CHANGES IN PAST

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 21777, 28 July 1945, Page 5

CHANGES IN PAST

!FORMER LEADERS FOURTEENTH MINISTRY PARTIES AND* COALITIONS The Government which will Be formed as the result of the British elections will be the 14th since the close of the last war. The elections were the eighth in the same period of almost 27 years. When the last War ended the late Earl Lloyd George was firmly entrenched in popular favour because of his brilliant leadership of the Allied cause. The first post-war election was held in December. 1918, and Lloyd George led his coalition of Conservatives and Liberals to a victory which gave him the largest majority, V; of ar.v Government since the Liberal majority of 370 in 1832. Lloyd George Defeated Jut Lioyd George’s rortunes began to wane as he tackled a quick succesion ol troublous domestic and fore.gn issues. The marriage of the two parties became increasingly uneasy, .:nd finally, in 1922, the leader of the Conservative Party, Mr. Bonar Law, renounced his allegiance to the coalition. This action forced the election of November, 1922, in which Bonar Law secured a majority of about 80 seats. The victory was secured on a policy of tranquility for five years, but it was not long' before the Conservatives found themselves swinging away from national opinion. In April. 1923. Bonar Law resigned, his leadership and was succeeded by Earl, then Mr. Stanley Baldwin. The Government placed itself in difficulties when it began to press for a policy of tariff protection, including Imperial preference, and Baldwin decided to go to the country on the issue. Labour’s First Victory file election was held in December. 1923. and it might "be called the "Dear Food” election because of Labour’s insistence to the electors that tariff protection would raise the price of commodities to the British public. Rarely has a British election been so dramatic. Baldwin's Government won a majority of some 70 seats over Labour, but had a minority in the House of about 80. The Parliament, opened early in the New Year of 1924 and Baldwin resigned after the Labour and Liberal Parties had formed an alliance for the purpose of defeating the Government on a motion of no-confidence.

The resignation gave Britain her first Labour Government, formed by the iate Mr. Ramsay MacDonald on January 22. 1924. However, Labour’s tenure of office was precarious and another election was held in October, 1924, after the Government had been defeated on a motion of censure. Conservative and National

The October election, the second held within a year and the third within two years, re-established the Conservatives, under Baldwin, in office. They governed Britain for the following lour and a-half years. The next election was held in May, 1929, when Mr. MacDonald became Prime Minister for the second time. The result was inconclusive, with no party having an absolute majority in the House but Labour held 287 seats to the Conservatives’ 254 and Baldwin gave way.

World conditions swiftly confrbnted Labour with a gathering economic crisis. To meet this, party ties were relinquished and the Conservatives agreed to combine with Labour in a National Government formed by Mr. MacDonald in August, 1931. However. the Premier felt he needed a mandate from the people to take all necessary steps to meet the situation, and the National Government went to the electors in October of the same year. It was returned with an absolute majority which gave it confidence to tackle the immense problem of overcoming .and recovering from the effects of the depression. For almost four years it met the situation with creditable efficiency, but gradually Mr. MacDonald, impaired in health, began to lose the vigorous leadership the occasion demanded. From recovery, the country had to’go on to reconstruction, and in June. 1935 Mr. MacDonald relinquished control of the National Government to his senior partner, Mr. Baldwin. Baldwin fought the normal general election in November of that year as Premier of the National Government and led it back to a firm majority in the House. But Mr. MacDonald was defeated. The 1935 election was the last held for almost ten years.