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National Government (1931–1935)
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.
National Government | |
|---|---|
2nd National Government of the United Kingdom | |
| 1931–1935 | |
Ramsey MacDonald | |
| Date formed | 27 October 1931 |
| Date dissolved | 7 June 1935 |
| People and organisations | |
| Monarch | George V |
| Prime Minister | Ramsay MacDonald |
| Prime Minister's history | 1929–1935 |
| Deputy Prime Minister | Stanley Baldwin[note 1] |
| Total no. of members | 107 appointments |
| Member parties | |
| Status in legislature | Supermajority (coalition) 554 / 615 (90%) |
| Opposition party | Labour Party |
| Opposition leaders |
|
| History | |
| Election(s) | 1931 general election |
| Legislature term(s) | 36th UK Parliament |
| Predecessor | First National Government |
| Successor | Third National Government |
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 Edit
November 1931 – May 1935 Edit
- Ramsay MacDonald – Prime Minister and Leader of the House of Commons
- The Lord Sankey – Lord Chancellor
- Stanley Baldwin – Lord President
- The 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
- The Viscount Hailsham – Secretary of State for War and Leader of the House of Lords
- Sir Samuel Hoare – Secretary of State for India
- The 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 Edit
- 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 Edit
- = Member of National Labour
- = Member of the Conservative Party
- = Member of the Liberal Party
- = Member of the Liberal National Party
List of ministers Edit
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 | 5 November 1931 – 7 June 1935 | ||
| Lord Chancellor | John Sankey, 1st Baron Sankey | National Labour | November 1931 | created Viscount Sankey 30 January 1932 | |
| Lord President of the Council | Stanley Baldwin | Conservative | November 1931 | ||
| Lord Privy Seal | Philip Snowden | National Labour | 5 November 1931 | created Viscount Snowden 24 November 1931 | |
| Stanley Baldwin | Conservative | 29 September 1932 | |||
| Anthony Eden | Conservative | 31 December 1933 | |||
| Chancellor of the Exchequer | Neville Chamberlain | Conservative | 5 November 1931 | ||
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury | David Margesson | Conservative | 10 November 1931 | ||
| Financial Secretary to the Treasury | Walter Elliot | Conservative | November 1931 | ||
| Leslie Hore-Belisha | Liberal National | 29 September 1932 | |||
| Duff Cooper | Conservative | 29 June 1934 | |||
| Lords of the Treasury | Walter Womersley | Conservative | 12 November 1931 – 7 June 1935 | knighted 1934 | |
| Victor Warrender | Conservative | 12 November 1931 – 30 September 1932 | |||
| Geoffrey Shakespeare | Liberal National | 12 November 1931 – 30 September 1932 | |||
| Austin Hudson | Conservative | 12 November 1931 – 12 April 1935 | |||
| Lambert Ward | Conservative | 12 November 1931 – 1 May 1935 | |||
| George Davies | Conservative | 11 October 1932 – 7 June 1935 | |||
| James Blindell | Liberal National | 30 September 1932 – 7 June 1935 | |||
| James Stuart | Conservative | 1 May 1935 – 7 June 1935 | |||
| Archibald Southby | Conservative | 23 April 1935 – 7 June 1935 | |||
| Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading | Liberal | 24 August 1931 – 5 November 1931 | ||
| John Simon | Liberal National | 5 November 1931 | |||
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | Anthony Eden | Conservative | November 1931 | ||
| James Stanhope | Conservative | 18 January 1934 | |||
| Secretary of State for the Home Department | Herbert Samuel | Liberal | November 1931 | ||
| John Gilmour | Conservative | 28 September 1932 | |||
| Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department | Oliver Stanley | Conservative | November 1931 | ||
| Douglas Hacking | Conservative | 22 February 1933 | |||
| Harry Crookshank | Conservative | 29 June 1934 | |||
| First Lord of the Admiralty | Bolton Eyres-Monsell | Conservative | 5 November 1931 | ||
| Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty | Edward Stanley | Conservative | 10 November 1931 | ||
| Civil Lord of the Admiralty | Euan Wallace | Conservative | 10 November 1931 | ||
| Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries | John Gilmour | Conservative | November 1931 | ||
| Walter Elliot | Conservative | 28 September 1932 | |||
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries | Herbrand Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr | National Labour | 10 November 1931 | ||
| Secretary of State for Air | Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 7th Marquess of Londonderry | Conservative | 5 November 1931 | ||
| Under-Secretary of State for Air | Philip Sassoon | Conservative | November 1931 | ||
| Secretary of State for the Colonies | Philip Cunliffe-Lister | Conservative | 5 November 1931 | ||
| Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies | Robert William Hamilton | Liberal | November 1931 | ||
| Ivor Windsor-Clive, 2nd Earl of Plymouth | Conservative | 29 September 1932 | |||
| Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs | Jimmy Thomas | National Labour | November 1931 | ||
| Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs | Malcolm MacDonald | National Labour | November 1931 | ||
| President of the Board of Education | Donald Maclean | Liberal | November 1931 | ||
| Edward Wood, 1st Baron Irwin | Conservative | 15 June 1932 | succeeded as 3rd Viscount Halifax 19 January 1934 | ||
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education | Herwald Ramsbotham | Conservative | 10 November 1931 | ||
| Minister of Health | Hilton Young | Conservative | 5 November 1931 | ||
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health | Ernest Brown | Liberal National | 10 November 1931 | ||
| Geoffrey Shakespeare | Liberal National | 30 September 1932 | |||
| Secretary of State for India | Samuel Hoare | Conservative | November 1931 | ||
| Under-Secretary of State for India | Philip Kerr, 11th Marquess of Lothian | Liberal | 10 November 1931 | ||
| Rab Butler | Conservative | 29 September 1932 | |||
| Minister of Labour | Henry Betterton | Conservative | November 1931 | ||
| Oliver Stanley | Conservative | 29 June 1934 | |||
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Labour | Robert Hudson | Conservative | 10 November 1931 | ||
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | J. C. C. Davidson | Conservative | 10 November 1931 | ||
| Paymaster General | Ernest Lamb, 1st Baron Rochester | National Labour | 23 November 1931 | ||
| Minister for Pensions | George Tryon | Conservative | November 1931 | ||
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Pensions | Cuthbert Headlam | Conservative | 10 November 1931 | Office vacant from 29 September 1932 | |
| Postmaster-General | Kingsley Wood | Conservative | 10 November 1931 | Office in Cabinet from 20 December 1933 | |
| Assistant Postmaster-General | Graham White | Liberal | November 1931 | ||
| Ernest Nathaniel Bennett | National Labour | 21 October 1932 | |||
| Secretary of State for Scotland | Archie Sinclair | Liberal | November 1931 | ||
| Godfrey Collins | Liberal National | 28 September 1932 | |||
| Under-Secretary of State for Scotland | Noel Skelton | Conservative | November 1931 | ||
| President of the Board of Trade | Walter Runciman | Liberal National | 5 November 1931 | ||
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade | Leslie Hore-Belisha | Liberal National | 10 November 1931 | ||
| Leslie Burgin | Liberal National | 29 September 1932 | |||
| Secretary for Overseas Trade | John Colville | Conservative | 10 November 1931 | ||
| Secretary for Mines | Isaac Foot | Liberal | November 1931 | ||
| Ernest Brown | Liberal National | 30 September 1932 | |||
| Minister of Transport | James Pybus | Liberal National | November 1931 | ||
| Oliver Stanley | Conservative | 22 February 1933 | |||
| Leslie Hore-Belisha | Liberal National | 29 June 1934 | |||
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport | Ivor Windsor-Clive, 2nd Earl of Plymouth | Conservative | 25 November 1931 | ||
| Cuthbert Headlam | 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 | 5 November 1931 | ||
| Under-Secretary of State for War | James Stanhope, 7th Earl Stanhope | Conservative | 10 November 1931 | ||
| Donald Howard, 3rd Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal | Conservative | 24 January 1934 | |||
| Financial Secretary to the War Office | Duff Cooper | Conservative | November 1931 | ||
| Douglas Hacking | Conservative | 29 June 1934 | |||
| First Commissioner of Works | William Ormsby-Gore | Conservative | 5 November 1931 | ||
| Attorney General | William Jowitt | National Labour | November 1931 | ||
| Thomas Inskip | Conservative | 26 January 1932 | |||
| Solicitor General | Thomas Inskip | Conservative | November 1931 | ||
| Boyd Merriman | Conservative | 26 January 1932 | |||
| Donald Somervell | Conservative | 29 September 1933 | |||
| Lord Advocate | Craigie Aitchison | National Labour | November 1931 | ||
| Wilfrid Normand | Conservative | 2 October 1933 | |||
| Douglas Jamieson | Conservative | 28 March 1935 | |||
| Solicitor General for Scotland | Wilfrid Normand | Conservative | 10 November 1931 | ||
| Douglas Jamieson | Conservative | 2 October 1933 | |||
| Thomas Cooper | Conservative | 15 May 1935 | |||
| Treasurer of the Household | Frederick Thomson | Conservative | 12 November 1931 | ||
| George Penny | Conservative | 1 May 1935 | |||
| Comptroller of the Household | Walter Rea | Liberal | 12 November 1931 | ||
| George Penny | Conservative | 30 September 1932 | |||
| Victor Warrender | Conservative | 1 May 1935 | |||
| Vice-Chamberlain of the Household | George Penny | Conservative | 12 November 1931 | ||
| Victor Warrender | Conservative | 30 September 1932 | |||
| Lambert Ward | Conservative | 1 May 1935 | |||
| Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms | George Bingham, 5th Earl of Lucan | Conservative | 12 November 1931 | ||
| Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard | Donald Howard, 3rd Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal | Conservative | 12 November 1931 | ||
| Lords in Waiting | Arthur Chichester, 4th Baron Templemore | Conservative | 12 November 1931 – 24 January 1934 | ||
| Henry Gage, 6th Viscount Gage | Conservative | 12 November 1931 – 7 June 1935 | |||
| Wentworth Beaumont, 2nd Viscount Allendale | Liberal | 12 November 1931 – 28 September 1932 | |||
| Geoffrey FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster | Conservative | 24 January 1934 – 7 June 1935 | |||
| Charles Duncombe, 3rd Earl of Feversham | Conservative | 24 January 1934 – 7 June 1935 | |||
Notes Edit
- ^ According to Eccleshall & Walker (2002:273) and Stanton (2000:26), Baldwin was the effective deputy prime minister in the Conservative-dominated Cabinet. He served as Lord President of the Council.
References Edit
- ^ "Resignation letter by Liberal ministers to Ramsay MacDonald". Letter to Ramsay MacDonald. Samuel papers. 28 September 1932. SAM/A/89/84.
{{cite press release}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
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