II.

Prime Minister

His first period as premier ended in January 1924 after calling an unnecessary general election to seek a mandate for tariff reform. He quickly returned to office, the following November, after the collapse of the minority Labour government led by Ramsay MacDonald, remaining prime minister for more than five years. When Britain's workers came out in the General Strike of 1926, he steadfastly refused to meet their demands. Using the new medium of radio, he rallied party and middle-class opinion against the strike; however, after the strike’s rapid collapse he found it difficult to moderate the demands of those who wished to impose anti-Union legislation. In the same year he visited Canada, becoming the first incumbent premier to visit an overseas dominion. His administration also saw Britain’s return to the gold standard, a series of local government and social service reforms, and in 1928 the reduction of the age of eligibility for female voters from 30 to 21 years. He resigned in June 1929, following a Labour victory in the general election. It was a defeat widely blamed upon Baldwin and party chairman, J. C. C. Davidson, and upon the new female “flapper” vote.

Opposition did not suit Baldwin’s leadership skills and he found himself engaged in a near civil war with elements in his party who favoured tariffs and opposed Indian self-government. These forces enjoyed considerable media support from the press empires of Lords Beaverbrook and Rothermere (see Newspapers: 20th Century Developments). Baldwin even contemplated resignation before confronting his critics at a party rally where he won a resounding vote of confidence. In September 1931, Baldwin became lord president, effectively a deputy to Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald, in the coalition National Government, formed to resolve the political-economic crisis of 1931 caused by the Great Depression. Initially sceptical about the value of a coalition government he recognized that it provided a means of excluding Lloyd George from a return to office. The role of deputy suited Baldwin, offering protection from his critics and placing the burden of policymaking upon others. External affairs, especially Indian nationalism and Nazi Germany, dominated the political agenda of the 1930s. Problems arose for Baldwin over the passage of the 1935 India bill, with Conservative rebels led by Winston Churchill in open revolt. Baldwin reassumed the premiership in June 1935 and successfully led the National Government to victory in the November 1935 general election, hoping that it would re-unify his party.

As prime minister for the third time, Baldwin increasingly relied upon the services of Neville Chamberlain, Chancellor of the Exchequer, who took an especial interest in the issue of rearmament. Chamberlain considered himself to be the driving force behind the administration and found Baldwin’s lethargy frustrating, especially as he aspired to the premiership. The hope that November 1935 represented a new beginning was short-lived. Baldwin found his party and government divided over the Hoare-Laval pact over the Italian invasion of Abyssinia (December 1935) and the German remilitarization of the Rhineland (March 1936). Both events raised renewed questions about Baldwin’s suitability as leader. Throughout this period he was giving serious thought to retirement. The Abdication crisis in 1936 delayed this event. It also proved one of Baldwin’s greatest political achievements as he resisted the plans of King Edward VIII to marry an American divorcee, Wallace Simpson, and engineered the abdication of the king. Baldwin retired in May 1937 and was created 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley.