opposition of the Labour party
  4. Foreign Policy Threats
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19
Q

Who was Oswald Mosley?

A

A former Labour minister who formed a ‘new party’; became British Union of Fascists in 1932 after visit to Mussolini in Italy.

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20
Q

The British Union of Fascists

A
  • 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
21
Q

What effect did WW2 have on the BUF?

A

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.

22
Q

What did the British public think of Fascism?

A
  • 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.
23
Q

In comparison to Fascism, how did Communism fare in Britain in terms of Parliament?

A

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.
24
Q

The Communist Party of Great Britain

A
  • 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
25
Q

What was unemployment like in the 1930s?

A
  • 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%
26
Q

How did mass unemployment affect the Trade Unions?

A

It led to a fall in TU membership by almost 50%:

From 8 million in 1922 to 4.5 million in 1932

27
Q

How were traditional industries and the government affected by the Depression?

A
  • 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
28
Q

What was the key economic decision made by the National Government?

A

Removing the pound from the Gold Standard in 1931 and devalued the £, from $4.80 to $3.40

29
Q

What was the impact of the pound being removed from the Gold Standard in 1931 generally and on exports?

A
  • 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%

30
Q

What was the impact of the pound being removed from the Gold Standard in 1931 on employment?

A

Unemployment fell- 17% to 8.5% between 1932-1937.

31
Q

How did the government slash interest rates?

A
  • 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
32
Q

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?

A

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.

33
Q

Did the Import Duties Act succeed in supporting British industry?

A

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.

34
Q

How were the National Government successful in responding to the threat of fascism?

A
  • 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
35
Q

How were the National Government slow in responding to the threat of fascism?

A

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.

36
Q

How did Labour pose a potential threat to the National Government?

A

Reorganised under Clement Attlee. became official opposition party. Gained 154 seats in 1935 Gen Election- rapidly recovering from slump in votes in 1931.

37
Q

What was the effect of slashed interest rates?

A

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.
38
Q

How did the National Government lower government spending and stimulate recovery in some areas of the economy?

A

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.

39
Q

Were the conservative spending measures adopted by the National Government necessary?

A

Could be viewed as necessary- w/out cuts, 1931 May Report predicted the spending deficit would be as high as £120million in 1932.

40
Q

What were the drawbacks of the conservative spending measures adopted by the National Government?

A
  • 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.
41
Q

What was the Special Areas Act of 1934?

A

Introduced grants for particular areas of the country that were particularly depressed areas.

42
Q

How successful was the Special Areas Act of 1934?

A

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.

43
Q

How did the Special Areas Act of 1934 affect society?

A

North/south divide in Britain further opened up- reality was that the Depression in this country was regional and indeed drawn along class lines.

44
Q

How did the public feel about the policy of appeasement?

A

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.

45
Q

“Even as late as 1938, British people would not have widely supported a war.” What evidence supports this statement?

A

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
46
Q

Other than the fear of going to war again, what else was the appeasement policy based upon?

A
  • 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.

47
Q

What were the drawbacks of the policy of appeasement and refusing to continue rearmament?

A
  • 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.
48
Q

When did rearmament begin in Britain?

A

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
49
Q

Who fought in the Battle of Cable Street, 1936?

A

BUF and Anti-fascist campaigners (10k ppl from local Jewish People’s Council and the Communist Party of GB)

Britain Transformed 1918-2000 (20 decks)

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