The first Labour government of the United Kingdom was formed by Ramsay MacDonald. A minority government, it lasted from January to November 1924, when they lost a vote of no confidence and were defeated by the Conservatives in the subsequent election.
After the Carlton Club meeting, in which the Conservatives voted to separate from the Lloyd George coalition, a general election was held in 1922, which resulted in a victory for the Conservatives and their Unionist allies, winning 344 seats and a convincing parliamentary majority of 74 seats — sufficient for a full parliamentary term.
However, several months after the election, the Conservative leader and Prime Minister Bonar Law resigned after being diagnosed with throat cancer, rendering him unable to speak. He was replaced by Stanley Baldwin, who reversed his predecessor's electoral pledge not to introduce protective tariffs. Baldwin sought a fresh mandate from the electorate in 1923.
The result failed to deliver support for Baldwin's protectionist stance; the Conservative Party remained the largest party in Parliament but lost their majority. As a result, Baldwin had little chance of remaining prime minister when the balance of power was held by the Liberal Party under H. H. Asquith, who had campaigned vigorously for free trade.
After losing the vote on the King's Speech, Baldwin resigned as Prime Minister and King George V subsequently invited Ramsay MacDonald to form a government. MacDonald accepted the King's invitation later that day, arriving with his Labour colleagues, to the amusement of many and dismay of others, in full court dress. Labour members were perturbed to hear stories of ministers wearing formal address and coached in court etiquette, not expecting their representatives to continue with traditions like these.RAMSAY MACDONALD A Labour Tragedy? By Duncan Watts, Hodder & Stoughton, 2002 Edition, P.62 Despite this, a number of individuals recognised the extent of Labour’s advance, as reflected by J.R. Clynes:
Labour’s rise to national government caused concern amongst a number of politicians and business people, with Winston Churchill arguing that "The enthronement of a Socialist government is a serious national misfortune" while the Lancashire and Yorkshire Bank chairman declared "Now is the time for unflinching courage."
David Lloyd George was less concerned about Labour in power, expressing his views in a letter to his daughter:
Although there were arguments against Labour forming a minority government, MacDonald believed that it was right for Labour to do so; partly because he believed it would give Labour experience of government and a chance to implement part of its programme. As he noted during a speech in Hull: “If we shirk our responsibilities now we should inflict upon ourselves the defeat that our enemies could not inflict upon us.”The Rise of the Labour Party 1880-1945 By Paul Adelman, 2014
Vivian Phillipps, the Liberal Party chief Whip, saw the potential of a minority Labour government supported by the Liberals in implementing positive measures, as he noted in a speech he made in February 1924:
On the socialist side, Beatrice Webb saw Labour taking office as a gamble; albeit one that could be beneficial, as she noted in her diary:
MacDonald and the cabinet MacDonald had become Labour's first proper leader in 1922. As well as being Prime Minister, he became his own Foreign Secretary, a dual role which he performed well enough, but which alienated the second man in the party, Arthur Henderson, who became Home Secretary. Philip Snowden, the evangelical ex-member of the Independent Labour Party (ILP) became a rigidly orthodox Chancellor of the Exchequer, while the next two prominent members of the party, J. H. Thomas and J. R. Clynes, became Colonial Secretary and Lord Privy Seal respectively. The Fabian Sidney Webb, who had, along with Henderson, been instrumental in conceiving Labour's 1918 programme 'Labour and the New Social Order' which had committed the party to nationalisation (Clause IV), was appointed President of the Board of Trade; another Fabian, Lord Olivier, became Secretary of State for India. A former chairman of the parliamentary party, Willie Adamson, became Scottish Secretary, while left-wingers Fred Jowett and John Wheatley became, respectively, First Commissioner of Works and Minister of Health.
The Cabinet was characterised by a moderate trade union feel, although it also contained a few Liberals. Only three members had previously been Cabinet Ministers: Lord Haldane had been a leading member of the prewar Liberal Government, while Arthur Henderson and J. R. Clynes had briefly been members of the wartime Coalition Government.They had held Cabinet-level posts but had not been members of the small War Cabinet. A normal-sized peacetime Cabinet had been restored in 1919 after Labour had gone into Opposition. Others had been under-secretaries.
Social policy Despite lacking a parliamentary majority, the First Labour Government was able to introduce a number of social measures which made life more tolerable for working people.Ramsay Macdonald: A Labour Tragedy? by Duncan Watts The main achievement of the government was the Housing (Financial Provisions) Act 1924 (the Wheatley Housing Act), which MacDonald dubbed 'our most important legislative item'. This measure went some way towards rectifying the problem of the housing shortage, caused by the disruption of the building trade during the First World War and the inability of working-class tenants to rent decent, affordable housing. Wheatley was able to provide public housing to council tenants, as against the previous government's commitment to privatisation. This landmark act subsidised the construction of 521,700 rented homes at controlled rents by 1933, when the subsidy for encouraging local authority housing construction was abolished.
Various improvements were also made in benefits for pensioners and the unemployed. More generous provision for the unemployed was provided, with increases in both children's allowances and in unemployment benefits for both men and women.A History of the Labour Party from 1914 by G. D. H. Cole. Unemployment benefit payments were increased from 15 shillings to 18 shillings a week for men, and from 12 shillings to 15 shillings for women, while the children's allowance was doubled to two shillings.England in the Twentieth Century (1914–63) by David Thompson The "gap" between periods of benefit under the unemployment insurance scheme was also abolished.Britain Between The Wars 1918–1940 by Charles Loch Mowat Eligibility for unemployment benefits was extended,The People's Party: the History of the Labour Party by Tony Wright and Matt Carter. with the household means-test for the long-term unemployed removed,Labour's First Century by Duncan Tanner, Pat Thane, and Nick Tiratsoo uncovenanted benefits (beyond those covered by insurance) made a statutory right, and the duration of unemployment benefits extended from 26 to 41 weeks.Britain's First Labour Government by John Shepherd and Keith Laybourn. The waiting period for unemployment benefits was also halved; from 6 to 3 days of unemployment,The Labour Year Book 1925 ISSUED BY THE GENERAL COUNCIL OF THE TRADES UNION CONGRESS AND THE NATIONAL EXECUTIVE OF THE LABOUR PARTY, LABOUR PUBLICATIONS DEPARTMENT, p. 66. and the government removed a previous rule under which workpeople were disqualified for unemployment benefits if thrown out of work due to a trade dispute in which they were not directly concerned.Legislation for the workers: Labour government’s output of new labour laws, with an introduction by the Home Secretary, Labour Publications Department, 1924, p. 9. At the same time, however, a test introduced in 1921British Unemployment 1919-1939 A Study in Public Policy By W. R. Garside, 2002, pp. 44–45. under which "uncovenanted benefit" claimants had to prove they were "genuinely seeing work" was extended (as noted by one study) "to all claimants in an attempt to trade off greater strictness in the administration of benefit for higher rates of benefit and the abolition of the Means Test."Problems of British Economic Policy, 1870-1945 By Jim Tomlinson, 2013, p. 72.
For pensioners, increases were made in both old-age pensions and the pensions of ex-servicemen and of their widows and children. Improvements were made in the condition of old-age pensioners by allowing small incomes from savings to be disregarded in calculating the pension due. As a result of this change, 60,000 elderly people, whose meagre savings had previously reduced their pension entitlement, received the full state pension. Eligibility for the state pension was also extended so that it covered 70% of the over-seventies, and 150,000 elderly people who had never received a pension before were now entitled to them. In addition, changes were made which allowed for pensions to be transferred to a surviving parent of a dependant who had a pension. An Old Age Pensions Act was also passed, which guaranteed a weekly pension of ten shillings (50p) to people over the age of seventy who earned under 15 shillings (75p) a week.
The government also endeavoured to extend educational opportunities. Local authorities were empowered, where they wished, to raise the school-leaving age to 15, the adult education grant was tripled, maintenance allowances for young people in secondary schools were increased, state scholarships (which had previously been in suspense) were restored, the proportion of free places in secondary schools was increased, approval was given to forty new secondary schools, a survey was carried out to provide for the replacement of as many of the more insanitary or obsolete schools as possible, and forty was set as the maximum class size in elementary school. Restrictions on education spending imposed by the previous government were removed, while local authorities were encouraged to increase the number of free secondary school places.The Longman Companion to The Labour Party 1900–1998 by Harry Harmer In addition, an Education Act was passed which created an English secondary school system between the ages of 11–14The companion to British history by Charles Arnold-Baker while a small expansion of central and secondary schools took place. The president of the Board of Education, Charles Trevelyan, also abolished a clause inserted by his predecessor that required authorities to consider whether in small schools "it is not practicable to give the head teacher direct charge of a class." In regards to elementary schools, new regulations were introduced that aimed to secure that classrooms, though limited in accommodation, should not be diminished in size. He minimum floor-space per child prescribed by the Board was increased from 10 to 12 square feet in respect of children over the age of 11, and from 9 to 10 square metres where younger children were concerned. Schemes were also approved for the erection or extension of secondary school buildings.The Labour Year Book 1925 ISSUED BY THE GENERAL COUNCIL OF THE TRADES UNION CONGRESS AND THE NATIONAL EXECUTIVE OF THE LABOUR PARTY, LABOUR PUBLICATIONS DEPARTMENT, pp. 337–338. Money was also provided towards the cost of scholarships for children from ages 14 to 15 in elementary schools.The new spirit in education, by Susan Lawrence, M.P., L.C.C., with an introduction by the Rt. Hon. Charles Trevelyan, M.P., President of the Board of Education, Labour Publications Department, 1924, p. 10.