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

Avsnitt(274)

9. Armada - the sequel

9. Armada - the sequel

England loves stories about its great victory over the Spanish Armada. But it talks far less about its sequel. And, boy, was there a sequel: England's own Armada, against Spain. From England's point ...

29 Dec 20208min

8. The Armada. And the body of a weak and feeble woman

8. The Armada. And the body of a weak and feeble woman

Spain sent its Armada against Elizabethan England, and the expedition ended in disaster, though far more for its failures of planning and the lousy weather than for anything the English did. Meanwhil...

24 Dec 20207min

7. Not Piracy

7. Not Piracy

They may have been preying on ships, attacking them, stealing their cargoes and holding their crews to ransom, but they knew for sure that they weren't pirates. They were loyal English sailors in Quee...

19 Dec 20207min

6. God

6. God

You may have noticed that religion has been a pretty significant factor in the happenings of the first few chapters, as it will be in quite a few of the ones ahead. So it makes sense to pause a moment...

14 Dec 20209min

5. Good Queen Bess

5. Good Queen Bess

An exciting moment! Anne Boleyn's daughter, bright as her mother, in sharpness of mind as well as redness of hair, has made it to the throne. She's sick of all those quarrels between Protestants and C...

9 Dec 202010min

4. Bloody Mary

4. Bloody Mary

A Bloody Mary may be a fine drink, but Bloody Mary was hardly the most desirable of Queens. As the nickname rather suggests. She was England's last Catholic monarch, and she set out to undo her brothe...

4 Dec 20208min

3. A bit of a mess

3. A bit of a mess

At last, Henry VIII's wish could be fulfilled. He left the throne to his son. A male heir, just what he'd always wanted. Well, it wasn't that simple, First of all, Edward VI was only 9 when he came to...

29 Nov 20207min

2. The Wives of Henry VIII

2. The Wives of Henry VIII

We got to know Henry VIII a bit in chapter 1. We also talked a little about his wives, and it seems only right that we think about them a bit more now, especially since having a lot of wives is what ...

24 Nov 202013min

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