Labour Government 1929-1931 - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Second Labour Government was formed by Ramsay MacDonald

Ramsay MacDonald

James Ramsay MacDonald, PC, FRS was a British politician who was the first ever Labour Prime Minister, leading a minority government for two terms....

on his second appointment as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...

on 5 June 1929. As the name suggests it was the second occasion on which the Labour Party

Labour Party (UK)

The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

had formed a government; the First Labour Government held office during 1924.

The government lacked a parliamentary majority

Majority

A majority is a subset of a group consisting of more than half of its members. This can be compared to a plurality, which is a subset larger than any other subset; i.e. a plurality is not necessarily a majority as the largest subset may consist of less than half the group's population...

, gaining 288 seats with 8,300,000 votes compared to the Conservatives 255 seats with 8,560,000 votes - a victory based on first past the post.They needed Lloyd-George's 58 Liberal seats to pass any legislation. They also faced the problems stemming from the impact of the Great Depression

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

. On the one hand, international bankers insisted that strict budget limits be kept, on the other trade unions and, particularly, unemployed workers' organizations carried on regular and massive protest actions, including a series of hunger marches

Hunger marches

The Hunger marches were a series of marches held in the 1930s during The Great Depression in the United Kingdom to protest against hunger and unemployment in the United Kingdom....

.

The Government did try to pass legislation, such as the Coal Mines Act 1930

Coal Mines Act 1930

The Coal Mines Act 1930 was an Act of Parliament which introduced a system of quotas in the coal industry of the United Kingdom. Under the legislation companies were only allowed a certain market share of the coal industry in order to restrain competition....

, which provided for a 71/2 hour shift in mines. Owners were guaranteed coal prices through the introduction of a production quota system among collieries, thus doing away with cut-throat competition. This guarantee was introduced in order to prevent a fall in miners’ wages. The Act also introduced a cartel scheme to allocate production quotas to pits under the control of a central council, while a Mines Reorganisation Commission was established to encourage efficiency through amalgamations. However, this legislation largely ignored by the mine owners due to Labours' lack of enforcement powers. There was also the Land Utilisation Act of 1931, which would have given Labour powers to purchase land anywhere in the United Kingdom, but it was mauled by the House of Lords and had no backing from the treasury, so it was essentially a "dead letter". Other acts passed include the Agricultural Marketing Act 1931 (which established a board to fix prices for produce), Greenwood's Housing Act 1930 (which provided subsidies for slum clearance) and the London Transport Bill 1931 - see London Passenger Transport Board

London Passenger Transport Board

The London Passenger Transport Board was the organisation responsible for public transport in London, UK, and its environs from 1933 to 1948...

- this was made legislation in 1933, after the Government had fallen.

Immediate measures carried out by the government upon taking office included a temporary amendment of the Unemployment Insurance Acts, increasing the State contribution to the Fund, a Development Act authorising grants up to £25,000,000 and a further £25,000,000 in guarantees for public works schemes designed to reduce unemployment, a parallel Colonial Development Act authorising grants up to £1,000,000 a year for schemes in the Colonies, a measure continuing at the existing levels the subsidies under the Housing Acts, which the Conservatives had threatened to reduce, and a removal of the appointed Guardians whom the Conservatives had put in office in place of the elected Boards in Bedwellty, Chester-le-Street, and Westham. Changes were also made to the taxation system that resulted in the poor paying less tax and the rich paying more.

The Widows’ and Old Age Pensions Act was amended to cover some hundreds of thousands of additional pensioners, under improved conditions, with the inclusion of widows between the ages of 55 and 70. A further unemployment insurance Act re-drafted the terms of benefit, so as to remove the major part of the grievance relating to the disqualification of persons alleged to be “not genuinely seeking work,” which led to greater numbers of people acquiring unemployment assistance. Other measures carried out in 1929-30 included the Road Traffic Act(which introduced third party insurance to compensate for property damage and personal injury, and made better provisions for road safety), the Land Drainage Act (which provided some degree of progress in river management, the Public Works Facilities Act (conferring easier borrowing powers), and the Mental Treatment Act 1930

Mental Treatment Act 1930

The Mental Treatment Act 1930 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that permitted voluntary admission to, and outpatient treatment within, psychiatric hospitals. It also replaced the term "asylum" with "mental hospital".- See also :...

. The 1930 Labour budget provided for largely increased expenditure, contained measures to prevent tax evasion, raised the standard rate of income tax as well as the surtax while making concessions to the smaller taxpayer. Another housing act was passed, concerned with the provision of more and better rural housing, and a town and country planning act gave local authorities more power to control local and regional planning.

The Unemployment Insurance Act of 1929 scrapped the “genuinely seeking work” clause in unemployment benefit (which was originally abolished by the First Labour Government in 1924, and reintroduced by the Conservatives in 1928), increased dependants’ allowances, extended provision for the long-term unemployed, relaxed eligibility conditions, and introduced an individual means test. The National Health Insurance (Prolongation of Insurance) Act of 1930 extended provision of health insurance to unemployed males whose entitlement had run out, while the Poor Prisoners Defence Act of 1930 introduced criminal legal aid for appearances in magistrates’ courts. The Housing (Scotland) Act and Housing Act 1930 provided local authorities with additional central government subsidies to construct new homes for people who had been moved out of slum clearance areas.

The 1930 Poor Law Act abolished the workhouse test and replaced the Poor Law with public bodies known as Public Assistance Committees for the relief of the poor and destitute, while Poor Law hospitals came under the control of local authorities. The lid was kept on the (then) ever present risk of a naval arms race, while the system of naval officer recruitment was reformed to make it less difficult for working-class sailors to secure promotion from the ranks. George Lansbury, the First Commissioner of Works, sponsored a “Brighter Britain” campaign and introduced a number of facilities in London parks such as mixed bathing, boating ponds, and swings and sandpits for children.

The Second Labour Government’s achievements in social policy were, however, overshadowed by the government’s catastrophic failure to tackle the effects of the Great Depression, which left mass unemployment in its wake. Spending on public works was accelerated, although this proved to be inadequate in dealing with the problem. By January 1930, 1.5 million people were out of work, a number which reached almost 2 million by June, and by December it topped 2.5 million. The Lord Privy Seal Jimmy Thomas, who was put in charge of the problem of unemployment, was unable to offer a solution, while Margaret Bondfield also failed to come up with an imaginative response. Other members of the cabinet, however, put forward their own imaginative proposals for dealing with the Depression.

George Lansbury

George Lansbury

George Lansbury was a British politician, socialist, Christian pacifist and newspaper editor. He was a Member of Parliament from 1910 to 1912 and from 1922 to 1940, and leader of the Labour Party from 1932 to 1935....

proposed land reclamation in Great Britain, a colonising scheme in Western Australia, and pensions for people at the age of sixty, while Tom Johnston

Tom Johnston

Tom Johnston, Thomas Johnston or Tommy Johnston may refer to:*Thomas Johnston , Canadian industrial and political figure*Thomas A. Johnston , US educator*Thomas D. Johnston , US political figure...

pushed for national relief schemes such as the construction of a road round Loch Lomont (Thomas was successful in getting a coach road from Aberfoyle to the Trossachs rebuilt). These and similar schemes, however, failed in the unemployment Committee (a group composed of Thomas and his assistants Johnston, Lansbury, and Oswald Mosley to develop a solution to the unemployment problem), where the four ministers received negative responses to their proposals from the top civil servants from the various government departments.

The one minister whose proposals may have helped Britain to recover quickly from the worst effects of the Great depression was Oswald Mosley

Oswald Mosley

Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet, of Ancoats, was an English politician, known principally as the founder of the British Union of Fascists...

, a former member of the Conservative Party

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

. Frustrated by the government’s economic orthodoxy (a controversial policy upheld by the fiscally conservative Chancellor, Philip Snowden), Mosley submitted an ambitious set of proposals for dealing with the crisis to the Labour Cabinet in what became known as “Mosley’s Memorandum.” These included much greater use of credit to finance development through the public control of banking, rationalisation of industry under public ownership, British agricultural development, import restrictions and bulk purchase agreements with foreign (particularly Imperial) producers, protection of the home market by tariffs, and higher pensions and allowances to encourage earlier retirement from industry and to increase purchasing power. Although Macdonald was said to have been sympathetic to some of Mosley’s proposals, these were rejected by Snowden and other members of the Cabinet, which to led Mosley to resign in frustration in May 1930. The government continued to adhere to an orthodox economic course, as characterised by the controversial decision of the Minister of Labour

Minister of Labour

Minister of Labour is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms and employment.The position exist in many countries with several different names:...

Margaret Bondfield

Margaret Grace Bondfield was an English Labour politician and feminist, the first woman Cabinet minister in the United Kingdom and one of the first three female Labour MPs...

to push through Parliament an Anomalies Act, aimed at stamping out apparent “abuses” of the unemployment insurance system. This legislation limited the rights of short-time, casual and seasonal workers and of married women to claim unemployment benefit, which further damaged the reputation of the government amongst most Labour supporters.

In the summer of 1931, the government was gripped by a political and financial crisis as the value of the pound

Pound sterling

The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...

and its place on the Gold Standard

Gold standard

The gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is a fixed mass of gold. There are distinct kinds of gold standard...

came under threat over fears that the budget was unbalanced. A run on gold began when a report by the May Committee estimated that there would be a deficit of £120 million by April 1932, and recommended reductions in government expenditure and higher taxes to prevent this.

Macdonald’s cabinet met repeatedly to work out the necessary cutbacks and tax rises, while at the same time seeking loans from overseas. It later became clear that the bankers in New York would only provide loans if the government carried out significant austerity measures, such as a 10% reduction in the dole. During August 1931, the Cabinet struggled to produce budget amendments that were politically acceptable but proved unable to do so without causing mass resignations and a fullscale split in the party. The particular issue on which the split occurred was the vote of the cabinet after much discussion to reduce benefit paid to unemployed people under the National Assistance scheme. The Cabinet was unable to reach an agreement on this controversial issue, with nine members opposing the reduction in the dole and eleven supporting it, and on 24 August 1931 the government formally resigned.

The Second Labour Government was succeeded by the First National Ministry, also headed by Ramsay MacDonald

Ramsay MacDonald

James Ramsay MacDonald, PC, FRS was a British politician who was the first ever Labour Prime Minister, leading a minority government for two terms....

and made up of members of Labour, the Conservatives and Liberals

Liberal Party (UK)

The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

, calling itself a National Government

UK National Government

In the United Kingdom the term National Government is an abstract concept referring to a coalition of some or all major political parties. In a historical sense it usually refers primarily to the governments of Ramsay MacDonald, Stanley Baldwin and Neville Chamberlain which held office from 1931...

. Viewed by many Labourites as a traitor, Macdonald was subsequently expelled from the Labour Party

Labour Party (UK)

, and remained a hate figure withi the Labour Party

Labour Party (UK)

for many years thereafter, despite his great services to his party earlier in his life.

The circumstances surrounding the downfall of the Second Labour Government, together with its replacement by the National Government

UK National Government

and its failure to develop a coherent economic strategy for dealing with the effects of the Great Depression

Great Depression

, have provoked massive controversy amongst historians ever since.

Members of the Cabinet are in bold face.

Office	Name	Dates	Notes
Prime Minister Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and... , First Lord of the Treasury First Lord of the Treasury The First Lord of the Treasury is the head of the commission exercising the ancient office of Lord High Treasurer in the United Kingdom, and is now always also the Prime Minister... and Leader of the House of Commons Leader of the House of Commons The Leader of the House of Commons is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Commons...	Ramsay Macdonald Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald, PC, FRS was a British politician who was the first ever Labour Prime Minister, leading a minority government for two terms....	5 June 1929 – 24 August 1931
Lord Chancellor Lord Chancellor The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...	The Lord Sankey John Sankey, 1st Viscount Sankey John Sankey, 1st Viscount Sankey GBE, KStJ, PC, KC was a prominent British lawyer, judge and Labour politician, famous for many of his judgments in the House of Lords...	7 June 1929
Lord President of the Council Lord President of the Council The Lord President of the Council is the fourth of the Great Officers of State of the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord High Treasurer and above the Lord Privy Seal. The Lord President usually attends each meeting of the Privy Council, presenting business for the monarch's approval... and Leader of the House of Lords 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 role is always held in combination with a formal Cabinet position, usually one of the sinecure offices of Lord President of the Council,...	The Lord Parmoor Charles Cripps, 1st Baron Parmoor Charles Alfred Cripps, 1st Baron Parmoor KCVO, PC, QC was a British politician who crossed the floor from the Conservative to the Labour Party and was a strong supporter of the League of Nations and of Church of England causes....	7 June 1929 – 24 August 1931
Lord Privy Seal Lord Privy Seal The Lord Privy Seal is the fifth of the Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and above the Lord Great Chamberlain. The office is one of the traditional sinecure offices of state...	James Henry Thomas James Henry Thomas James Henry "Jimmy" Thomas was a British trade unionist and Labour politician. He was involved in a political scandal involving budget leaks.-Early career and Trade Union activities:...	7 June 1929
	Vernon Hartshorn Vernon Hartshorn Vernon Hartshorn was a Welsh trades unionist and Labour Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament from 1918 until his death....	5 June 1930
	Thomas Johnston Thomas Johnston Thomas "Tom" Johnston CH was a prominent Scottish socialist and politician of the early 20th century, a member of the Labour Party, a Member of Parliament and government minister – usually with Cabinet responsibility for Scottish affairs.-Red Clydesider:Johnston, the son of a middle-class...	24 March 1931
Chancellor of the Exchequer Chancellor of the Exchequer The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...	Philip Snowden Philip Snowden, 1st Viscount Snowden Philip Snowden, 1st Viscount Snowden PC was a British politician and the first Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer, a position he held in 1924 and again between 1929 and 1931.-Early life: 1864–1906:...	7 June 1929 – 5 November 1931	Retained post during Macdonald's National Government National Government 1931-1935 See also First National MinistryThe United Kingdom's National Government was composed of members of the following parties:National LabourConservative PartyLiberal PartyLiberal Nationals...
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury The Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury is a junior ministerial position in the British Government. The holder is usually the Government Chief Whip in the House of Commons. However, the office is no longer attached to the Treasury...	Tom Kennedy Tom Kennedy (UK politician) Thomas Kennedy PC was a Scottish Labour politician.Kennedy was born in Kennethmont, Aberdeenshire, and became a railway clerk. He joined the Social Democratic Federation and soon became its organiser for Aberdeen, standing for Parliament in Aberdeen North in 1906 and January 1910...	14 June 1929
Financial Secretary to the Treasury Financial Secretary to the Treasury Financial Secretary to the Treasury is a junior Ministerial post in the British Treasury. It is the 4th most significant Ministerial role within the Treasury after the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and the Paymaster General...	Frederick Pethick-Lawrence Frederick Pethick-Lawrence, 1st Baron Pethick-Lawrence Frederick William Pethick-Lawrence, 1st Baron Pethick-Lawrence PC was a British Labour politician.-Background and education:...	11 June 1929
Lords of the Treasury Lord of the Treasury In the United Kingdom, there are at least six Lords of the Treasury who serve concurrently. Traditionally, this board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the Treasury, and four or more junior lords .Strictly they are commissioners for exercising the office of Lord...	Charles Edwards Charles Edwards (UK politician) Sir Charles Edwards was a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom.Edwards was elected at the 1918 general election as Member of Parliament for the newly-created Bedwellty constituency in Monmouthshire...	11 June 1929 – 13 March 1931
	John Parkinson John Parkinson (UK politician) John Allen Parkinson was a British Labour Party politician.He was elected to the House of Commons as Member of Parliament for Wigan at the 1918 general election, replacing the Conservative MP Reginald James Neville.Parkinson was re-elected at each subsequent general election until his death at...	11 June 1929 – 1 March 1931
	Alfred Barnes	11 June 1929 – 23 October 1930
	William Whiteley William Whiteley (politician) William Whiteley, CH, PC, DL was the Labour Member of Parliament for Blaydon in County Durham.William Whiteley, not to be confused with the founder of the Department Store of the same name, was a Durham miner by background and lodge official also...	27 June 1929 – 24 August 1931
	Wilfred Paling Wilfred Paling Wilfred Paling was a British Labour politician. He was born at Marehay, near Ripley, Derbyshire, one of eight children of a coalminer. Paling left Ripley Elementary School at the age of 13, and entered casual employment with local plumbing and building companies...	27 June 1929 – 24 August 1931
	Ernest Thurtle Ernest Thurtle Ernest Thurtle was a British Labour politician.Thurtle worked as am accountant and salesman...	23 October 1930 – 24 August 1931
	Henry Charleton	13 March 1931 – 23 August 1931
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs	Arthur Henderson Arthur Henderson Arthur Henderson was a British iron moulder and Labour politician. He was the 1934 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and he served three short terms as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1908–1910, 1914–1917 and 1931-1932....	7 June 1929 – 24 August 1931
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs	Hugh Dalton Hugh Dalton Edward Hugh John Neale Dalton, Baron Dalton PC was a British Labour Party politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1945 to 1947, when he was implicated in a political scandal involving budget leaks....	11 June 1929
Secretary of State for the Home Department	John Robert Clynes John Robert Clynes John Robert Clynes was a British trade unionist and Labour Party politician. He was a Member of Parliament for 35 years, and led the party in its breakthrough at the 1922 general election...	7 June 1929
Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department -Non-permanent and parliamentary under-secretaries, 1782-present:April 1782: Evan NepeanApril 1782: Thomas OrdeJuly 1782: Henry StracheyApril 1783: George NorthFebruary 1784: Hon. John TownshendJune 1789: Scrope Bernard*July 1794: The Hon...	Alfred Short Alfred Short Alfred Short was a British trades unionist and Labour politician, Member of Parliament for Wednesbury from 1918 to 1931, and for Doncaster from 1935 until 1938....	11 June 1929
First Lord of the Admiralty	A. V. Alexander A. V. Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Hillsborough Albert Victor Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Hillsborough KG, CH, PC was a British Labour Co-operative politician. He was three times First Lord of the Admiralty, including during the Second World War, and then Minister of Defence under Clement Attlee.-Background:Born in Weston-super-Mare and...	7 June 1929
Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty	Charles Ammon Charles Ammon, 1st Baron Ammon Charles George Ammon, 1st Baron Ammon PC DL JP was a British Labour Party politician.-Background and education:The son of Charles George and Mary Ammon, he was educated at Public Elementary schools.-Career:...	11 June 1929
Civil Lord of the Admiralty	George Hall	11 June 1929
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries	Noel Buxton	7 June 1929
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries	Christopher Addison Christopher Addison, 1st Viscount Addison Sir Christopher Addison, 1st Viscount Addison KG, PC was a British medical doctor and politician. By turns a liberal and a socialist, he served as Minister of Munitions during the first World War, and was later Minister of Health under David Lloyd George and Leader of the House of Lords under...	5 June 1930
Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries	Christopher Addison Christopher Addison, 1st Viscount Addison Sir Christopher Addison, 1st Viscount Addison KG, PC was a British medical doctor and politician. By turns a liberal and a socialist, he served as Minister of Munitions during the first World War, and was later Minister of Health under David Lloyd George and Leader of the House of Lords under...	11 June 1929
	The Earl De La Warr Herbrand Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr Herbrand Edward Dundonald Brassey Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr, GBE, PC, DL, JP , styled Lord Buckhurst until 1915 , was a British politician. He was the first hereditary peer to join the Labour Party and became a government minister at the age of 23...	5 June 1930
Secretary of State for Air Secretary of State for Air The Secretary of State for Air was a cabinet level British position. The person holding this position was in charge of the Air Ministry. It was created on 10 January 1919 to manage the Royal Air Force...	The Lord Thomson Christopher Thomson, 1st Baron Thomson Christopher Birdwood Thomson, 1st Baron Thomson PC was a British Army officer who went on to serve as a Labour minister and peer...	7 June 1929
	The Lord Amulree William Mackenzie, 1st Baron Amulree William Warrender Mackenzie, 1st Baron Amulree GCB, KBE, PC, KC , known as Sir William Mackenzie between 1918 and 1929, was a British barrister, public servant and Labour, later National Labour, politician...	14 October 1930
Under-Secretary of State for Air Under-Secretary of State for Air The Under-Secretary of State for Air was a junior ministerial post in the United Kingdom Government, supporting the Secretary of State for Air in his role of managing the Royal Air Force....	Frederick Montague Frederick Montague, 1st Baron Amwell Frederick Montague, 1st Baron Amwell CBE was a British Labour Party politician.Amwell was the son of John Montague and Mary Ann Manderson. He worked as a newsboy and as a shop assistant and later became a copywriter and political agent...	11 June 1929
Secretary of State for the Colonies Secretary of State for the Colonies The Secretary of State for the Colonies or Colonial Secretary was the British Cabinet minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various colonial dependencies....	The Lord Passfield Sidney James Webb, 1st Baron Passfield Sidney James Webb, 1st Baron Passfield PC OM was a British socialist, economist, reformer and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. He was one of the early members of the Fabian Society in 1884, along with George Bernard Shaw...	7 June 1929
Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies The Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies was a junior Ministerial post in the United Kingdom government, subordinate to the Secretary of State for the Colonies and, from 1948, also to a Minister of State....	William Lunn William Lunn William Lunn was a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom.He was elected at the 1918 general election as Member of Parliament for the newly-created Rothwell constituency in West Yorkshire, and held the seat until he died in office in 1942, aged 69.In 1924, Lunn served in Ramsay...	11 June 1929
	Drummond Shiels Drummond Shiels Sir Drummond Shiels MC was a Scottish Labour politician.The son of James Drummond Shiels and Agnes Campbell of Edinburgh, he was educated at Edinburgh University where he graduated MB ChB....	1 December 1929
Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs The position of Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs was a British cabinet level position created in 1925 responsible for British relations with the Dominions — Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Newfoundland, and the Irish Free State, as well as the self-governing colony of...	The Lord Passfield Sidney James Webb, 1st Baron Passfield Sidney James Webb, 1st Baron Passfield PC OM was a British socialist, economist, reformer and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. He was one of the early members of the Fabian Society in 1884, along with George Bernard Shaw...	7 June 1929
	James Henry Thomas James Henry Thomas James Henry "Jimmy" Thomas was a British trade unionist and Labour politician. He was involved in a political scandal involving budget leaks.-Early career and Trade Union activities:...	5 June 1930
Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs The position of Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs was a British ministerial position, subordinate to that of Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs, created in 1925 to deal with British relations with the Dominions — Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Newfoundland, and the...	Arthur Ponsonby Arthur Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede Arthur Augustus William Harry Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede was a British politician, writer, and social activist. He was the third son of Sir Henry Ponsonby, Private Secretary to Queen Victoria, and the great-grandson of Frederick Ponsonby, 3rd Earl of Bessborough...	11 June 1929
	William Lunn William Lunn William Lunn was a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom.He was elected at the 1918 general election as Member of Parliament for the newly-created Rothwell constituency in West Yorkshire, and held the seat until he died in office in 1942, aged 69.In 1924, Lunn served in Ramsay...	1 December 1929
President of the Board of Education	Sir Charles Philips Trevelyan Sir Charles Trevelyan, 3rd Baronet Sir Charles Philips Trevelyan, 3rd Baronet PC , the Lord Lieutenant of Northumberland, was a British Liberal, and later Labour, politician and landowner...	7 June 1929
President of the Board of Education	Hastings Lees-Smith Hastings Lees-Smith Hastings Bertrand Lees-Smith PC was a British Labour politician who was briefly in the cabinet as President of the Board of Education in 1931...	2 March 1931
Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education The Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education was a junior ministerial office in the United Kingdom Government. In 1899 the Board of Education Act abolished the Committee of the Privy Council which had been responsible for education matters and instituted a new Board from 1 April 1900. The...	Morgan Jones Morgan Jones (Welsh politician) Morgan Jones was a Welsh Labour Party politician.He was educated at Reading University, and became a teacher by profession. He first entered politics as a Glamorgan County Councillor...	11 June 1929
Minister of Health Secretary of State for Health Secretary of State for Health is a UK cabinet position responsible for the Department of Health.The first Boards of Health were created by Orders in Council dated 21 June, 14 November, and 21 November 1831. In 1848 a General Board of Health was created with the First Commissioner of Woods and...	Arthur Greenwood Arthur Greenwood Arthur Greenwood CH was a prominent member of the Labour Party from the 1920s until the late 1940s. He rose to prominence within the party as secretary of its research department from 1920 and served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health in the short-lived Labour government of 1924...	7 June 1929
Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health was a junior ministerial office in the United Kingdom Government.The Ministry of Health was created in 1919 as a reconstruction of the Local Government Board...	Susan Lawrence Susan Lawrence Arabella Susan Lawrence was a British Labour Party politician, one of the first female Labour MPs.Lawrence was the youngest daughter of Nathaniel Lawrence, a wealthy solicitor, and Laura Bacon, daughter of Sir James Bacon, a bankruptcy judge and Vice-Chancellor. She was educated in London and at...	11 June 1929
Secretary of State for India Secretary of State for India The Secretary of State for India, or India Secretary, was the British Cabinet minister responsible for the government of India and the political head of the India Office...	William Wedgwood Benn William Wedgwood Benn, 1st Viscount Stansgate Air Commodore William Wedgwood Benn, 1st Viscount Stansgate PC, DSO, DFC was a British Liberal politician who later joined the Labour Party. He was Secretary of State for India between 1929 and 1931 and Secretary of State for Air between 1945 and 1946...	7 June 1929
Under-Secretary of State for India Under-Secretary of State for India This is a list of Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State and Permanent Under-Secretaries of State at the India Office during the period of British rule between 1866 and 1948, and for Burma from 1858-1948....	Drummond Shiels Drummond Shiels Sir Drummond Shiels MC was a Scottish Labour politician.The son of James Drummond Shiels and Agnes Campbell of Edinburgh, he was educated at Edinburgh University where he graduated MB ChB....	11 June 1929
	The Earl Russell	1 December 1929
	The Lord Snell Harry Snell, 1st Baron Snell Henry Snell, 1st Baron Snell CH, PC , was a British socialist politician and campaigner. He served in government under Ramsay MacDonald and Winston Churchill, and as the Labour Party's leader in the House of Lords in the late 1930s.-Background:Born in Sutton-on-Trent in Nottinghamshire, the son of...	13 March 1931
Minister of Labour Secretary of State for Employment The Secretary of State for Employment was a position in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. In 1995 it was merged with Secretary of State for Education to make the Secretary of State for Education and Employment...	Margaret Bondfield Margaret Bondfield Margaret Grace Bondfield was an English Labour politician and feminist, the first woman Cabinet minister in the United Kingdom and one of the first three female Labour MPs...	7 June 1929
Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Labour Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Labour Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Labour was a junior position within the British government, subordinate to the Minister of Labour. It was established in December 1916, at the same time as the Ministry of Labour...	Jack Lawson Jack Lawson John James "Jack" Lawson, 1st Baron Lawson PC , was a British trade unionist and a Labour politician. A miner and later Member of Parliament in County Durham, he served in the governments of Ramsay MacDonald and Clement Attlee.-Background:Lawson was born in the port town of Whitehaven, Cumberland,...	11 June 1929
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is, in modern times, a ministerial office in the government of the United Kingdom that includes as part of its duties, the administration of the estates and rents of the Duchy of Lancaster...	Sir Oswald Mosley Oswald Mosley Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet, of Ancoats, was an English politician, known principally as the founder of the British Union of Fascists...	7 June 1929
	Clement Attlee Clement Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955...	23 May 1930
	The Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede Arthur Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede Arthur Augustus William Harry Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede was a British politician, writer, and social activist. He was the third son of Sir Henry Ponsonby, Private Secretary to Queen Victoria, and the great-grandson of Frederick Ponsonby, 3rd Earl of Bessborough...	13 March 1931
Paymaster General	The Lord Arnold Sydney Arnold, 1st Baron Arnold Sydney Arnold, 1st Baron Arnold was a British Liberal Party politician who later joined the Labour Party and served as a government minister....	7 June 1929
Paymaster General	vacant	6 March 1931
Minister of Pensions	Frederick Roberts Frederick Roberts (politician) Frederick Owen Roberts PC was a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom.He was elected at the 1918 general election as Member of Parliament for West Bromwich, defeating the sitting Conservative MP Viscount Lewisham...	7 June 1929
Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Pensions	vacant
Postmaster General United Kingdom Postmaster General The Postmaster General of the United Kingdom is a defunct Cabinet-level ministerial position in HM Government. Aside from maintaining the postal system, the Telegraph Act of 1868 established the Postmaster General's right to exclusively maintain electric telegraphs...	Hastings Lees-Smith Hastings Lees-Smith Hastings Bertrand Lees-Smith PC was a British Labour politician who was briefly in the cabinet as President of the Board of Education in 1931...	7 June 1929
	Clement Attlee Clement Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955...	2 March 1931
Assistant Postmaster General	Samuel Viant Samuel Viant Samuel Phillip Viant was a British Labour Party politician.Born in Plymouth, Viant worked as a carpenter and moved to London. There, he became active in the abstinence movement and also in the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners and the Independent Labour Party. He studied at...	7 July 1929
Secretary of State for Scotland Secretary of State for Scotland The Secretary of State for Scotland is the principal minister of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Scotland. He heads the Scotland Office , a government department based in London and Edinburgh. The post was created soon after the Union of the Crowns, but was...	William Adamson William Adamson William Adamson was a Scottish trade unionist and Labour politician. He was Leader of the Labour Party between 1917 and 1921 and served as Secretary of State for Scotland in 1924 and between 1929 and 1931 in the first two Labour administrations headed by Ramsay MacDonald.-Background:Adamson was...	7 June 1929
Under-Secretary of State for Scotland Under-Secretary of State for Scotland The Under-Secretary of State for Scotland is a junior ministerial post in the United Kingdom government, supporting the Secretary of State for Scotland...	Thomas Johnston Thomas Johnston Thomas "Tom" Johnston CH was a prominent Scottish socialist and politician of the early 20th century, a member of the Labour Party, a Member of Parliament and government minister – usually with Cabinet responsibility for Scottish affairs.-Red Clydesider:Johnston, the son of a middle-class...	7 June 1929
	Joseph Westwood Joseph Westwood Joseph Westwood was a Scottish Labour politician.Educated at Buckhaven Higher Grade School, he worked as a draper's apprentice, messenger boy and miner...	25 March 1931
President of the Board of Trade	William Graham	7 June 1929
Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade The Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade in the United Kingdom was a member of Parliament assigned to assist the Board of Trade and its President with administration and liaison with Parliament. It replaced the Vice-President of the Board of Trade....	Walter Robert Smith Walter Robert Smith Walter Robert Smith was a Labour Member of Parliament who represented Wellingborough and Norwich. He was an organiser with the National Union of Boot and Shoe Operatives.- External links :...	11 June 1929
Secretary for Overseas Trade Secretary for Overseas Trade The Secretary for Overseas Trade was a junior Ministerial position in the United Kingdom government from 1917 until 1953, subordinate to the President of the Board of Trade. The office was replaced by the Minister of State for Trade on 3 September 1953....	George Gillett	7 July 1929
Secretary for Mines Secretary for Mines The position of Secretary for Mines is a now defunct office in the United Kingdom Government, associated with the Board of Trade. Responsibility for mines now lies with the Department of Trade and Industry and the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry....	Ben Turner Ben Turner (politician) Sir Ben Turner was an English trade unionist and Labour Party Member of Parliament for Batley and Morley from 1922 to 1924 and from 1929 to 1931...	1 June 1929
	Emanuel Shinwell	5 June 1930
Minister of Transport Secretary of State for Transport The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. The role has had a high turnover as new appointments are blamed for the failures of decades of their predecessors...	Herbert Morrison Herbert Morrison Herbert Stanley Morrison, Baron Morrison of Lambeth, CH, PC was a British Labour politician; he held a various number of senior positions in the Cabinet, including Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister.-Early life:Morrison was the son of a police constable and was born in...	7 June 1929	entered the Cabinet 19 March 1931
Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport was a junior position at the British Ministry of Transport. The office was renamed Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport in 1941, but resumed its former name at the end of the Second World War.-Parliamentary Secretaries to the...	The Earl Russell	11 June 1929
	Arthur Ponsonby Arthur Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede Arthur Augustus William Harry Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede was a British politician, writer, and social activist. He was the third son of Sir Henry Ponsonby, Private Secretary to Queen Victoria, and the great-grandson of Frederick Ponsonby, 3rd Earl of Bessborough...	1 December 1929	created Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede 17 January 1930
	John Parkinson John Parkinson (UK politician) John Allen Parkinson was a British Labour Party politician.He was elected to the House of Commons as Member of Parliament for Wigan at the 1918 general election, replacing the Conservative MP Reginald James Neville.Parkinson was re-elected at each subsequent general election until his death at...	1 March 1931
Secretary of State for War Secretary of State for War The position of Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a British cabinet-level position, first held by Henry Dundas . In 1801 the post became that of Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. The position was re-instated in 1854...	Thomas Shaw	7 June 1929
Under-Secretary of State for War Under-Secretary of State for War The position of Under-Secretary of State for War was a British government position, first applied to Evan Nepean . In 1801 the offices for War and the Colonies were merged and the post became that of Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies...	The Earl De La Warr Herbrand Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr Herbrand Edward Dundonald Brassey Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr, GBE, PC, DL, JP , styled Lord Buckhurst until 1915 , was a British politician. He was the first hereditary peer to join the Labour Party and became a government minister at the age of 23...	11 June 1929
	The Lord Marley Dudley Aman, 1st Baron Marley Dudley Leigh Aman, 1st Baron Marley DSC , was a British soldier and Labour politician.Marley was the son of Edward Godfrey Aman, of Farnham, and was educated at Marlborough and the Royal Naval College, Greenwich. During the First World War he served in France and Belgium as a Major in the Royal...	5 June 1930
Financial Secretary to the War Office Financial Secretary to the War Office Financial Secretary to the War Office was an office of the British government, the financial secretary of the War Office department.The post was combined with that of Under-Secretary of State for War from 17 April 1947....	Emanuel Shinwell	11 June 1929
	William Sanders William Stephen Sanders Captain William Stephen Sanders was a British Labour Party politician.Sanders unsuccessfully contested Portsmouth in 1906 and in January 1910. He was elected Member of Parliament for Battersea North at the 1929 general election and served as Financial Secretary to the War Office from 1930 to...	5 June 1930
First Commissioner of Works First Commissioner of Works The First Commissioner of Works and Public Buildings was a position within the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It took over some of the functions of the First Commissioner of Woods and Forests in 1851 when the portfolio of Crown holdings was divided into the public...	George Lansbury George Lansbury George Lansbury was a British politician, socialist, Christian pacifist and newspaper editor. He was a Member of Parliament from 1910 to 1912 and from 1922 to 1940, and leader of the Labour Party from 1932 to 1935....	7 June 1929
Attorney General Attorney General for England and Wales Her Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales, usually known simply as the Attorney General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown. Along with the subordinate Solicitor General for England and Wales, the Attorney General serves as the chief legal adviser of the Crown and its government in...	Sir William Jowitt William Jowitt, 1st Earl Jowitt William Allen Jowitt, 1st Earl Jowitt PC, KC , was a British Labour politician and lawyer, who served as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain under Clement Attlee from 1945 to 1951.-Background and education:...	7 June 1929
Solicitor General Solicitor General for England and Wales Her Majesty's Solicitor General for England and Wales, often known as the Solicitor General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Attorney General, whose duty is to advise the Crown and Cabinet on the law...	Sir James Melville	7 June 1929
	Sir Stafford Cripps Stafford Cripps Sir Richard Stafford Cripps was a British Labour politician of the first half of the 20th century. During World War II he served in a number of positions in the wartime coalition, including Ambassador to the Soviet Union and Minister of Aircraft Production...	22 October 1930
Lord Advocate Lord Advocate Her Majesty's Advocate , known as the Lord Advocate , is the chief legal officer of the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for both civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolved powers of the Scottish Parliament...	Craigie Aitchison	17 June 1929
Solicitor General for Scotland Solicitor General for Scotland Her Majesty's Solicitor General for Scotland is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Lord Advocate, whose duty is to advise the Crown and the Scottish Government on Scots Law...	John Charles Watson	17 June 1929
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household Vice-Chamberlain of the Household The Vice-Chamberlain of the Household is usually a junior government whip in the British House of Commons and is an officer of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. He or she is the Deputy to the Lord Chamberlain of the Household. The Vice-Chamberlain's main role is to compile...	John Henry Hayes	24 June 1929
Treasurer of the Household Treasurer of the Household The position of Treasurer of the Household is theoretically held by a household official of the British monarch, under control of the Lord Steward's Department, but is, in fact, a political office held by one of the government's Deputy Chief Whips in the House of Commons...	Ben Smith Ben Smith (British Labour politician) Sir Benjamin Smith, PC was a Labour Party politician in England. A driver of one of London's first taxicabs, he was Member of Parliament for Rotherhithe from 1923 until 1931 and from 1935 until 1946...	24 June 1929
Comptroller of the Household Comptroller of the Household The Comptroller of the Household is an ancient position in the English royal household, currently the second-ranking member of the Lord Steward's department, and often a cabinet member. He was an ex officio member of the Board of Green Cloth, until that body was abolished in the reform of the local...	Thomas Henderson	24 June 1929
Lords in Waiting	The Earl De La Warr Herbrand Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr Herbrand Edward Dundonald Brassey Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr, GBE, PC, DL, JP , styled Lord Buckhurst until 1915 , was a British politician. He was the first hereditary peer to join the Labour Party and became a government minister at the age of 23...	18 July 1929 – 24 August 1931
Lords in Waiting	The Lord Muir Mackenzie	18 July 1929 – 22 May 1930

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.