Stanley Baldwin

{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" align="right" style="margin: 0em 1em 0em 1em;"\n|+ The Rt Hon. Stanley Baldwin\n|style="background:#efefef;" align="center" colspan="2"|\n|-\n|Periods in Office:\n|May, 1923 - January, 1924
November, 1924 - June, 1929
May, 1935 - May, 1937\n|-\n|PM Predecessors:\n|Andrew Bonar Law
Ramsay MacDonald\n|-\n|PM Successors:\n|Ramsay MacDonald
Neville Chamberlain\n|-\n|Date of Birth:\n|3 August 1867\n|-\n|Place of Birth:\n|Bewdley, Worcestershire\n|-\n|Political Party:\n|Conservative\n|-\n|Retirement honour:\n|Earldom of Baldwin of Bewdley\n|}\nStanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley (August 3, 1867 - December 14, 1947) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on three separate occasions. Born at Bewdley in Worcestershire he was educated at Harrow and Cambridge, and went into the family business. In 1908 he succeeded his deceased father as Conservative MP for Bewdley. In 1917 he was appointed to the junior ministerial post of Financial Secretary to the Treasury where he sought to encourage voluntary donations by the rich in order the repay the United Kingdom's war debt, notably writing to The Times under the peusdonym 'FST'. In 1921 he was promoted to the Cabinet as President of the Board of Trade in 1921. In late 1922 dissatisfaction grew within the Conservative Party about the coalition it was in with David Lloyd George. At a meeting of Conservative MPs at the Carlton Club in October Baldwin announced that he would no longer support the coalition and famously condemned Lloyd George for being a "dynamic force" that was bringing destruction across politics. The meeting chose to leave the coalition despite the views of most of the party leadership. As a result the Conservatives' new leader, Andrew Bonar Law was forced to find new ministers for his Cabinet and so he promoted Baldwin to the position of Chancellor of the Exchequer. In November a general election was held and the Conservatives were returned with a majoirty. In May 1923 it was discovered that Bonar Law was dying of cancer and he retired immediately. Due to many of the party's leading figures standing aloof from the government there were only two candidates to succeed him - Lord Curzon the Foreign Secretary and Baldwin. The choice formally fell to King George V acting on the advice of senior ministers and officials. It is not entirely clear what factors were the most crucial, but many felt that Curzon was unsuitable to be Prime Minister, due to his being a member of the House of Lords (though this did nor stop other Lords being seriously considered for the premeirship on subsequent occasions), his personal character which many found objectional and his coming from a rich background at a time when the Conservative Party was seeking to appeal to a more meritocratic support base. As a result Baldwin was appointed Prime Minister. Initially he also served as Chancellor of the Exchequer whilst he sought to recruit the former Liberal Chancellor Reginald McKenna to join the government but when this failed he instead appointed Neville Chamberlain. The Conservatives had a clear majority in the House of Commons and could govern for another four years before the need for a new general election, but Baldwin felt bound by a pledge given by Bonar Law at the previous election that there would be no introduction of tariffs without a further election. With the country facing growing unemployment due to cheap imports he decided to call an early general election in December 1923 to seek a mandate to introduce Protection. Although this succeeded in reuniting his divided party, the election produced an inconclusive outcome. The Conservatives won 258 MPs, the Labour Party 191 and the Liberals 159. Whilst the Conservatives were the largest party they had been clearly defeated on the central issue of the election. Baldwin remained Prime Minister until the opening session of the new Parliament in January 1924 when the government was defeated on a confidence vote and he resigned immediately. For the next ten months a minority Labour government was in office but it too fell and a further general election was held in October 1924. This election resulted in a landslide majority of 223 for the Conservatives, primarily at the expense of the Liberals who lost ground due to a depleted organisation and limited funds. Baldwin became Prime Minister again and remained in office until 1929. This period included the General Strike of 1926, a crisis which the government managed to weather, despite the havoc it caused nationally. In 1931 he and the Conservatives entered into a coalition with Labour Party Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald. This decision led to MacDonald's expulsion from his own party, and Baldwin, as Lord President of the Council became de facto Prime Minister for the increasingly senile MacDonald over the next four years, when he, once again, became Prime Minister. During his third term of office, in 1935 - 1937, his foreign policy was much criticised, and he also faced the problem of the abdication of King Edward VIII. With this successfully achieved he retired after the coronation of the new King George VI and was created Earl Baldwin of Bewdley. Baldwin was a cousin of the author and journalist Rudyard Kipling.

Table of contents

1 Stanley Baldwin's First Government, May 1923 - January 1924 1.1 Changes 2 Stanley Baldwin's Second Cabinet, November 1924 - June 1929 2.2 Changes 3 Stanley Baldwin's Third Cabinet, May 1935 - May 1937 3.3 Changes

Stanley Baldwin's First Government, May 1923 - January 1924

\n*Stanley Baldwin - Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of the House of Commons\n*Lord Cave - Lord Chancellor\n*Lord Salisbury - Lord President of the Council\n*Lord Cecil - Lord Privy Seal\n*William Clive Bridgeman - Home Secretary\n*Lord Curzon - Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs\n*The Duke of Devonshire - Secretary of State for the Colonies\n*Lord Derby - Secretary of State for War\n*Lord Peel - Secretary of State for India\n*Sir Samuel Hoare - Secretary of State for Air\n*Lord Novar - Secretary for Scotland\n*Leo Amery - First Lord of the Admiralty\n*Sir Philip Lloyd-Greame - President of the Board of Trade\n*Sir Robert Sanders - Minister of Agriculture\n*Edward Frederick Lindley Wood - President of the Board of Education\n*Sir Anderson Montague-Barlow - Minister of Labour\n*Neville Chamberlain - Minister of Health\n*Sir William Joynson-Hicks - Financial Secretary to the Treasury\n*Sir Laming Worthington-Evans - Postmaster-General

Changes

\n*1923 - Neville Chamberlain became Chancellor of the Exchequer. Sir William Joynson Hicks succeeded him as Minister of Health. Joynson-Hicks' successor as Financial Secretary to the Treasury was not in the Cabinet.

Stanley Baldwin's Second Cabinet, November 1924 - June 1929

\n*Stanley Baldwin - Prime Minister and Leader of the House of Commons\n*Lord Cave - Lord Chancellor\n*Lord Curzon - Lord President\n*Lord Salisbury - Lord Privy Seal\n*Winston Churchill - Chancellor of the Exchequer\n*Sir William Joynson-Hicks - Home Secretary\n*Sir Austen Chamberlain - Foreign Secretary and Deputy Leader of the House of Commons\n*Leo Amery - Colonial Secretary\n*Sir Laming Worthington-Evans - Secretary of State for War\n*Lord Birkenhead - Secretary of State for India\n*Sir Samuel Hoare - Secretary for Air\n*Sir John Gilmour - Secretary for Scotland\n*William Clive Bridgeman - First Lord of the Admiralty\n*Lord Cecil - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster\n*Sir Philip Lloyd-Greame - President of the Board of Trade\n*Edward Frederick Lindley Wood - Minister of Agriculture\n*Lord Edward Percy - President of the Board of Education\n*Lord Peel - First Commissioner of Works\n*Sir Arthur Steel-Maitland - Minister of Labour\n*Neville Chamberlain - Minister of Health\n*Sir Douglas Hogg - Attorney-General

Changes

\n*1925 On Curzon's death, Lord Balfour succeeded him as Lord President. W. Guinness succeeded E.F.L. Wood as Minister of Agriculture. The post of Secretary of State for the Dominions is created and held by Leo Amery in tandem with Secretary of State for the Colonies.\n*1926 - The post of Secretary of Scotland is upgraded to Secretary of State for Scotland.\n*1927 - Lord Cushendun succeeded Lord Cecil as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster\n*1928 - Lord Hailsham (former Sir D. Hogg) succeeded Lord Cave as Lord Chancellor. Hailsham's successor as Attorney-General was not in the Cabinet. Lord Peel succeeded Birkenhead as Secretary of State for India. Lord Londonderry succeeded Lord Peel as First Commissioner of Public Works

Stanley Baldwin's Third Cabinet, May 1935 - May 1937

\n*Stanley Baldwin - Prime Minister and Leader of the House of Commons\n*Lord Hailsham - Lord Chancellor\n*Ramsay MacDonald - Lord President\n*Lord Londonderry - Lord Privy Seal\n*Neville Chamberlain - Chancellor of the Exchequer\n*Sir John Simon - Home Secretary and Deputy Leader of the House of Commons\n*Sir Samuel Hoare - Foreign Secretary\n*Malcolm MacDonald - Colonial Secretary\n*J.H. Thomas - Dominions Secretary\n*Lord Halifax - Secretary for War\n*Lord Zetland - Secretary for India\n*Lord Swinton - Secretary for Air\n*Sir G. Collins - Secretary of State for Scotland\n*Lord Monsell - First Lord of the Admiralty\n*Lord Runciman - President of the Board of Trade\n*W. Elliott - Minister of Agriculture\n*O. Stanley - President of the Board of Education\n*E. Brown - Minister of Labour\n*Sir Kingsley Wood - Minister of Health\n*Lord Harlech - First Commissioner of Works\n*Anthony Eden - Minister of League of Nations Affairs\n*Lord Percy - Minister without Portfolio

Changes

\n*1935 - Malcolm MacDonald succeeds J.H. Thomas as Dominions Secretary. Thomas succeeds MacDonald as Colonial Secretary. Lord Halifax succeeds Lord Londonderry as Lord Privy Seal. Duff Cooper succeeds Halifax as Secretary for War. Anthony Eden succeeds Sir Samuel Hoare as Foreign Secretary.\n*1936 - Lord Harlech succeeds J.H. Thomas as Colonial Secretary. Lord Stanhope succeeds Harlech as First Commissioner of Works. W. Elliott succeeds Sir G. Collins as Secretary for Scotland. W.S. Morrison succeeds Elliott as Minister of Agriculture. Samuel Hoare succeeds Lord Monsell as First Lord of the Admiralty. Lord Percy leaves the cabinet. Sir T. Inskip enters the cabinet as Minister for the Coordination of Defense. Leslie Hore-Belisha enters the Cabinet as Minister of Transport. {| border="2" align="center"\n|width="30%" align="center"|Preceded by:
Sir Robert Horne\n|width="40%" align="center"|President of the Board of Trade
1921-1922\n|width="30%" align="center"|Followed by:
Sir Philip Lloyd-Greame\n|-\n|width="30%" align="center"|Preceded by:
Sir Robert Horne\n|width="40%" align="center"|Chancellor of the Exchequer
1922-1923\n|width="30%" align="center"|Followed by:
Neville Chamberlain\n|-\n|width="30%" align="center"|Preceded by:
Andrew Bonar Law\n|width="40%" align="center"|Leader of the British Conservative Party
1923-1937\n|width="30%" align="center"|Followed by:
Neville Chamberlain\n|-\n|width="30%" align="center"|Preceded by:
Andrew Bonar Law\n|width="40%" align="center"|Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
1923-1924\n|width="30%" align="center"|Followed by:
Ramsay MacDonald\n|-\n|width="30%" align="center"|Preceded by:
Ramsay MacDonald\n|width="40%" align="center"|Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
1924-1929\n|width="30%" align="center"|Followed by:
Ramsay MacDonald\n|-\n|width="30%" align="center"|Preceded by:
The Lord Parmoor\n|width="40%" align="center"|Lord President of the Council
1931-1935\n|width="30%" align="center"|Followed by:
Ramsay MacDonald\n|-\n|width="30%" align="center"|Prededed by:
The Viscount Snowden\n|width="40%" align="center"|Lord Privy Seal
1932-1934\n|width="30%" align="center"|Followed by:
Anthony Eden\n|-\n|width="30%" align="center"|Preceded by:
Ramsay MacDonald\n|width="40%" align="center"|Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
1935-1937\n|width="30%" align="center"|Followed by:
Neville Chamberlain\n|} {| border="2" align="center"\n|width="30%" align="center"|Preceded by:
New Creation\n|width="40%" align="center"|Earl Baldwin\n|width="30%" align="center"|Followed by:
Oliver Baldwin\n|} Baldwin, Stanley\nBaldwin, Stanley\nBaldwin, Stanley\nBaldwin, Stanley