Oswald Mosley

Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (November 16, 1896 – December 3, 1980) was a British politician principally known as the founder of the British Union of Fascists. He was also the sixth baronet of a title established in 1720.

Office

Mosley then made a bold bid for political advancement within the Labour Party. He was close to Ramsay Macdonald and hoped for one of the great offices of state, but when Labour won the 1929 general election he was only appointed to the post of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (a defacto Minister without Portfolio), outside the Cabinet. He was given responsibility for solving the unemployment problem, but found that his radical proposals were blocked either by his superior James Henry Thomas or by the Cabinet. Mosley was always impatient and eventually put forward a whole scheme in the 'Mosley Memorandum' to find it rejected by the Cabinet; he then resigned in May 1930. He attempted to persuade the Labour Party Conference in October, but was defeated again.

Related Topics:
Ramsay Macdonald - 1929 - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster - Minister without Portfolio - Cabinet - James Henry Thomas - 1930 - Labour Party Conference

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New Party

Determined that the Labour Party was no longer suitable, Mosley quickly founded the New Party. Its early parliamentary contests, in by-elections, were successful only in splitting the vote and allowing the Conservative candidate to win. The New Party increasingly inclined to fascist policies, but Mosley was denied the opportunity to get his party established when the 1931 election was suddenly called. All of its candidates, including Mosley himself, lost their seats.

Related Topics:
New Party - By-elections - Fascist - 1931

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