First National ministry

The First National ministry was formed by Ramsay MacDonald in 1931, and existed from 24 August 1931 until the reconstruction of the government, following the general election in October 1931. This ministry was the first "national government" coalition, of which there would be four. It was composed of members from National Labour, the Conservative Party, the Liberal Party, and the Liberal National Party.

The outgoing Labour cabinet, which was a minority government, was unable to agree upon proposals to cut public expenditure. The Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald submitted his resignation to King George V on 24 August 1931.

The King persuaded MacDonald that it was his duty to form a new government to address the financial crisis. The original idea was that the National government would be free to draw upon the talents of members of all parties, so that it would represent the nation as a whole rather than being a coalition of parties like those which had existed between 1915 and 1922. However, as the main body of the Labour Party refused to co-operate, the government comprised members from MacDonald's small group of National Labour supporters, the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party.

The Liberal Party was split into three factions. The mainstream party led by Sir Herbert Samuel, who had been the Deputy Leader of the party before the formation of the National Government, continued to support free trade. The Liberal National group led by Sir John Simon had accepted the Conservative policy of protectionism. These two Liberal factions were supporters of the National Ministry. The third group of Lloyd George or Independent Liberals were opposed to the ministry (David Lloyd George had led the party until 1931, but during the crisis he was ill and he took no part in the discussions which led to Liberal participation in government).

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