National Government (1937–1939)

National Government
National Government
; 4th National Government of the United Kingdom
1937–1939
	Neville Chamberlain
Date formed	28 May 1937
Date dissolved	3 September 1939
People and organisations
Monarch	George VI
Prime Minister	Neville Chamberlain
Prime Minister's history	1937–1940
Total no. of members	119 appointments
Member parties	Conservative Party; Liberal National Party; National Labour;
Status in legislature	Majority (coalition) ; 428 / 615 (70%) ; ;
Opposition party	Labour Party
Opposition leaders	Clement Attlee; in the House of Commons; Lord Snell; in the House of Lords;
History
Legislature terms	37th UK Parliament
Predecessor	Third National Government
Successor	Chamberlain war ministry

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 the Nazi regime. 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 on 15 March 1939 and threatening Poland, Chamberlain pledged to defend Poland's independence if the latter were attacked. Britain and France declared war two days after the Nazi regime had begun to invade Poland on 1 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.^[1] 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.^[1] 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.^[2]

Cabinet

May 1937 – September 1939

Neville Chamberlain – Prime Minister and Leader of the House of Commons
The Viscount Hailsham – Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
The Viscount Halifax – Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Council
The Earl De La Warr – Lord Keeper of the 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
The Marquess of Zetland – Secretary of State for India and Burma
The Viscount 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
The Earl 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

For a full list of ministerial office-holders, see National Government 1935-1940.

Key office holders not in the Cabinet

The Earl Winterton – Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The 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 succeeded 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 (resigned) 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 (deceased) 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 (deceased) 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

Members of the Cabinet are in bold face.

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 High Chancellor of Great Britain	The Viscount Hailsham	Conservative	May 1937
Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain	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
	The Viscount Hailsham	Conservative	9 March 1938
	The Viscount Runciman of Doxford	Liberal National	31 October 1938
Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal	The Earl De La Warr	National Labour	28 May 1937
Lord Keeper of the 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
	Euan Wallace	Conservative	16 May 1938
	Harry Crookshank	Conservative	21 April 1939
Lords of the Treasury	James Stuart	Conservative	May 1937 – September 1939
	Charles Kerr	Liberal National	28 May 1937 – 4 April 1939
	Thomas Dugdale	Conservative	28 May 1937 – September 1939
	Charles Waterhouse	Conservative	28 May 1937 – 18 October 1937
	Ronald Cross	Conservative	28 May 1937 – 18 October 1937
	Patrick Munro	Conservative	18 October 1937 – September 1939
	Robert Grimston	Conservative	18 October 1937 – 18 May 1938
	Stephen Furness	Liberal National	20 May 1938 – September 1939
	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
	The Earl of Plymouth	Conservative	May 1937 – 12 May 1939
	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
	Lord Stanley	Conservative	16 May 1938
	Malcolm MacDonald	National Labour	31 October 1938
	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
	The Earl of Munster	Conservative	2 June 1938
	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
	Hon. Arthur Hope	Conservative	18 October 1937
	Charles Waterhouse	Conservative	4 April 1939
Comptroller of the Household	Sir George Davies		28 May 1937
	Charles Waterhouse	Conservative	18 October 1937
	Charles Kerr	Liberal National	4 April 1939
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household	Hon. Arthur Hope	Conservative	28 May 1937
	Ronald Cross	Conservative	18 October 1937
	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
	The Earl of Munster	Conservative	May 1937 – 2 June 1938
	The Earl Erne		May 1937 – 25 July 1939
	The Earl Fortescue		26 August 1937 – September 1939
	The Earl of Birkenhead		12 July 1938 – September 1939
	The Viscount Bridport		11 April 1939 – September 1939
	The Lord Ebury		25 July 1939 – September 1939

Notes

^ The Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons was given statutory recognition in the Ministers of the Crown Act 1937 as the primary opposition leader.

References

^ ^a ^b Graham Macklin, Chamberlain (Haus Books, 2006) p 158
^ Taylor, 1965, p=406

Bibliography

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 (Cambridge University Press, 1975).
Feiling, Keith. A Life of Neville Chamberlain (London: Macmillan, 1970)
Macklin, Graham. Chamberlain (Haus Books, 2006)
Mowat, Charles Loch. Britain between the Wars: 1918–1945 (1955), pp. 413–79
Raymond, John, ed. The Baldwin Age (1960), essays by scholars 252 pages; online
Roberts, Andrew. 'The Holy Fox': The Life of Lord Halifax (1997).
Self, Robert C. Neville Chamberlain: A Biography (2006) excerpt and text search
Smart, Nick. The National Government. 1931–40 (Macmillan 1999) ISBN 0-333-69131-8
Taylor, A. J. P. English History 1914–1945 (1965), pp. 321–88
Thorpe, Andrew. Britain in the 1930s. The Deceptive Decade, (Oxford: Blackwell, 1992). ISBN 0-631-17411-7

Primary sources

Chamberlain, Neville. The Neville Chamberlain Diary Letters: The Downing Street Years, 1934–1940 edited by Robert Self (2005)

Preceded by Third National Government	Government of the United Kingdom 1937–1939	Succeeded by Chamberlain war ministry

[1] The Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons was given statutory recognition in the Ministers of the Crown Act 1937 as the primary opposition leader.

[auto-2] Graham Macklin, Chamberlain (Haus Books, 2006) p 158

[3] Taylor, 1965, p=406

[note 1]

[1]

[2]

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UK (GB and NI) (1922–present)	Law Baldwin I MacDonald I Baldwin II MacDonald II National Government I National Government II National Government III National Government IV Chamberlain War Churchill War Churchill Caretaker Attlee I and II Churchill III Eden Macmillan I and II Douglas-Home Wilson I and II Heath Wilson III and IV Callaghan Thatcher I Thatcher II Thatcher III Major I Major II Blair I Blair II Blair III Brown Cameron–Clegg (Cameron I) Cameron II May I May II Johnson I Johnson II Truss Sunak Starmer
Current ministry

v t e Neville Chamberlain
Premierships	1938–1939 1939–1940
Constituencies	Birmingham Ladywood Birmingham Edgbaston
Family	Joseph Chamberlain (father) Austen Chamberlain (half-brother) Beatrice Chamberlain (half-sister) Ida Chamberlain (sister) Hilda Chamberlain (sister) Anne Chamberlain (wife)
Career	Career before 1937 Conservative Research Department European foreign policy of the Chamberlain ministry Appeasement Munich Agreement Peace for our time Declaration of war on Germany Anglo-Polish alliance Phoney War Norway Debate
Cultural depictions	The Gathering Storm (TV, 1974) Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years (TV, 1981) Countdown to War (Film, 1989) Heil Honey I'm Home! (TV, 1990) Dunkirk (TV, 2004) Into the Storm (TV, 2009) Darkest Hour (Film, 2017)