What Were the Aims & Achievements of the 1924 Labour Government (British Politics 1918-1929)(British Period Study: Britain 1918-1951)(Britain 1900-1951)

MacDonald's fporeign policy was his strongest asset

He reversed many of the cuts imposed by the Geddes Axe cuts, like the Unemployment Insurance Act & Agriculture Act 1924

Official aims had been established by the 1918 constitution

• A national minimum: wage, working hours
• Nationalisation of industry
• Democratic administration of industries
• Heavy taxation of the rich
• To pay for social welfare and the costs of war
• Heavy burden for the leadership for most of the following century.

• MacDonald was far from implementing the 1918 Constitution.
  • Did not have the support of many of the members - MacDonald being one.
  • Prevented the party from having a truly national appeal.

• MacDonald wanted to establish that Labour could tackle important foreign and domestic issues.
  • Particularly interested in working for world peace.
  • Ending the ill will between France and Germany.
  • Supporting the League of Nations
• Aimed at going back to the refomrs of the immediate post war period, dealing with pressing problems
• Deal with unemployment.
• Keep costs of living low.
• Encourage more trade and therefore more jobs.
• Resist pressures from the left wing of the party for radical reforms.
• Show that Labour could be a moderate governing party

MacDonald's foreign policy & international peacekeeping efforts were a significant strength.

• MacDonald acted as foreign secretary and Prime Minister
  • Giving him greater freedom of action here.
  • Did not need the approval of parliament for specific legislation
• Attended the meeting of the League of Nations
• Strong supporter of the Geneva Protocol
  • Had been drafted by former leader Henderson
• Outlawed war
  • Made arbitration of disputes between nations in the league compulsory
• Gave the League power to impose sanctions on any country that rejected its decisions.
• Put Britain at the heart of moves to strengthen collective security and prevent war.
• Influential in finding a solution to the dispute between France and Germany over reparations.
  • Dawnes Plan: payment through installments.
• Showed Labour's ability to take the lead in international affairs.
  • MacDonald could be a world statesman

But...

• Conservatives refused to accept the Geneva Protocol.
• Still no mechanism for enforcing the decisions of the League except sanctions.
  • Sanctions proved ineffective.
• Dawes Plan did not survive the economic crisis that hit Germany
  • Few reparations were paid
• Agreed to another trade treaty with the USSR
  • Criticised by Liberals and Conservatives.
    • Disliked communism.
    • Thought Britain should not have relations with a regime which had killed the Tsar and whose stated policy was to spread revolution.

Ramsay MacDonald was an extremely effective leader when it came to foreign policy.

• Being foreign scretary and Prime Minister meant he didn't have to consult Parliament of foreign policy.
• Supported the League of Nations and made them more powerful by giving them the power to impose sanctions; improved on their main weakness; the weakness of previous government lead by Lloyd George.
  • However, this did not solve the problem of the League being extremely weak, as these sanctions were largely ineffective.

However, his fopreign policy was not always recieved well within British politics.

• The Conservatives refused to accept the Geneva protocol
• The Liberals & Conservatives both criticised the trade agreements with the USSR.

The most serious Geddes Axe cuts of 1922 were reversed.

• Unemployment Insurance Act:
  • Increased benefits
  • Made uncovenanted benefit a right
  • Dole made payable immediately after unemployment insurance benefits ceased.
• Agriculture Act 1924:
  • Agricultural wages boards set up to ensure farm workers' wages were not cut below a minimum standard for each area.
  • Did see an overall rise in wages
  • Act remained in force until after WWII

• Wheatly Housing Act
  • Increased the subsidy for those renting council houses.
  • Enabled another 521,000 council houses to be built
• Cuts to education were restored
  • Report commissioned on secondary education
  • Hadow Report 1931, basis of 1944 Education Act
• Solution to unemployment was seen in terms of traditional free trade policies
  • Reductions on tea and sugar duties
• Conservatives decided not to press for import duties
  • Little difference between the parties

• Defence cuts
  • Work on the singapore naval base was halted.
• No concessions to deal with unrest in the empire
  • More planes were ordered for the suppression of unrest in Iraq
• Government was not sympathetic to strikes
  • Used the Emergency Powers Act against a public transport strike to ensure essentail services kept running.
• Solution to unemployment was seen in terms of traditional free trade policies.
• No major social refomrs
• No attempt to impose nationalisation of industry or redistribute wealth.