National Government (1931)

National Government

1st National Government of the United Kingdom
August–October 1931
Ramsay MacDonald
Date formed24 August 1931 (1931-08-24)
Date dissolved27 October 1931 (1931-10-27)
People and organisations
MonarchGeorge V
Prime MinisterRamsay MacDonald
Prime Minister's history1929–1935
Deputy Prime MinisterStanley Baldwin[note 1]
Total no. of members59 appointments
Member parties
Status in legislatureMajority (coalition)
333 / 615 (54%)




Opposition partyLabour Party
Opposition leaders
History
Outgoing election1931 general election
Legislature terms35th UK Parliament
PredecessorSecond MacDonald ministry
SuccessorSecond National Government

The National Government of August–October 1931, also known as the First National Government, was the first of a series of national governments formed during the Great Depression in the United Kingdom. It was formed by Ramsay MacDonald as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom following the collapse of the previous minority government, led by the Labour Party, known as the Second MacDonald ministry.[1]

As a National Government, it was dominated by members of the Conservative Party, and also included a few from Liberals and National Labour, as well as individuals who belonged to no political party. The breakaway Liberal Nationals supported the National Government after their formation in September 1931 but none received posts in the new administration. Subsequently, two Liberal ministers, Alec Glassey and John Pybus, defected to the Liberal Nationals. It did not contain members of the Labour Party as MacDonald had been expelled from it. The Labour Party led the opposition.[2]

Denounced as a traitor, MacDonald was expelled from the Labour Party, and remained a hated figure within the Labour Party, despite his great services to his party earlier in his life.[3]


Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ Nick Smart, The national government, 1931–40 (Bloomsbury, 1999.)
  2. ^ Charles L. Mowat, "The Fall of the Labour Government in Great Britain, August, 1931." The Huntington Library Quarterly (1944) 7#4: 353–386. online
  3. ^ C.L. Mowat, "Ramsay MacDonald and the Labour party." in Essays in Labour History 1886–1923 (Palgrave Macmillan UK, 1971) pp.129–151.