National Government (1937–1939)
The National Government of 1937–1939 was formed by Neville Chamberlain on his appointment as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom by King George VI. He succeeded Stanley Baldwin, who announced his resignation following the coronation of the King and Queen in May 1937.
As a National Government it contained members of the Conservative Party, Liberal Nationals and National Labour, as well as a number of individuals who belonged to no political party. In September 1939, Chamberlain requested the formal resignations of all his colleagues, reconstructing the government in order to better confront Nazi Germany in the Second World War.
Policies
Foreign policy
Chamberlain is best known for his appeasement policy, and in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement in 1938, conceding the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia to Germany. He said it brought "peace in our time" and was widely applauded. He also stepped up Britain's rearmament program, and worked closely with France. When in 1939 Hitler continued his aggression, taking over the rest of Czechoslovakia and threatening Poland, Chamberlain pledged to defend Poland's independence if the latter were attacked. Britain and France declared war when Germany attacked Poland in September 1939.Domestic policies
Chamberlain wanted to focus on domestic issues. He obtained passage of the Factories Act 1937, designed to better working conditions in factories, and placed limits on the working hours of women and children. The Coal Act 1938 allowed for nationalisation of coal deposits. Another major piece of legislation passed that year was the Holidays with Pay Act 1938. The Housing Act 1938 provided subsidies aimed at encouraging slum clearance, and maintained rent control. Chamberlain's plans for the reform of local government were shelved because of the outbreak of war in 1939. Likewise, the proposal to raise the school-leaving age to 15, scheduled for implementation on 1 September 1939, could not go into effect.Cabinet
May 1937 – September 1939
- Neville Chamberlain – Prime Minister and Leader of the House of Commons
- Lord Hailsham – Lord Chancellor
- Lord Halifax – Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Lords
- Lord De La Warr – Lord Privy Seal
- Sir John Simon – Chancellor of the Exchequer
- Sir Samuel Hoare – Secretary of State for the Home Department
- Anthony Eden – Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
- William Ormsby-Gore – Secretary of State for the Colonies
- Malcolm MacDonald – Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs
- Leslie Hore-Belisha – Secretary of State for War
- Lord Zetland – Secretary of State for India and Burma
- Lord Swinton – Secretary of State for Air
- Walter Elliot – Secretary of State for Scotland
- Duff Cooper – First Lord of the Admiralty
- Oliver Stanley – President of the Board of Trade
- Lord Stanhope – President of the Board of Education
- William Shepherd Morrison – Minister of Agriculture
- Ernest Brown – Minister of Labour
- Sir Kingsley Wood – Minister of Health
- Leslie Burgin – Minister of Transport
- Sir Thomas Inskip – Minister for Coordination of Defence
Key office holders not in the Cabinet
- Lord Winterton – Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
- Lord Hutchison – Paymaster-General
- Herwald Ramsbotham – Minister of Pensions
- George Tryon – Postmaster General
- Sir Philip Sassoon – First Commissioner of Works
- Sir Donald Somervell – Attorney General
- Sir Terence O'Connor – Solicitor General
- David Margesson – Chief Whip
- Osmund Somers Cleverly - Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister
Changes
- February 1938 – Lord Halifax succeeds Eden as Foreign Secretary. Halifax is succeeded as Lord President by Lord Hailsham, who is succeeded as Lord Chancellor by Lord Maugham. Halifax is succeeded as Leader of the House of Lords by Lord Stanhope, who remains President of the Board of Education as well.
- March 1938 – Lord Winterton, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, enters the Cabinet.
- May 1938 – Orsmby-Gore inherits the title Baron Harlech. He subsequently steps down from the government and is succeed by Malcolm MacDonald as Colonial Secretary. Lord Stanley succeeds MacDonald as Dominions Secretary. Kingsley Wood succeeds Lord Swinton as Secretary of State for Air. Walter Elliot succeeds Wood as Minister of Health. John Colville succeeds Elliot as Scottish Secretary.
- June 1938 – The Earl of Munster succeeds Lord Hutchison as Paymaster-General.
- October 1938 – Lord Stanhope succeeds Duff Cooper as First Lord of the Admiralty, remaining also Leader of the House of Lords. Lord De La Warr succeeds Stanhope at the Board of Education. Sir John Anderson succeeds De La Warr as Lord Privy Seal, with special responsibility for Air Raid Precautions. Malcolm MacDonald succeeds Stanley as Dominions Secretary, remaining also Colonial Secretary. Lord Runciman succeeds Lord Hailsham as Lord President.
- January 1939 – Sir Thomas Inskip succeeds Malcolm MacDonald as Dominions Secretary. MacDonald remains Colonial Secretary. Lord Chatfield succeeds Inskip as Minister for Coordination of Defence. William Morrison succeeds Lord Winterton at the Duchy of Lancaster, who becomes Paymaster-General outside the Cabinet. Sir Reginald Dorman-Smith succeeds Morrison as Minister of Agriculture. Lord Winterton leaves the Cabinet and the post of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, becoming Paymaster-General in succession to the Earl of Munster.
- April 1939 – Leslie Burgin becomes Minister without Portfolio pending the legislation to create the Ministry of Supply. He is succeeded as Minister of Transport by Euan Wallace.
- June 1939 – Herwald Ramsbotham succeeds Sir Philip Sassoon as First Commissioner of Works and is succeeded as Minister of Pensions by Sir Walter Womersley.
- July 1939 – Leslie Burgin becomes Minister of Supply.
List of Ministers
| Office | Name | Party | Dates | Notes |
| Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and Leader of the House of Commons | Neville Chamberlain | Conservative | 28 May 1937 – 3 September 1939 | |
| Lord Chancellor | The Viscount Hailsham | Conservative | May 1937 | |
| Lord Chancellor | The Lord Maugham | 9 March 1938 | ||
| Lord President of the Council | The Viscount Halifax | Conservative | 28 May 1937 | also Leader of the House of Lords |
| Lord President of the Council | The Viscount Hailsham | Conservative | 9 March 1938 | |
| Lord President of the Council | The Viscount Runciman of Doxford | Liberal National | 31 October 1938 | |
| Lord Privy Seal | The Earl De La Warr | National Labour | 28 May 1937 | |
| Lord Privy Seal | Sir John Anderson | National | 31 October 1938 | |
| Chancellor of the Exchequer | Sir John Simon | Liberal National | 28 May 1937 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury | David Margesson | Conservative | May 1937 | |
| Financial Secretary to the Treasury | John Colville | Conservative | May 1937 | |
| Financial Secretary to the Treasury | Euan Wallace | Conservative | 16 May 1938 | |
| Financial Secretary to the Treasury | Harry Crookshank | Conservative | 21 April 1939 | |
| Lords of the Treasury | James Stuart | Conservative | May 1937 – September 1939 | |
| Lords of the Treasury | Charles Kerr | Liberal National | 28 May 1937 – 4 April 1939 | |
| Lords of the Treasury | Thomas Dugdale | Conservative | 28 May 1937 – September 1939 | |
| Lords of the Treasury | Charles Waterhouse | Conservative | 28 May 1937 – 18 October 1937 | |
| Lords of the Treasury | Ronald Cross | Conservative | 28 May 1937 – 18 October 1937 | |
| Lords of the Treasury | Patrick Munro | Conservative | 18 October 1937 – September 1939 | |
| Lords of the Treasury | Robert Grimston | Conservative | 18 October 1937 – 18 May 1938 | |
| Lords of the Treasury | Stephen Furness | Liberal National | 20 May 1938 – September 1939 | |
| Lords of the Treasury | Sir James Edmondson | Conservative | 4 April 1939 – September 1939 | |
| Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | Anthony Eden | Conservative | May 1937 | |
| Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | The Viscount Halifax | Conservative | 21 February 1938 | |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | Viscount Cranborne | Conservative | May 1937 – 20 February 1938 | |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | The Earl of Plymouth | Conservative | May 1937 – 12 May 1939 | |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | Rab Butler | 25 February 1938 – September 1939 | ||
| Secretary of State for the Home Department | Sir Samuel Hoare, Bt | Conservative | 28 May 1937 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department | Geoffrey Lloyd | Conservative | May 1937 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department | Osbert Peake | Conservative | 29 June 1939 | |
| First Lord of the Admiralty | Duff Cooper | Conservative | 28 May 1937 | |
| First Lord of the Admiralty | The Earl Stanhope | Conservative | 27 October 1938 | also Leader of the House of Lords |
| Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty | Geoffrey Shakespeare | Liberal National | 28 May 1937 | |
| Civil Lord of the Admiralty | John Llewellin | 28 May 1937 | ||
| Civil Lord of the Admiralty | Sir Austin Hudson, Bt | Conservative | 14 July 1939 | |
| Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries | William Morrison | Conservative | May 1937 | |
| Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries | Sir Reginald Dorman-Smith | 29 January 1939 | ||
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries | The Earl of Feversham | Conservative | May 1937 | also Deputy Minister of Fisheries |
| Secretary of State for Air | The Viscount Swinton | Conservative | May 1937 | |
| Secretary of State for Air | Sir Kingsley Wood | Conservative | 16 May 1938 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for Air | Anthony Muirhead | Conservative | 28 May 1937 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for Air | Harold Balfour | Conservative | 16 May 1938 | |
| Secretary of State for the Colonies | Hon. William Ormsby-Gore | Conservative | May 1937 | |
| Secretary of State for the Colonies | Malcolm MacDonald | National Labour | 16 May 1938 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies | The Marquess of Dufferin and Ava | 28 May 1937 | ||
| Minister for Coordination of Defence | Sir Thomas Inskip | Conservative | May 1937 | |
| Minister for Coordination of Defence | The Lord Chatfield | 29 January 1939 | ||
| Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs | Malcolm MacDonald | National Labour | May 1937 | |
| Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs | Lord Stanley | Conservative | 16 May 1938 | |
| Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs | Malcolm MacDonald | National Labour | 31 October 1938 | |
| Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs | Sir Thomas Inskip | Conservative | 29 January 1939 | Viscount Caldecote |
| Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs | Marquess of Hartington | Conservative | May 1937 | succeeded as Duke of Devonshire 6 May 1938 |
| President of the Board of Education | The Earl Stanhope | Conservative | 28 May 1937 | also Leader of the House of Lords from 21 February 1938 |
| President of the Board of Education | The Earl De La Warr | National Labour | 27 October 1938 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education | Kenneth Lindsay | National Labour | 28 May 1937 | |
| Minister of Health | Sir Kingsley Wood | Conservative | May 1937 | |
| Minister of Health | Walter Elliot | 16 May 1938 | ||
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health | Robert Bernays | Liberal National | 28 May 1937 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health | Florence Horsbrugh | Conservative | 14 July 1939 | |
| Secretary of State for India and Burma | The Marquess of Zetland | Conservative | May 1937 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for India | Lord Stanley | Conservative | 28 May 1937 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for India | Anthony Muirhead | Conservative | 16 May 1938 | |
| Minister of Labour | Ernest Brown | Liberal National | May 1937 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Labour | Rab Butler | Conservative | 28 May 1937 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Labour | Alan Lennox-Boyd | Conservative | 25 February 1938 | |
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | The Earl Winterton | Conservative | 28 May 1937 | Office in Cabinet from 11 March 1938 |
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | William Morrison | Conservative | 29 January 1939 | |
| Paymaster General | The Lord Hutchison of Montrose | Liberal National | May 1937 | |
| Paymaster General | The Earl of Munster | Conservative | 2 June 1938 | |
| Paymaster General | The Earl Winterton | Conservative | 29 January 1939 | |
| Minister for Pensions | Herwald Ramsbotham | Conservative | May 1937 | |
| Minister for Pensions | Sir Walter Womersley | Conservative | 7 June 1939 | |
| Minister without Portfolio | Leslie Burgin | Liberal National | 21 April 1939 – 14 July 1939 | |
| Postmaster-General | George Tryon | Conservative | May 1937 | |
| Assistant Postmaster-General | Sir Walter Womersley | Conservative | May 1937 | |
| Assistant Postmaster-General | William Mabane | Liberal | 7 June 1939 | |
| Secretary of State for Scotland | Walter Elliot | May 1937 | ||
| Secretary of State for Scotland | John Colville | 16 May 1938 | ||
| Under-Secretary of State for Scotland | Henry Wedderburn | Conservative | May 1937 | |
| Minister of Supply | Leslie Burgin | Liberal National | 14 July 1939 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Supply | John Llewellin | 14 July 1939 | ||
| President of the Board of Trade | Oliver Stanley | 28 May 1937 | ||
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade | Euan Wallace | Conservative | 28 May 1937 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade | Ronald Cross | Conservative | 16 May 1938 | |
| Secretary for Overseas Trade | Robert Hudson | Conservative | 28 May 1937 | |
| Secretary for Mines | Harry Crookshank | Conservative | May 1937 | |
| Secretary for Mines | Geoffrey Lloyd | Conservative | 21 April 1939 | |
| Minister of Transport | Leslie Burgin | Liberal National | 28 May 1937 | |
| Minister of Transport | Euan Wallace | Conservative | 21 April 1939 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport | Sir Austin Hudson, Bt | Conservative | May 1937 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport | Robert Bernays | Liberal National | 14 July 1939 | |
| Secretary of State for War | Leslie Hore-Belisha | Liberal National | 28 May 1937 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for War | The Lord Strathcona and Mount Royal | Conservative | May 1937 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for War | The Earl of Munster | Conservative | 29 January 1939 | |
| Financial Secretary to the War Office | Sir Victor Warrender, Bt | Conservative | May 1937 | |
| First Commissioner of Works | Sir Philip Sassoon, Bt | Conservative | 28 May 1937 | |
| First Commissioner of Works | Herwald Ramsbotham | Conservative | 7 June 1939 | |
| Attorney General | Sir Donald Somervell | Conservative | May 1937 | |
| Solicitor General | Sir Terence O'Connor | Conservative | May 1937 | |
| Lord Advocate | Thomas Cooper | May 1937 | ||
| Solicitor General for Scotland | James Reid | May 1937 | ||
| Treasurer of the Household | Sir Lambert Ward | Conservative | 28 May 1937 | |
| Treasurer of the Household | Hon. Arthur Hope | Conservative | 18 October 1937 | |
| Treasurer of the Household | Charles Waterhouse | Conservative | 4 April 1939 | |
| Comptroller of the Household | Sir George Davies | 28 May 1937 | ||
| Comptroller of the Household | Charles Waterhouse | Conservative | 18 October 1937 | |
| Comptroller of the Household | Charles Kerr | Liberal National | 4 April 1939 | |
| Vice-Chamberlain of the Household | Hon. Arthur Hope | Conservative | 28 May 1937 | |
| Vice-Chamberlain of the Household | Ronald Cross | Conservative | 18 October 1937 | |
| Vice-Chamberlain of the Household | Robert Grimston | Conservative | 4 April 1939 | |
| Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms | The Earl of Lucan | May 1937 | ||
| Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard | The Lord Templemore | May 1937 | ||
| Lords in Waiting | The Viscount Gage | May 1937 – 11 April 1939 | ||
| Lords in Waiting | The Earl of Munster | Conservative | May 1937 – 2 June 1938 | |
| Lords in Waiting | The Earl Erne | May 1937 – 25 July 1939 | ||
| Lords in Waiting | The Earl Fortescue | 26 August 1937 – September 1939 | ||
| Lords in Waiting | The Earl of Birkenhead | 12 July 1938 – September 1939 | ||
| Lords in Waiting | The Viscount Bridport | 11 April 1939 – September 1939 | ||
| Lords in Waiting | The Lord Ebury | 25 July 1939 – September 1939 | ||
| Lords in Waiting | - | - | - | - |
| Lords in Waiting | - | - | - | - |
Secondary sources
- Butler, David, and Butler, G. Twentieth Century British Political Facts 1900–2000
- Cowling, Maurice. The Impact of Hitler: British Politics and British Policy, 1933–1940.
- Feiling, Keith. A Life of Neville Chamberlain
- Macklin, Graham. Chamberlain
- Mowat, Charles Loch. Britain between the Wars: 1918–1945, pp. 413–79
- Raymond, John, ed. The Baldwin Age, essays by scholars 252 pages;
- Roberts, Andrew. ‘The Holy Fox’: The Life of Lord Halifax.
- Self, Robert C. Neville Chamberlain: A Biography
- Smart, Nick. The National Government. 1931–40
- Taylor, A. J. P. English History 1914–1945, pp. 321–88
- Thorpe, Andrew. Britain in the 1930s. The Deceptive Decade,.
Primary sources
- Chamberlain, Neville. The Neville Chamberlain Diary Letters: The Downing Street Years, 1934–1940 edited by Robert Self