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
Ramsay MacDonald
Date formed	27 October 1931 (1931-10-27)
Date dissolved	7 June 1935 (1935-06-07)
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	Conservative Party Liberal Party (1931–1932)[1] National Labour Liberal National Party
Status in legislature	Supermajority (coalition) 554 / 615 (90%)
Opposition party	Labour Party
Opposition leaders	Arthur Henderson (1931) George Lansbury (1931–1935) in the House of Commons Lord Parmoor (1931) Arthur Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede (1931–1935) in the House of Lords
History
Election	1931 general election
Legislature terms	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

Ramsay MacDonald was the serving prime minister since 1929

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	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

1. 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

1. "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)

• Bassett, Reginald. 1931 Political Crisis (2nd ed., Aldershot: Macmillan 1986) ISBN 0-566-05138-9
• Butler, David, and G. Butler, Twentieth Century British Political Facts 1900–2000
• Eccleshall; Walker, Robert, eds. (June 2002). Biographical Dictionary of British Prime Ministers. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-66231-9.
• 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). ISBN 0-19-820304-7
• 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) ISBN 0-333-69131-8
• Stanton, Philip (2000). Britain 1905–1951. Nelson Thornes. ISBN 978-0-7487-4517-3.
• 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). ISBN 0-631-17411-7
• Williamson, Philip. National Crisis and National Government. British Politics, the Economy and the Empire, 1926–1932, (Cambridge UP, 1992). ISBN 0-521-36137-0

Preceded by First National Government	Government of the United Kingdom 1931–1935	Succeeded by Third National Government