Second MacDonald ministry

The Second MacDonald ministry was formed by Ramsay MacDonald on his second appointment as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 5 June 1929. It was only the second occasion on which the Labour Party had formed a government; the First MacDonald Ministry held office during 1924.

The government formed lacked a parliamentary majority, gaining 288 seats with 8,300,000 votes compared to the Conservatives' 255 seats with 8,560,000 votes – a wide disparity in seats won versus votes cast, created by the outcome on boundaries at the time under the first past the post electoral system. The last boundary change was contained in the Representation of the People Act 1918. MacDonald thus had a minority government that needed Lloyd-George's 58 Liberal MPs' support to pass any legislation. His ministers rapidly faced the problems stemming from the impact of the Great Depression. On the one hand, international bankers insisted that strict budget limits be kept, on the other trade unions and, particularly, unemployed workers' organisations carried on regular and massive protest actions, including a series of hunger marches.

The Government did try to pass legislation, such as the Coal Mines Act 1930, which provided for a 7 1/2-hour shift in mines. Owners were guaranteed coal prices through the introduction of a production quota system among collieries, thus doing away with cut-throat competition. This guarantee was introduced to prevent a fall in miners' wages. The Act also introduced a cartel scheme to allocate production quotas to pits under the control of a central council, while a Mines Reorganisation Commission was established to encourage efficiency through amalgamations. However, this legislation largely ignored by the mine owners due to Labours' lack of enforcement powers. There was also the Land Utilisation Act of 1931, which would have given Labour powers to purchase land anywhere in the United Kingdom, but it was mauled by the House of Lords and had no backing from the Treasury, so it was essentially a "dead letter". Other acts passed include the Agricultural Marketing Act 1931 (which established a board to fix prices for produce), Greenwood's Housing Act 1930 (which provided subsidies for slum clearance) and the London Transport Bill 1931 – see London Passenger Transport Board – this was made legislation in 1933, after the Government had fallen. The Housing Act of 1930 resulted in the demolition of 245,000 slums by 1939, and the construction of 700,000 new homes. The 1930 Housing Act also allowed local authorities to set up differential rent schemes, with rents related to the incomes of the tenants concerned.

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