Stanley Baldwin

The Right Honourable Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC (3 August 1867–14 December 1947) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on three separate occasions.

First appointment as Prime Minister

In May 1923, when Bonar Law discovered that he was dying of cancer, he retired immediately. Due to many of the party's leading figures' standing aloof from the government, there were only two candidates to succeed him — Lord Curzon, the Foreign Secretary, and Stanley Baldwin. The choice formally fell to King George V acting on the advice of senior ministers and officials. It is not entirely clear what factors were the most crucial, but many felt that Curzon was unsuitable to be Prime Minister, due to his being a member of the House of Lords (though this did not stop other Lords being seriously considered for the premiership on subsequent occasions). Likewise, his lack of experience in domestic affairs, his personal character, which many found objectionable, and his aristocratic background at a time when the Conservative Party sought to shed its image as bastion of the establishment, were deemed as impediments to his advancement. Much weight at the time was given to the intervention of Arthur Balfour.

Related Topics:
May - 1923 - Lord Curzon - Foreign Secretary - King George V - House of Lords - Arthur Balfour

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The King then turned to Baldwin to become Prime Minister. Initially Baldwin also served as Chancellor of the Exchequer whilst he sought to recruit the former Liberal Chancellor Reginald McKenna to join the government, but when this failed he instead appointed Neville Chamberlain.

Related Topics:
Chancellor of the Exchequer - Reginald McKenna - Neville Chamberlain

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The Conservatives had a clear majority in the House of Commons and could govern for another four years before being constitutionally required to hold a new general election, but Baldwin felt bound by a pledge given by Bonar Law at the previous election that there would be no introduction of tariffs without a further election. With the country facing growing unemployment due to cheap imports, Baldwin decided to call an early general election in December 1923 to seek a mandate to introduce protectionist tariffs. Although this succeeded in reuniting his divided party, the election produced an inconclusive outcome. The Conservatives won 258 MPs, the Labour Party 191 and the Liberals 159. Whilst the Conservatives retained a plurality in the House of Commons, they had been clearly defeated on the central election issue of unemployment. Baldwin remained Prime Minister until the opening session of the new Parliament in January 1924 when the government was defeated on a confidence vote and he resigned immediately.

Related Topics:
House of Commons - Tariffs - December 1923 - Protectionist tariffs - Confidence vote

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