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

Episoder(274)

121. After Crimea

121. After Crimea

After the signing of the Treaty of Paris, the troops came home from Crimea, as did the remarkable women we talked about last week: Mary Seacole and Florence Nightingale. They came back to different li...

17 Des 202214min

120. Two remarkable women

120. Two remarkable women

Mary Seacole, Jamaican and Mixed Race, and Florence Nightingale, White and from the English middle class, both in different ways did extraordinary work in Crimea as nurses. They both opened the doors ...

11 Des 202214min

119. Ending a war, replacing a government

119. Ending a war, replacing a government

Conditions in Crimea were appallingly bad, and all sides lost more men to disease than in combat. Britain did particularly badly in the first year, when the French performed rather better. However, in...

4 Des 202214min

118. Someone had blundered

118. Someone had blundered

Extraordinary! For once, instead of being at war with each other, Britain and France are going to war together against someone else. In this instance, Russia. And eventually in Crimea. Where the war i...

27 Nov 202214min

117. Russian Bear

117. Russian Bear

Just as, after the Second World War, the Western European powers were grateful to Russia for using its colossal military force to ensure the defeat of Hitler’s Germany, while still being frightened of...

20 Nov 202214min

116. Two governments, two rivals

116. Two governments, two rivals

The tale of the first government led by the Earl of Derby (whom we first met as Lord Stanley), in which Benjamin Disraeli served as Chancellor of the Exchequer, from its start to its fall such a short...

13 Nov 202214min

115. Who? Who? and a Great Show

115. Who? Who? and a Great Show

It was time for Disraeli to break through. Not yet to the top job: that, as Melbourne had predicted years before, would go to Stanley, now known as Derby. But Disraeli would land a big job in governme...

6 Nov 202214min

114. A revolution that didn't happen and a breakthrough that did

114. A revolution that didn't happen and a breakthrough that did

We’re back in 1848, with the Year of Revolutions, a few of which succeeded, most of which were put down – not least in Northern Italy, where Joseph Radetzky, celebrated in a cheerful Strauss tune, pro...

30 Okt 202214min

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