National Government (United Kingdom)
When a final vote was taken, the Cabinet was split 11–9 with a minority, including many political heavyweights such as Arthur Henderson and George Lansbury, threatening to resign rather than agree.
MacDonald had originally wished to tender his resignation but was told to re-consider by the King on the grounds that the majority of opposition MPs and the country at large supported the cuts proposed by the May Report, even if the Labour Party and the Trade Unions led by Ernest Bevin did not.
On 24 August, MacDonald agreed and formed a National Government composed of men from all parties with the specific aim of balancing the Budget and restoring confidence.
The Trade Unions that represented a large proportion of the Labour party's base refused to support any cuts to benefits or wages except to "the salaries of Ministers".
Increasingly, the majority of the Cabinet came to believe that a protective tariff was necessary to support British industry and provide revenue and that a general election should be fought to secure a mandate but this was anathema to the Liberal Party.
The 1931 general election campaign run by the National Government figures stressed their policies would aim to avoid any risk of Britain seeing such events as those of Germany two years ago including hyperinflation and MacDonald famously waved worthless Deutschmarks to emphasise the point.
The result of the 1931 general election was the greatest landslide in British political history, the National Government winning a total of 556 seats and a Parliamentary majority of 500.
[7][8] As few Labour MPs refused to abandon the wishes of the Trade Unionists led by Ernest Bevin, the support for the re-elected National Government was heavily Conservative.
On the suggestion of Hailsham, it was agreed to suspend the principle of Cabinet collective responsibility to allow the Liberals to oppose the introduction of tariffs while remaining in government.
In domestic politics, he increasingly allowed Baldwin to give a lead, but in foreign affairs, the main direction was determined by MacDonald and Simon.
The most prominent policy of the National Government in the early 1930s was the proposal to introduce Indian Home Rule, a measure fiercely opposed by the Diehard wing of the Conservative party, with Winston Churchill one of the most open opponents.
[11] Increasingly foreign affairs were coming to dominate political discourse and in November Baldwin led the government to victory in the 1935 general election on a platform of support for the League of Nations and sanctions against Italy for invading Abyssinia.
The following month a massive storm developed when it emerged that the new Foreign Secretary, Sir Samuel Hoare, had negotiated the Hoare-Laval Pact which proposed to cede most of Abyssinia to Italy.
[13] Baldwin's last years in office were seen as a period of drift, but in late 1936 he achieved a notable triumph in resolving the Edward VIII abdication crisis without major repercussions.
[15] In foreign affairs, the government sought to increase Britain's armaments, while maintaining the unity of the Empire and Dominions and preventing any one power from becoming dominant on the continent of Europe.
These proved increasingly difficult to reconcile, as many Dominions were reluctant to support Britain in the event of her going to war, and so military action risked splitting the Empire.
Chamberlain took a strong personal lead in foreign affairs and sought to bring about peaceful revision of European frontiers in areas where many commentators had long-acknowledged grievances.
Initially a discussion of what had gone wrong in that field, it soon turned into a general debate on the conduct of the war with fierce criticism expressed by all sides of the House.
