Ramsay MacDonald

The Right Honourable James Ramsay MacDonald (12 October 1866–9 November 1937), British politician, was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. One of the pioneers of British socialism, he rose from humble origins to become the first Labour Prime Minister in 1924. During his second government, faced with the crisis of the Great Depression, he formed a "National Government" in coalition with the Conservatives and was expelled from the Labour Party.

First government

MacDonald took the post of Foreign Secretary as well as Prime Minister, and made it clear that his main priority was to undo the damage which he believed had been caused by the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, by settling the reparations issue and coming to terms with Germany. He left domestic matters to his ministers, including J.R. Clynes as Lord Privy Seal, Philip Snowden as Chancellor of the Exchequer and Henderson as Home Secretary. Since the government did not have a majority in either House of the Parliament, there was in any case no possibility of passing any radical legislation.

Related Topics:
Foreign Secretary - 1919 - Treaty of Versailles - Reparations - Germany - J.R. Clynes - Lord Privy Seal - Philip Snowden - Chancellor of the Exchequer - Home Secretary

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In June MacDonald convened a conference in London of the wartime Allies, and achieved an agreement on a new plan for settling the reparations issue and the French occupation of the Ruhr. German delegates then joined the meeting, and the London Settlement signed. This was followed by an Anglo-German commercial treaty. These were great achievements for a neophyte minority Prime Minister, and MacDonald was widely praised. In September he put a plan for general European disarmament to the League of Nations Assembly in Geneva.

Related Topics:
Ruhr - London Settlement - Disarmament - League of Nations - Geneva

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MacDonald's government came to grief when he proposed extending diplomatic recognition to the Soviet Union. The Conservatives and their supporters in the press whipped up an anti-Communist campaign, and the Liberals withdrew their support in the House of Commons. The Conservatives then moved a censure motion, in which Labour was defeated, and MacDonald sought and obtained a dissolution. He knew Labour would be defeated, but his objective was to wipe out the Liberals and create a two-party system in which voters would have only the choice of Labour or Conservative. This objective was achieved in the October 1924 election. Labour fell from 191 seats to 151, but the Liberals fell from 158 to 40.

Related Topics:
Soviet Union - 1924

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