The National Government of 1931–1935 was formed by Ramsay MacDonald following his reappointment as

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern ...

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

after the general election in October 1931. As a National Government it contained members of the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

, 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 Herbert Louis Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel, (6 November 1870 – 5 February 1963) was a British Liberal politician who was the party leader from 1931 to 1935. He was the first nominally-practising Jew to serve as a Cabinet minister and to beco ...

, 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

November 1931 – May 1935

* 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 *

– Home Secretary *

Sir John Simon John Allsebrook Simon, 1st Viscount Simon, (28 February 1873 – 11 January 1954), was a British politician who held senior Cabinet posts from the beginning of the First World War to the end of the Second World War. He is one of only three peop ...

– Foreign Secretary * Sir Philip Cunliffe-Lister – Colonial Secretary *

J. H. Thomas James Henry Thomas (3 October 1874 – 21 January 1949), sometimes known as Jimmy Thomas or Jim Thomas, was a Welsh trade unionist and Labour (later National Labour) politician. He was involved in a political scandal involving budget leaks. ...

– Dominions Secretary * The Viscount Hailsham – Secretary of State for War and

Leader of the House of Lords The leader of the House of Lords is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Lords. The post is also the leader of the majority party in the House of Lords who acts as ...

* Sir Samuel Hoare – Secretary of State for India *

The Marquess of Londonderry Marquess of Londonderry, of the County of Londonderry ( ), is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. History The title was created in 1816 for Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Londonderry. He had earlier represented County Down in the Irish House of ...

– 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 Edward Hilton Young, 1st Baron Kennet, (20 March 1879 – 11 July 1960) was a British politician and writer. Family and early life Young was the youngest son of Sir George Young, 3rd Baronet (see Young baronets), a noted classicist and charit ...

– Minister of Health * William Ormsby-Gore – First Commissioner of Works

Changes

* June 1932 –

Lord Irwin Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax, (16 April 1881 – 23 December 1959), known as The Lord Irwin from 1925 until 1934 and The Viscount Halifax from 1934 until 1944, was a senior British Conservative politician of the 19 ...

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 Sir Howard Kingsley Wood (19 August 1881 – 21 September 1943) was a British Conservative politician. The son of a Wesleyan Methodist minister, he qualified as a solicitor, and successfully specialised in industrial insurance. He became a membe ...

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

* = Member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

* = Member of the Liberal National Party

List of ministers

Members of the Cabinet are in bold face.

Notes

References

* Bassett, Reginald. ''1931 Political Crisis'' (2nd ed., Aldershot: Macmillan 1986) * Butler, David, and G. Butler, ''Twentieth Century British Political Facts 1900–2000'' * * 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). * 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 Charles Loch Mowat (4 October 1911 – 23 June 1970) was a British-born American historian. Biography Mowat was educated at Marlborough College and St John's College, Oxford. John Ramsden (ed.), ''The Oxford Companion to Twentieth Century B ...

. ''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) * * 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). * Williamson, Philip. ''National Crisis and National Government. British Politics, the Economy and the Empire, 1926–1932'', (Cambridge UP, 1992). {{DEFAULTSORT:National 2 Ministry 3 1930s in the United Kingdom 1931 establishments in the United Kingdom 1935 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Political history of the United Kingdom Coalition governments of the United Kingdom British ministries Ministries of George V Cabinets established in 1931 Cabinets disestablished in 1935 Interwar Britain 1931 in British politics pl:Trzeci rząd Ramsaya MacDonalda