Neville Chamberlain

The Right Honourable Arthur Neville Chamberlain (18 March 1869–9 November, 1940) was a British politician and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1937–1940.

Appointment as Prime Minister

Despite financial controversies, when Baldwin retired after the abdication of Edward VIII and the Coronation of George VI, it was Chamberlain who was invited to "kiss hands"1 and succeed him. He became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on May 28, 1937, and leader of the Conservative Party a few days later.

Related Topics:
Abdication - Edward VIII - Coronation - George VI - Kiss hands - 1 - Prime Minister of the United Kingdom - May 28 - 1937 - Conservative Party

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Some historians have claimed that Chamberlain was not even a Conservative at all, arguing that his technocratic approach to government, commitment to social reform through state interventionism, and disdain for benign paternalism place him beyond even that strand of radical Conservatism associated with Disraeli. In many areas, his outlook was similar to that of the Fabians. Chamberlain himself never liked to use the term "Conservative", preferring the term "Unionist," which had been more commonplace when he first entered politics and which recalled the Liberal Unionist Party of his father.

Related Topics:
Disraeli - Fabians - Liberal Unionist Party

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Chamberlain was a Unitarian and as such did not accept even nominally the basic trinitarian belief of the Church of England, the first Prime Minister to officially reject this doctrine since the Duke of Grafton. This did not bar him from advising the King on appointments in the established church.

Related Topics:
Unitarian - Trinitarian - Church of England - Duke of Grafton - Established church

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Chamberlain's ministerial selections were notable for his willingness to appoint without regard for balancing the parties supporting the National Government. He was also notable for maintaining a core of ministers close to him who were in strong agreement with his goals and methods, and for appointing a significant number of ministers with no party political experience, choosing those with experience from the outside world. Such appointments included the Law Lord Lord Maugham as Lord Chancellor, the former First Sea Lord Lord Chatfield as Minister for Coordination of Defence, the businessman Andrew Duncan as President of the Board of Trade, the former Director-General of the BBC Sir John Reith as Minister of Information and the department store owner Lord Woolton as Minister of Food. Even when appointing existing MPs, Chamberlain often ignored conventional choices based on service and appointed MPs who had not been in the House of Commons very long, such as the former civil servant and Governor of Bengal Sir John Anderson, who became the Minister in charge of Air Raid Precautions, or the former President of the National Farmers Union Sir Reginald Dorman-Smith, who was made Minister of Agriculture.

Related Topics:
National Government - Law Lord - Lord Maugham - Lord Chancellor - First Sea Lord - Lord Chatfield - Minister for Coordination of Defence - Andrew Duncan - President of the Board of Trade - Director-General of the BBC - Sir John Reith - Minister of Information - Lord Woolton - Minister of Food - MPs - House of Commons - Bengal - John Anderson - Air Raid Precautions - National Farmers Union - Reginald Dorman-Smith - Minister of Agriculture

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For members of the government from May 1937 until September 1939, see the Fourth National Ministry.

Related Topics:
May - 1937 - September - 1939 - Fourth National Ministry

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For members of the government from September 1939 until May 1940, see the Chamberlain War Ministry.

Related Topics:
September - 1939 - May - 1940 - Chamberlain War Ministry

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