National Government (1931)#Cabinet
{{Short description|1st National Government of the United Kingdom}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Infobox government cabinet
|flag = Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government, 1901-1952).svg
|flag_border=false
|cabinet_number = 1st
|cabinet_type = National Government
|jurisdiction = the United Kingdom
|incumbent = August–October 1931
|image =Ramsay-MacDonald (cropped).jpg
|caption=Ramsay MacDonald
|date_formed = {{Start date|1931|8|24|df=y}}
|date_dissolved = {{End date|1931|10|27|df=y}}
|government_head_title = Prime Minister
|government_head = Ramsay MacDonald
|state_head_title = Monarch
|state_head = George V
|government_head_history = 1929–1935
|deputy_government_head = Stanley Baldwin{{refn|According to {{harvcoltxt|Eccleshall|Walker|2002|page=273}} and {{harvcoltxt|Stanton|2000|page=26}}, Baldwin was the effective deputy prime minister in the Conservative-dominated Cabinet. He served as Lord President of the Council.|group=note}}
|former_members_number =
|total_number = 59 appointments
|political_parties = {{unbulleted list
}}
|legislature_status = Majority (coalition)
333 / 615 (54%){{Composition_bar/advanced/infobox
|divisionname=
|total = 615
|boxwidth = 123
|party1 = 259
|partycolor1 = {{party color|Conservative Party}}
|party2 = 59
|partycolor2 = {{party color| Liberal Party (UK)}}
|party3 = 15
|partycolor3 = {{party color| National Labour Organisation}}
}}
|legislature_term = 35th UK Parliament
|budget =
|last_election = 1931 general election
|opposition_party = Labour Party
|opposition_leaders = {{unbulleted list
| {{Longitem|Arthur Henderson
in the House of Commons}}
| {{Longitem|Lord Parmoor
in the House of Lords}}
}}
|previous = 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. Nick Smart, The national government, 1931–40 (Bloomsbury, 1999.)
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.Charles L. Mowat, "The Fall of the Labour Government in Great Britain, August, 1931." The Huntington Library Quarterly (1944) 7#4: 353–386. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3815737 online]
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.C.L. Mowat, "Ramsay MacDonald and the Labour party." in Essays in Labour History 1886–1923 (Palgrave Macmillan UK, 1971) pp.129–151.
Formation
File:Ramsay MacDonald ggbain.37952.jpg had served as Prime Minister since 1929]]
The outgoing Labour cabinet, which was a minority government, was unable to agree upon proposals to cut public expenditure. Prime Minister MacDonald submitted his resignation to King George V on 24 August 1931.
The new ministry was formed on the same day, when MacDonald was re-appointed prime minister. A smaller-than-usual cabinet was appointed on 25 August 1931. The King persuaded MacDonald that it was his duty to form a new government to address the financial crisis. The original idea was that the National Government would be free to draw upon the talents of members of all parties, so that it would represent the nation as a whole rather than being a coalition of parties like those which had existed between 1915 and 1922. However, as the main body of the Labour Party refused to co-operate, the government comprised members from MacDonald's small group of National Labour supporters, the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party.
The Liberal Party was split into three factions. The mainstream party led by Sir Herbert Samuel, who had been the Deputy Leader of the party before the formation of the National Government, continued to support free trade. The Liberal National group led by Sir John Simon had accepted the Conservative policy of protectionism. These two Liberal factions were supporters of the National Ministry. The third group led by David Lloyd George (later to be called the Independent Liberals) had initially supported the creation of the National Government with two of them (Gwilym Lloyd George and Goronwy Owen) taking office. David Lloyd George had been expected to join the government after recovering from surgery following an operation on his prostate as he was still the official leader of the Liberal party. However, he refused to support the calling of a general election, and persuaded his supporters to leave the government and go into opposition.
General election
MacDonald's National Government had not originally been intended to fight a general election, but under Conservative pressure one was soon called. The Samuelite Liberal Party was opposed to a general election but found it could not prevent one. Parliament was dissolved on 8 October 1931.
The 1931 general election took place on 27 October 1931 and led to a landslide victory for candidates supporting the National Government. MacDonald reconstructed his government on 5 November 1931, establishing the 1931–35 National Government.
Cabinet
=August 1931 – November 1931=
- {{color box|{{party color|National Labour Organisation}}}} Ramsay MacDonald – Prime Minister and Leader of the House of Commons
- {{color box|{{party color|National Labour Organisation}}}} Lord Sankey – Lord Chancellor
- {{color box|{{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}}} Stanley Baldwin – Lord President
- {{color box|{{party color|National Labour Organisation}}}} Philip Snowden – Chancellor of the Exchequer
- {{color box|{{party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}}} Sir Herbert Samuel – Home Secretary
- {{color box|{{party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}}} Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading – Foreign Secretary and Leader of the House of Lords
- {{color box|{{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}}} Sir Samuel Hoare – Secretary for India
- {{color box|{{party color|National Labour Organisation}}}} J.H. Thomas – Dominions Secretary and Colonial Secretary
- {{color box|{{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}}} Sir Philip Cunliffe-Lister – President of the Board of Trade
- {{color box|{{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}}} Neville Chamberlain – Minister of Health
==Key==
- {{color box|{{party color|National Labour Organisation}}}} = Member of National Labour
- {{color box|{{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}}} = Member of the Conservative Party
- {{color box|{{party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}}} = Member of the Liberal Party
Members of the Ministry
The First National Government was composed of members of the following parties:
- {{color box|{{party color|National Labour Organisation}}}} National Labour
- {{color box|{{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}}} Conservative Party
- {{color box|{{party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}}} Liberal Party
Members of the Cabinet are in bold face.
| class="wikitable"
! Office ! Name ! colspan="2" | Party ! Dates |
| Prime Minister
| style="background: {{party color|National Labour Organisation}}" | | National Labour | 24 August 1931 – 5 November 1931 |
| Lord Chancellor
| John Sankey, 1st Baron Sankey | style="background: {{party color|National Labour Organisation}}" | | National Labour | 25 August 1931 |
| Lord President of the Council
| style="background: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | Conservative | 25 August 1931 |
| Lord Privy Seal
| style="background: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | Conservative | 3 September 1931 |
| Chancellor of the Exchequer
| style="background: {{party color|National Labour Organisation}}" | | National Labour | 25 August 1931 |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
| Sir Bolton Eyres-Monsell | style="background: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | Conservative | 3 September 1931 |
| Financial Secretary to the Treasury
| style="background: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | Conservative | 3 September 1931 |
| rowspan=5|Lords of the Treasury
| style="background: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | Conservative | 26 August 1931 – 10 November 1931 |
| Sir Frederick Penny
| style="background: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | Conservative | 3 September 1931 – 12 November 1931 |
| Alec Glassey
| style="background: {{party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}" | | Liberal{{refn|Glassey later joined the Liberal National Party.|group=note}} | 14 September 1931 – 12 November 1931 |
| William Cavendish-Bentinck, Marquess of Titchfield
| style="background: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | Conservative | 3 September 1931 – 12 November 1931 |
| Euan Wallace
| style="background: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | Conservative | 3 September 1931 – 12 November 1931 |
| Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
| Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading | style="background: {{party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}" | | Liberal | 25 August 1931 |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
| style="background: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | Conservative | 3 September 1931 |
| Secretary of State for the Home Department
| Sir Herbert Samuel | style="background: {{party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}" | | Liberal | 25 August 1931 |
| Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department
| style="background: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | Conservative | 3 September 1931 |
| First Lord of the Admiralty
| Sir Austen Chamberlain | style="background: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | Conservative | 25 August 1931 |
| Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty
| James Stanhope, 7th Earl Stanhope | style="background: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | Conservative | 3 September 1931 |
| Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries
| Sir John Gilmour, 2nd Baronet | style="background: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | Conservative | 25 August 1931 |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries
| colspan="3" | vacant | |
| Secretary of State for Air
| William Mackenzie, 1st Baron Amulree | style="background: {{party color|National Labour Organisation}}" | | National Labour | 25 August 1931 |
| Under-Secretary of State for Air
| Sir Philip Sassoon | style="background: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | Conservative | 3 September 1931 |
| Secretary of State for the Colonies
| style="background: {{party color|National Labour Organisation}}" | | National Labour | 25 August 1931 |
| Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies
| Sir Robert Hamilton | style="background: {{party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}" | | Liberal | 3 September 1931 |
| Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs
| style="background: {{party color|National Labour Organisation}}" | | National Labour | 25 August 1931 |
| Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs
| style="background: {{party color|National Labour Organisation}}" | | National Labour | 3 September 1931 |
| President of the Board of Education
| Sir Donald Maclean | style="background: {{party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}" | | Liberal | 25 August 1931 |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education
| Sir Kingsley Wood | style="background: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | Conservative | 3 September 1931 |
| Minister of Health
| style="background: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | Conservative | 25 August 1931 |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health
| style="background: {{party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}" | | Liberal | 22 September 1931 |
| Secretary of State for India
| Sir Samuel Hoare | style="background: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | Conservative | 25 August 1931 |
| Under-Secretary of State for India
| colspan="3" | vacant | |
| Minister of Labour
| Sir Henry Betterton | style="background: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | Conservative | 25 August 1931 |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Labour
| style="background: {{party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}" | | Liberal | 3 September 1931 |
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
| Philip Kerr, 11th Marquess of Lothian | style="background: {{party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}" | | Liberal | 25 August 1931 |
| Paymaster General
| Sir Tudor Walters | style="background: {{party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}" | | Liberal | 4 September 1931 |
| Minister for Pensions
| style="background: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | Conservative | 3 September 1931 |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Pensions
| colspan="3" | vacant | |
| Postmaster-General
| style="background: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | Conservative | 3 September 1931 |
| Assistant Postmaster-General
| style="background: {{party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}" | | Liberal | 3 September 1931 |
| Secretary of State for Scotland
| Sir Archibald Sinclair | style="background: {{party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}" | | Liberal | 25 August 1931 |
| Under-Secretary of State for Scotland
| style="background: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | Conservative | 3 September 1931 |
| President of the Board of Trade
| Sir Philip Cunliffe-Lister | style="background: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | Conservative | 25 August 1931 |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade
| style="background: {{party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}" | | Liberal | 3 September 1931 |
| Secretary for Overseas Trade
| Sir Edward Young | style="background: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | Conservative | 3 September 1931 |
| Secretary for Mines
| style="background: {{party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}" | | Liberal | 3 September 1931 |
| Minister of Transport
| style="background: {{party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}" | | Liberal{{refn|Pybus later joined the Liberal National Party.|group=note}} | 3 September 1931 |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport
| style="background: {{party color|National Labour Organisation}}" | | National Labour | 4 September 1931 |
| Secretary of State for War
| Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe | style="background: {{party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}" | | Liberal | 26 August 1931 |
| Under-Secretary of State for War
| colspan="3" | vacant | |
| Financial Secretary to the War Office
| style="background: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | Conservative | 3 September 1931 |
| First Commissioner of Works
| Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 7th Marquess of Londonderry | style="background: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | Conservative | 25 August 1931 |
| Attorney General
| Sir William Jowitt | style="background: {{party color|National Labour Organisation}}" | | National Labour | 3 September 1931 |
| Solicitor General
| Sir Thomas Inskip | style="background: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | Conservative | 3 September 1931 |
| Lord Advocate
| style="background: {{party color|National Labour Organisation}}" | | National Labour | 3 September 1931 |
| Solicitor General for Scotland
| style="background: {{party color|National Labour Organisation}}" | | National Labour | 4 September 1931 |
| Treasurer of the Household
| Sir George Hennessy, 1st Baronet | style="background: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | Conservative | 3 September 1931 |
| Comptroller of the Household
| style="background: {{party color|Liberal Party (UK)}}" | | Liberal | 14 September 1931 |
| Vice-Chamberlain of the Household
| Sir Frederick Charles Thomson | style="background: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" | | Conservative | 3 September 1931 |
Notes
{{reflist|group=note}}
Footnotes
{{reflist}}
References
- Bassett, Reginald (1986). [https://archive.org/details/nineteenthirtyon0000bass/page/n5/mode/2up 1931 Political Crisis] (2nd ed.). Aldershot, UK: Macmillan. {{ISBN|0-566-05138-9}}.
- Cawood, Ian (2013). [http://www.historyandpolicy.org/policy-papers/papers/liberal-conservative-coalitions-a-farce-and-a-fraud "Liberal-Conservative Coalitions – 'a Farce and a Fraud'?"] History & Policy.
- {{Cite book |editor-last=Eccleshall |editor-first2=Robert |editor-last2=Walker |title=Biographical Dictionary of British Prime Ministers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H6yGAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA27 |date=June 2002 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-66231-9}}
- Epstein, M., ed. (1932). [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.79541/page/n10/mode/1up The Annual Register 1931]. pp. 62–116. For very detailed history.
- Howell, David (2002). MacDonald's Party: Labour Identities and Crisis, 1922–1931. Oxford U.P. {{ISBN|0-19-820304-7}}.
- Hyde, H. Montgomery (1973). [https://archive.org/details/baldwinunexpecte0000hyde/page/n7/mode/2up Baldwin: The Unexpected Prime Minister].
- Mowat, Charles L. (August 1944). "The Fall of the Labour Government in Great Britain, August, 1931". Huntington Library Quarterly 7#4, pp. 353–386. {{JSTOR|3815737}}.
- Mowat, Charles Loch (1955). Britain Between the Wars: 1918–1945. pp. 413–79.
- Raymond, John, ed. (1960). The Baldwin Age. Essays by scholars. 252 pp.
- Smart, Nick (1999). The National Government, 1931–40. Macmillan. {{ISBN|0-333-69131-8}}.
- {{Cite book |last=Stanton |first=Philip |title=Britain 1905–1951 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Uq1xQRQpJtsC&pg=PT26 |year=2000 |publisher=Nelson Thornes |isbn=978-0-7487-4517-3}}
- Taylor, A. J. P. (1965). [https://archive.org/details/englishhistory1900tayl English History 1914–1945]. pp. 321–88.
- Thorpe, Andrew (1992). Britain in the 1930s. The Deceptive Decade. Oxford: Blackwell. {{ISBN|0-631-17411-7}}.
- Williamson, Philip (1992). National Crisis and National Government: British Politics, the Economy and the Empire, 1926–1932. Cambridge UP. {{ISBN|0-521-36137-0}}.
{{S-start}}
{{Succession box|title=Government of the United Kingdom|years=1931–1935|before=Second MacDonald ministry|after=Second National Government}}
{{S-end}}
{{British ministries}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:National 1}}
Category:1930s in the United Kingdom
Category:1931 establishments in the United Kingdom
Category:1931 disestablishments in the United Kingdom
Category:1931 in British politics
Category:Coalition governments of the United Kingdom
Category:Cabinets established in 1931