212. Labour struggling, Tories soaring, the economy wobbling

212. Labour struggling, Tories soaring, the economy wobbling

It was a terrible time for Labour, down to just 52 MPs and having to choose a new leadership from a narrow pool from which most of the brightest lights, in the view of many but above all their own, were excluded. The Tories were on top of the world, with a clear majority. MacDonald still led the the National government, but in complete dependence on the Conservatives for his survival in office.

A sharp change in direction of economic policy ended the linkage to the gold standard and introduced tariffs on imports. Both initiatives started to improve things, with growth back and with some strength. But the poor remained desperately poor.


Illustration: composite of the Labour Party leader, George Lansbury, and deputy leader, Clement Attlee, chosen by default because the obvious candidates weren’t available. Both photos from the National Portrait Gallery: Attlee by Walter Stoneman, 1930, NPG x163783; Lansbury by Howard Coster, 1930s, NPG Ax136093

Music: Bach Partita #2c by J Bu licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License

Jaksot(274)

33. Two for the price of one

33. Two for the price of one

The Glorious Revolution led to England having two reigning monarchs for the price of just one: William III and Mary II, or Williamandmary, as we like to think of them. It started with a Bill of Right...

28 Huhti 202111min

32. Glorious Revolution

32. Glorious Revolution

Was it glorious? Was it even a revolution? The Glorious Revolution brought to an end the short and little lamented - indeed, lamentable - reign of James II of England, James VII of Scotland, and with ...

23 Huhti 202110min

31. The Stuarts: plumbing the depths

31. The Stuarts: plumbing the depths

We stand on the brink of saying goodbye to the Stuart kings, at last (not, alas, to the Stuarts though: they'll be back a couple more times to haunt us). The history of England saved the worst to las...

18 Huhti 202110min

30. Time to party

30. Time to party

In the course of Charles II's reign, we saw governments fall and an opposition beginning to emerge. The result was the formation of two distinct groups, the Whigs and Tories, the former looking for li...

13 Huhti 202114min

29. More gilded than golden?

29. More gilded than golden?

When we last took a look at the so-called golden age of Charles II, we talked about the persecution of Catholics and, in particular, the witch hunt launched against them during the Popish Plot craze l...

8 Huhti 202111min

28. The golden age loses its sheen

28. The golden age loses its sheen

Was that golden age, following the restoration of the monarchy in England, really that golden? This episode looks at how it lost its sheen, particularly when the champion fabricator or fake news and f...

3 Huhti 202114min

27. The Golden Age continues

27. The Golden Age continues

Charles II's Golden Age continues in this next episode, although the title, with its trace of irony, rather betrays some of the things that were going on under the surface. A lot of duplicity by the m...

29 Maalis 20218min

26. Restoration

26. Restoration

As any fan of Tolkien's Lord of Rings can tell you, nothing beats the return of a king. After the chaos that followed Richard Cromwell's following Oliver as Lord Protector, the restoration of Charles ...

24 Maalis 202113min

Suosittua kategoriassa Historia

olipa-kerran-otsikko
gogin-ja-janin-maailmanhistoria
mayday-fi
huijarit
mystista
rss-ikiuni
tsunami
konginkangas
totuus-vai-salaliitto
rouva-diktaattori
rss-kirkon-ihmeellisimmat-tarinat
rss-i-dont-like-mondays-2
rss-sattuu-sita-suomessakin
sotaa-ja-historiaa-podi
apinan-vuosi
rss-peter-peter
historiaa-suomeksi
tiedetta-ja-sirkushuveja-vanhojen-aikojen-podcast
rss-subjektiivinen-todistaja
matakuu