National Government | |
|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Royal_coat_of_arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_(HM_Government,_1901-1952).svg){kind=small} 1st National Government of the United Kingdom | |
| August–October 1931 | |
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Ramsay-MacDonald_(cropped).jpg) Ramsay MacDonald | |
| Date formed | 24 August 1931 |
| Date dissolved | 27 October 1931 |
| 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 | 59 appointments |
| Member parties | |
| Status in legislature | Majority (coalition) 333 / 615 (54%)
|
| Opposition party | Labour Party |
| Opposition leaders | |
| History | |
| Outgoing election | 1931 general election |
| Legislature terms | 35th UK Parliament |
| Predecessor | Second MacDonald ministry |
| Successor | Second 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).
- ^ Nick Smart, The national government, 1931–40 (Bloomsbury, 1999.)
- ^ Charles L. Mowat, "The Fall of the Labour Government in Great Britain, August, 1931." The Huntington Library Quarterly (1944) 7#4: 353–386. online
- ^ C.L. Mowat, "Ramsay MacDonald and the Labour party." in Essays in Labour History 1886–1923 (Palgrave Macmillan UK, 1971) pp.129–151.