The National Labour Organisation, also known as the National Labour Committee or simply as National Labour, was a British

political group A political group is a group consisting of political parties or legislators of aligned ideologies. A technical group is similar to a political group, but with members of differing ideologies. International terms Equivalent terms are used differ ...

formed after the 1931 creation of the National Government to co-ordinate the efforts of the supporters of the government who had come from the Labour Party. The party leaders were Ramsay MacDonald (1931–1937) and his son

Malcolm MacDonald Malcolm Ian Macdonald (born 7 January 1950) is an English former professional footballer, manager and media figure. Nicknamed 'Supermac', Macdonald was a quick, powerfully built prolific goalscorer. He played for Fulham, Luton Town, Newcastle ...

(1937–1945). The most prominent Labour Party member involved in the government was the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Ramsay MacDonald. National Labour sponsored parliamentary candidates, but it did not consider itself a full political party as it had no policy distinctive from that of the government which it supported. After Ramsay MacDonald's death, the group continued in existence under his son Malcolm until it was wound up on the eve of the

1945 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1945. Africa * 1945 South-West African legislative election Asia * 1945 Indian general election Australia * 1945 Fremantle by-election Europe * 1945 Albanian parliamentary election * 1945 Bulgarian ...

; its newsletter ceased publication two years later.

History

1931 general election

After Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald formed a National Government with the Conservative and Liberal parties to implement spending cuts rejected by the Labour Party, he and his supporters were expelled from the party. He also received no support from any of the Constituency Labour Parties or major trade unions affiliated with the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in England and Wales, representing the majority of trade unions. There are 48 affiliated unions, with a total of about 5.5 million members. Frances ...

. The sudden decision to call a general election in October 1931 left MacDonald and the other Labour supporters with the difficult job of organising their own re-elections without any form of organisation. Preparations had been started on 19 September and by early October National Labour supporters had a list of 34 seats which they wanted to fight: 14 out of 15 sitting National Labour MPs wished to fight for re-election and a further ten candidates were ready to stand in other seats. The group thought that a further ten candidates could easily be found.Andrew Thorpe, "The British General Election of 1931", Oxford University Press, 1991, p. 117.

Finance and organisation

MacDonald was adamant that National Labour should be separate and not connected to

Conservative Central Office The Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ), formerly known as Conservative Central Office (CCO), is the headquarters of the British Conservative Party, housing its central staff and committee members, including campaign coordinators and man ...

. An offer of £100,000 funding from Lord Beaverbrook seems to have been declined, but Sir Alexander Grant gave £250 and the

Duke of Westminster Duke of Westminster is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created by Queen Victoria in 1874 and bestowed upon Hugh Grosvenor, 3rd Marquess of Westminster. It is the most recent dukedom conferred on someone not related to the ...

gave £2,000 through

Maundy Gregory Arthur John Maundy Gregory, who later used the name Arthur John Peter Michael Maundy Gregory (1 July 1877 – 28 September 1941) was a British theatre producer and political fixer who is best remembered for selling honours for Prime Minister David ...

. National Labour had collected £20,000 in total for election expenses. At the start of the election, MacDonald denied Labour Party claims that the funds had come from the Conservative Party."No Funds from Unionists", ''The Times'', 14 October 1931, p. 12.

Frank Markham Sir Sydney Frank Markham (19 October 1897 – 13 October 1975) was a British politician who represented three constituencies, each on behalf of a different party, in Parliament. Born in Stony Stratford, he left school at the age of fourteen. ...

(MacDonald's Parliamentary Private Secretary) and the junior minister

Earl De La Warr Earl De La Warr ( ) is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1761 for John West, 7th Baron De La Warr. The Earl holds the subsidiary titles of Viscount Cantelupe (1761) in the Peerage of Great Britain, Baron De La Warr ( ...

set up a National Labour Committee to run the election. De La Warr became chairman.

Candidates

Negotiations with Conservative Central Office began after a meeting on 25 September, when the Conservatives had reassured MacDonald that it would not be difficult to come to agreement. Frank Markham then drafted a list of 35 constituencies in which National Labour wanted to stand for election and wanted the Conservatives to support them. However, the Conservatives objected to many of the entries such as Kensington North and

Birmingham Erdington Birmingham Erdington is a parliamentary constituency in Birmingham, England, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 2022 by Paulette Hamilton of the Labour Party. Members of Parliament MPs 1918� ...

, which were marginal former Conservative seats that had only narrowly gone to Labour in 1929. Local Conservatives refused to withdraw their candidates, and in Liverpool Everton, sitting National Labour MP

Derwent Hall Caine Sir Derwent Hall Caine, 1st Baronet (12 September 18912 December 1971) was a British actor, publisher and Labour politician. Biography Caine was the son of British novelist Hall Caine and his wife Mary Chandler. He was born at Keswick in Cu ...

found himself opposed (and eventually beaten) by a Conservative. By 14 October, with the close of nominations imminent, persistent Conservative associations and candidates had forced National Labour candidates to withdraw in four constituencies and there were only 25 candidates confirmed, 10 of whom had Conservative opposition.Andrew Thorpe, "The British General Election of 1931", Oxford University Press, 1991, pp. 172–4. MacDonald himself tried to intervene and on the day after the election was announced complained that Attorney-General Sir William Jowitt had been forced out of Preston and the Conservatives could not find a local association willing to accept him. Jowitt subsequently stood and lost as a National Labour candidate for Combined English Universities. He later rejoined the Labour Party and would end up in Clement Attlee's 1945-1951 government as Lord High Chancellor. Conservative Party chairman Lord Stonehaven complained back to MacDonald about his promotion of "unknown candidates introduced at the very last moment by yourself" competing against Conservatives who had promised him their support, which risked handing the seats to the opposition. Of the 20 candidates actually nominated, six faced a rival Conservative candidate and one a rival Liberal National. Three more candidates withdrew before polling day. The general organisation of National Labour during the election was run by Benjamin Musgrave."National Labour Party", ''The Times'', 14 September 1932, p. 10.

Creation of the organisation

In December, MacDonald's private secretary Herbert Usher wrote a long memorandum asking key questions about what type of ongoing organisation was needed. Usher stated that MacDonald needed to answer three crucial questions: first, whether he wanted to form a new party; second, whether he envisaged returning to the Labour Party; and third, whether the National Government would continue for a long time and produce a single party of the centre. Usher argued that it was not possible to create a distinctive National Labour Party because any distinctive policy would threaten the unity of the National Government coalition. He also contended that MacDonald could not return to the Labour Party, which harboured extreme bitterness about the manner in which the National Government was formed. Usher concluded that the public favoured a large centrist party, but that existing political organisations would not permit it. David Marquand, "Ramsay MacDonald", Jonathan Cape, 1977, p. 675-6. Early in 1932 a constitution and organisation was established and the monthly ''News-Letter'' set up for supporters which was edited by

Clifford Allen Clifford Robertson Allen (January 6, 1912 – June 18, 1978) was a Tennessee attorney and Democratic politician. Early life and career Allen was born in Jacksonville, Florida, and graduated from Friends High School (now Sidwell Friends) in ...

. An editorial in the first edition written by Allen emphasised that the ''News-Letter'' was "intended to be a means of contact between Labour supporters of the National Government", but also "begs the attention of public opinion", The editorship was later taken by Godfrey Elton and both Allen and Elton received peerages from MacDonald. In September 1932, William Spofforth (formerly the Labour Party agent in

Westhoughton Westhoughton ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, southwest of Bolton, east of Wigan and northwest of Manchester.

Philip Snowden Philip Snowden, 1st Viscount Snowden, PC (; 18 July 1864 – 15 May 1937) was a British politician. A strong speaker, he became popular in trade union circles for his denunciation of capitalism as unethical and his promise of a socialist utop ...

, who as Chancellor of the Exchequer had been second only to MacDonald in becoming a prominent Labour member of the National Government, remained nominally one of the National Labour cabinet members after the election, having received a Peerage. However, Snowden rejected an invitation from Clifford Allen to write for the ''News-Letter'', replying scathingly and declaring that "I really do not understand this National Labour Party". When Snowden resigned from the government in opposition to the protectionist outcome of the

Ottawa Conference The British Empire Economic Conference (also known as the Imperial Economic Conference or Ottawa Conference) was a 1932 conference of British colonies and dominions held to discuss the Great Depression. It was held between 21 July and 20 Augus ...

in September 1932, he declared that he no longer had any party allegiance.

Relations with the Conservatives

After the election, MacDonald persisted in trying to find a seat for Jowitt. All that Stonehaven would offer was Nottingham South, where the

Conservative Association A Conservative Association (CA) is a local organisation composed of Conservative Party members in the United Kingdom. Every association varies in membership size but all correspond to a parliamentary constituency in England, Wales, Scotland and No ...

might be persuaded to support Jowitt if the sitting National Labour member George Wilfrid Holford Knight stood down. Unexpectedly, Holford Knight refused to comply and MacDonald was angry not with him, but the Conservatives for not offering a seat that they held. In July 1932, a by-election arose in

Wednesbury Wednesbury () is a market town in Sandwell in the county of West Midlands, England. It is located near the source of the River Tame. Historically part of Staffordshire in the Hundred of Offlow, at the 2011 Census the town had a population of 3 ...

, a seat that Labour had held at every election except 1931. De La Warr expressed to Stonehaven the hope that the local Conservatives would accept a National Labour candidate, but Stonehaven wrote back that the suggestion amazed him. He had tried, but the Wednesbury Conservative Association were obdurate in refusing to have a National Labour candidate, which would mean handing over their organisation and funding the campaign. MacDonald may have considered resigning, but he decided only to refuse to send a message of support to the Conservative, who ended up losing the seat to Labour anyway. In its publicity, National Labour was concerned to stress that although Parliament was heavily dominated by the Conservatives, the cabinet was much more evenly balanced between the parties. In 1933, a local electoral pact was agreed in Finsbury between National Labour and the

Municipal Reform Party The Municipal Reform Party was a local party allied to the parliamentary Conservative Party in the County of London. The party contested elections to both the London County Council and metropolitan borough councils of the county from 1906 to 1945 ...

in advance of the 1934 London County Council election. The Parliamentary constituency had a National Labour MP, but the two

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

seats were held by Labour and the pact agreed that

Kenneth Lindsay Kenneth Martin Lindsay (16 September 1897 – 4 March 1991) was a Labour Party politician from the United Kingdom who joined the breakaway National Labour group. He was the final Member of Parliament to be elected by the single transferable vo ...

would run in conjunction with one Municipal Reform candidate in the election. In the event, Michael Franklin of National Labour and Fordham Flower of Municipal Reform stood as National Municipal candidates, but they failed to win seats.

Policy and publicity

While National Labour could not advocate any policy in opposition to the National Government, its members gave policy suggestions and argued in support of government policy. A pamphlet, called "On the Home Front" and published in April 1934, outlined the National Labour argument in support of the National Government's domestic policy—it argued that the

agricultural policy Agricultural policy describes a set of laws relating to domestic agriculture and imports of foreign agricultural products. Governments usually implement agricultural policies with the goal of achieving a specific outcome in the domestic agricultu ...

followed by the government had "the characteristic Conservative policy of a

tariff A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and pol ...

" as well as "the characteristic

Socialist State A socialist state, socialist republic, or socialist country, sometimes referred to as a workers' state or workers' republic, is a sovereign state constitutionally dedicated to the establishment of socialism. The term '' communist state'' is of ...

organisation of industry" and therefore showed what the government "owes to the traditional doctrines of not one, but all, Parties in the State". The pamphlet asserted that returning to the old party system would mean weak government and that it was weak government that had led other European countries to

dictatorship A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship a ...

. Looking back on the politics of the 1930s in a 1964 article, Professor

Arthur Marwick Arthur John Brereton Marwick (29 February 1936 – 27 September 2006) was a British social historian, who served for many years as Professor of History at the Open University. His research interests lay primarily in the history of Britain in the ...

regarded National Labour's significance as being "a central point around which people who desired political agreement could cohere". He noted that National Labour could attract to collectivist socialism, some who were put off by the resolutely working-class character of the Labour Party and cited Harold Nicolson as a case in point. In April 1935, a volume of essays by five leading National Labour politicians was published under the title "Towards a National Policy: being a National Labour Contribution". MacDonald contributed a preface in which he argued that the Labour opposition "is as little guided by Socialist opinion and inspired by the fine human spirit of our British Socialism as any other political party of pure expediency striving for a majority". Lord Elton argued that trade unions should not affiliate to the Labour Party because they could achieve more by bargaining for support when not tied to one political party.

1935 general election

MacDonald remained Prime Minister as the head of a coalition government until June 1935, when he gave way to Stanley Baldwin and became instead Lord President of the Council. At the 1935 general election, the party sponsored 20 candidates, eight of whom were elected. A notable new recruit was Harold Nicolson, a former diplomat and an ex-political associate of

Oswald Mosley Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 – 3 December 1980) was a British politician during the 1920s and 1930s who rose to fame when, having become disillusioned with mainstream politics, he turned to fascism. He was a member ...

when he created the New Party. Immediately after the election, the ''News-Letter'' argued that Labour supporters of the National Government were hidden "thanks to the trade union 'terror'" and that the party ought to appeal for the votes of all socialists and trade unionists opposed to being herded into the political wilderness."Election of a Speaker", ''The Times'', 22 November 1935, p. 14. When Ramsay MacDonald's son,

Malcolm Malcolm, Malcom, Máel Coluim, or Maol Choluim may refer to: People * Malcolm (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Clan Malcolm * Maol Choluim de Innerpeffray, 14th-century bishop-elect of Dunkeld Nobility * Máe ...

, fought the Ross and Cromarty by-election of 1936, he found himself opposed by

Randolph Churchill Randolph Frederick Edward Spencer-Churchill (28 May 1911 – 6 June 1968) was an English journalist, writer, soldier, and politician. He served as Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Preston from 1940 to 1945. The only son of British ...

standing as a Conservative and arguing that 'National Labour' was a "sham device" with no real support."Ross Candidates' Addresses", ''The Times'', 3 February 1936, p. 9. After learning of his son's success, Ramsay MacDonald corrected a correspondent who had referred to " Labour's defeat" by asserting, "Labour was victorious, and a queer mixture which had neither principle nor political policy, now known as Opposition Labour, was defeated". David Marquand, "Ramsay MacDonald", Jonathan Cape, 1977, p. 782.

Later years

On 18 October 1937, Ramsay MacDonald officially opened the new headquarters of the National Labour Organisation at 57 Tufton Street."New National Labour Headquarters", ''The Times'', 19 October 1937, p. 18. A month later, MacDonald was dead; the National Labour Organisation continued, although it postponed its conference until March 1938.''The Times'', 20 December 1937, p. 14. When the conference happened, ''The Times'' greeted it with a

leader Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...

commending the party for striking "deeper roots than a group formed around a particular personality"."National Labour", ''The Times'', 19 March 1938, p. 13. Malcolm MacDonald took the leadership of the group in Parliament and National Labour members retained office—the party issued a declaration of support for Neville Chamberlain over the

Munich Agreement The Munich Agreement ( cs, Mnichovská dohoda; sk, Mníchovská dohoda; german: Münchner Abkommen) was an agreement concluded at Munich on 30 September 1938, by Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy. It provided "cession to Germany ...

."National Labour and Mr. Chamberlain", ''The Times'', 4 October 1938, p. 16. In the first edition of the ''News-Letter'' for 1939, a declaration from National Labour was printed and it pledged support for a united

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

, a strong

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

("for bringing about constructive schemes of world appeasement, economic as well as political"), the national planning of our economic life, preservation of the countryside and the improvement of social services. When Germany invaded the whole of Czechoslovakia in March 1939, an editorial called for "a Government of national concentration" which would have to include "the trusted leaders of the trade unions and the Opposition parties". A Parliamentary motion from Anthony Eden and

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

calling for a National government "on the widest possible basis" was given support from the ''News-Letter'' in the following issue. In the run-up to an expected general election in autumn 1939, several National Labour candidates were adopted and the party attracted some high-profile figures to defect to it (including former MP Michael Marcus). The outbreak of war, delaying the election, forced the group to reconsider. In February 1940, it was announced that the party would not be holding an annual conference that year and had suspended publication of "News Letter". In February 1942, Stephen King-Hall resigned from the Parliamentary Party, stating that he wanted to oppose the involvement of party political considerations in wartime."Cdr. King-Hall to sit as Independent M.P.", ''The Times'', 24 February 1942, p. 2. In May 1943, he was followed by

reducing the Parliamentary group to only five in number."Mr. K. Lindsay as Independent", ''The Times'', 29 May 1943, p. 2. Earl De La Warr resigned in August 1943,"Lord De La Warr's Resignation", ''The Times'', 20 August 1943, p. 4. succeeded as chairman by

Richard Denman Sir Richard Douglas Denman, 1st Baronet (24 August 1876 – 22 December 1957), was a radical British Liberal Party politician and Labour Party then National Labour MP. Background Denman was the son of Richard Denman, a court clerk and Helen M ...

Dissolution

A special conference of the National Labour Organisation on 14 June 1945 decided to dissolve the party. Malcolm Macdonald chose not to defend his seat and retired from front-line politics. The other former National Labour MPs adopted were redesignated to run as National Parliamentary candidates. The organisation issued a closing statement that praised the Labour Party for joining the Coalition in 1940 and condemned it for breaking up the Coalition immediately after victory in Europe. It called "all men and women of progressive outlook" to vote to re-elect the Churchill government."National Labour and the Election", ''The Times'', 15 June 1945, p. 8. In recording the dissolution, the "Election Diary" in ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'' considered the surprising thing to be that it took place in a year as late as 1945. All five of the candidates were defeated in the election, but Kenneth Lindsay was re-elected as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

after moving constituencies from Kilmarnock to Combined English Universities. The ''News-Letter'' continued, with an editorial line critical of the post-war Labour government. In September 1946, it urged progressive members of the Conservative Party to discard their name and join with the Liberal Party under another name; the editorial believed "the struggle for the future will be for individual rights against the omnipotent State, democracy against despotism". The last edition of the ''News-Letter'' was dated April–July 1947.''News-Letter'', vol. 10, no. 2. Subsequently, Harold Nicolson joined the Labour Party and stood as its candidate in the 1948 Croydon North by-election, which he lost. Sir

joined the Conservatives and returned to the House of Commons in 1951 as the MP for Buckingham at the 1951 general election. Markham retired from parliament in 1964. Leslie Thomas (the son of Jimmy Thomas) had stood as a National Labour candidate in Leek in the 1935 general election. In 1953, he was elected as a Conservative Party candidate for

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

until he stood down in 1966. The only former National Labour politician to return to government besides Jowitt was Earl De La Warr in 1951. He was appointed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill as

Postmaster General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having a government official responsib ...

. It was a ministerial appointment but outside the Cabinet. De La Warr retired in 1955.

Candidacies

The candidates sponsored by the National Labour Committee and the subsequent National Labour Organisation were as follows. * Legend # Those listed in bold were successful in at least one election. # Colour key:

References

{{reflist 1931 in British politics Labour Party (UK) breakaway groups