UK National Government

In the United Kingdom the term National Government is in an abstract sense used to refer 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 until 1940.

The outbreak of war

When Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, Britain declared war, supported by all of the Dominions bar Ireland, in tandem with France. For some time there had been calls to expand the government by bringing in members of the official Labour and Liberal parties but the latter refused to join. For the first few months of war Britain saw comparatively little action apart from at sea, but when the Norwegian Campaign went wrong there was a massive outcry in Parliament.

Related Topics:
September - 1939 - Ireland - France - Norwegian Campaign

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On May 7 and 8 1940 a two day debate took place in Parliament, known to history as the Norway Debate. Initially a discussion of what had gone wrong in that field, it soon turned into a general debate on the conduct of the war with fierce criticism expressed by all sides of the House. The government won the debate, albeit with a reduced majority, but over the next two days it became increasingly clear that Labour and the Liberals would have to be brought into government and that Chamberlain was unable to achieve this. On May 10 1940 Germany invaded the Low Countries and Chamberlain finally bowed to pressure and resigned, bringing the life of the National Government to a close. It was succeeded by an all party coalition headed by Winston Churchill.

Related Topics:
May 7 - 8 - 1940 - Norway Debate - May 10 - Low Countries - Winston Churchill

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