Prime Ministers of the last 100 years

[catfish]

I was inspired to write this by Hazzard's comments at http://www.nineeleven.co.uk/board/viewtopic.php?p=7879#7879

I became really fascinated by this and have only got halfway through, all the information comes from wikipedia and extra bits from The Gun and the Olive Branch by David Hirst. If you like it I'll finish it off!

Arthur Balfour 11 July, 1902 – 5 December, 1905

Arthur Balfour was educated at Eton and later became Earl of Balfour, he resigned as prime minister in December 1905 after the conservatives lost the election after a bit of scandal about Imperial Preference advocated by Joseph Chamberlain a turn of the century money reformer and father of Neville and Austen.
Balfour would become most famous when he was leader of the Foreign Office as the author of the Balfour Declaration of 1917, which promised a homeland for the Jewish people.

Henry Campbell-Bannerman February 5, 1906 - April 3, 1908

So the election was February 5th 1906 and was won by the Lib Dems led by Henry Cambell-Bannerman, Henry was educated at Glasgow High School but he resigned feeling poorly on April 3rd 1908 and died aged 71 on April 22nd 1908.
Meanwhile Balfour remained as leader of the conservatives and along with Lord Lansdowne, used the House of Lords which had many tory supporters as an active curb of Liberal policies, between 1906 and 1909 so much new legislation was lost in ammendments that David Lloyd George remarked that the Lords had become "not the watchdog of the Constitution, but Mr. Balfour's poodle."

Herbert Henry Asquith April 3, 1908 - December 1916

Replacing Cambell-Bannerman was Chancellor of the Exchequor Herbert Henry Asquith, educated in the City of London school and later at Oxford, one of his reforms was for welfare and state pensions, this was blocked by the Lords, who did not traditionally interfere with financial bills, this caused a constitutional crisis (wikipedia is a little vague here) and a general election was forced for January 1910.
A solution for the Liberals was to reform the House of Lords and re-make a bunch of Liberal peers to counter the Conservative bias. King Edward VII had agreed in spring of 1910 to make these new Lords after another general election, unfortunately Edward died on the 6th May 1910. His son George V was reluctant to make his first job as king an attack on the landed gentry. Asquith persuaded him, the peers however for the Liberal majority were for the most part from Ireland and had their price! Asqith then held the Lords at bay with the Parliament Act 1911, which limited the powers of the House of Lords to block House of Commons legislation, asserting the supremacy of the Commons. It also altered the maximum time between general elections to be five instead of seven years.
Asquith declared war on the German Empire on August 4, 1914 but resigned December 5th after backlash about a report in the Times that the shells used at the front were inadequate.????

David Lloyd George December, 1916 – October, 1922

David Lloyd George, a welshman who'd been educated in Manchester. George led a new wartime coalition between Liberals and Conservatives George critisised generals in the war after a Times article by Burdett Coutt reported that the sick and wounded soldiers were not being cared for and that Boer women and children were starving to death in concentration camps.
George was also critical of the brothers Neville and Austen Chamberlain, whose firm Kynochs Ltd, won tenders for War Office contracts despite their higher prices(I guess we can just read Halliburton). Through George's whirlwind war reforms conscription put into uniform nearly every physically fit man, six million out of ten million eligible. Of these about 750,000 lost their lives and 1,700,000 were wounded. Most deaths were to young unmarried men; however 160,000 wives lost husbands and 300,000 children lost fathers. From 1914 to 1918 trade union membership doubled, from a little over four million to a little over eight million.
Work stoppages and strikes became frequent in 1917-18 as the unions expressed grievances regarding prices, liquor control, pay disputes, "dilution," fatigue from overtime and from Sunday work, and inadequate housing.
His decision to extend conscription to Ireland was nothing short of disastrous, indirectly leading a majority of Irish MPs to declare independence. He presided over a war of attrition in Ireland, which led to the formation of the Irish Free State. At one point, he famously declared of the IRA, "We have murder by the throat!"
In June 1922 Conservatives were able to show that he had been selling knighthoods and peerages for money. (no change there then)
The Treaty of Sèvres was a peace treaty between the Entente and Associated Powers and the Ottoman Empire after World War I. But Sultan Mehmed VI, last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, reigning from 1918–1922, never signed that treaty. The Ottoman Empire would have lost a great deal of territory by the terms of this treaty.
The Chanak Affair occurred on 12th October 1922, and was an important short-term trigger cause in the downfall of Lloyd George, who claimed Ottoman Empire had violated elements of the Treaty. At a meeting called by Austen Chamberlain as the leader of the Conservatives in the House of Commons, the coalition backbenchers sealed Lloyd George's fate. Austen Chamberlain and other prominent Conservatives argued for supporting Lloyd George, while the Coalition government's Colonial Secretary, Andrew Bonar Law argued the other way, claiming that breaking up the coalition "wouldn't break Lloyd George's heart". The main attack came from Stanley Baldwin, then a junior treasury minister, who spoke of Lloyd George as a "dynamic force" who would break the Conservative Party. Baldwin and many of the more progressive members of the Conservative Party fundamentally opposed Lloyd George and those who supported him on moral grounds. The motion that the Conservative Party should fight the next election (then due in a matter of months) on its own, rather than co-operating with the Coalition Liberals was carried 187 to 86. As a result of this Austen Chamberlain resigned his positition as Conservative leader and was succeeded by Law.

Andrew Bonar Law October, 1922 – May, 1923

Andrew Bonar Law was born in Canada but moved to Scotland in the care of his maternal aunt, Janet Kidston, and was eductated at Glasgow High School where he would receive a good education, as the Kidstons were a much wealthier and better connected family than the Laws. He won the election in October 1922.
Law's closest associate was his fellow Canadian, newspaper mogul William Maxwell Aitken (later Lord Beaverbrook).
He was diagnosed with terminal throat cancer and resigned in May of 1923, and died of cancer later that same year in London at the age of 65.
It's interesting to note that following the resignation of Herbert Asquith, King George V asked Bonar Law to form a government but he deferred to Lloyd George, whom he believed was better placed to be able to lead a coalition ministry.
So who's next? Following Law's resignation only two candidates were eligible the choice formally fell to King George V acting on the advice of senior ministers and officials.

Stanley Baldwin (May, 1923 – January, 1924) and (November, 1924 – May, 1929) and (June, 1935 – May, 1937)

King George chose Stanley Baldwin much weight at the time was given to the intervention of Arthur Balfour.
Baldwin was educated at Trinity College Cambridge, after the King appointed him Prime Minister, Baldwin appointed Neville Chamberlain as his Chancellor of the Exchequer.
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.

Catfish Note: this whole period of government stinks to high heaven, I srongly advise you read the First appointment as Prime Minister and Return to office sections of the Stanley Baldwin wikipedia entry.

Ramsey MacDonald, January, 1924 - October, 1924

After the no confidence vote, in January 1924 King George V called on Ramsay MacDonald, to form a minority Labour government, Ramsey was one of the pioneers of British socialism, he was educated at the Free Church of Scotland school in Lossiemouth, and at the local Drainie parish school (1875-1881). He was the illigitamate son of John MacDonald, a farm labourer, and Anne Ramsay, a housemaid, illegitimacy was a serious handicap in 19th-century Presbyterian Scotland, and the associated stigma affected MacDonald throughout his life. MacDonald thus became the first Labour Prime Minister, the first (and some would say last) from a working class background and one of the very few not to have had a university education.
A general election was held later that year in October 1924, this resulted in a landslide majority of 223 for the Conservatives, primarily at the expense of the Liberals who lost many seats due to depleted organisation and limited funds.
So Stanley Baldwin and the Conservatives were back in power only 9 months after being removed by the vote of no confidence!
This period of government saw the General Strike (please read) of 1926 and the establishment of the Central Electricity Board (see also catfish's Live For Free).

Ramsay MacDonald, May, 1929 - 1935 (Baldwin actually ran the show from August, 1931, Ramsay was just Prime Minister in name)

At the May 1929 election, Labour under Ramsey Macdonald won 288 seats to the Conservatives' 260, with 59 Liberals under Lloyd George holding the balance of power.
Murky dealings prevailed and led to the Stock Market Crash of 1929, despite which, during 1930 MacDonald was able to pass a revised Old Age Pensions Act, a more generous Unemployment Insurance Act and an act to improve wages and conditions in the coal industry, which had been the issues behind the General Strike. However in 1931, pressure from economists and the press for sharp cuts in government spending, including pensions and unemployment benefits, increased. The trade unions bitterly opposed these cuts.
It is now interesting to note that during these two years of labour rule the press baron Lord Beaverbrook launched a campaign for "Empire Free Trade", meaning the removal of tariffs within the British Empire and the erection of external tariffs; he was supported in his opposition to Baldwin by Lord Rothermere, who also opposed Baldwin's support for Indian independence.
On August 24, 1931 MacDonald agreed to form a National Government including the Conservatives and Liberals, this resulted in his expulsion from the Labour Party, he subsequently formed a new National Labour Party.
MacDonald did not want an immediate election, but the Conservatives forced him to agree to one in October 1931. The National Government won 554 seats, comprising 470 Conservatives, 35 National Labour, 32 Liberals and various others, while Labour won only 52 and the Lloyd George Liberals four.
Baldwin was Lord President of the Council. MacDonald is recorded as Prime Minister for the period 1929-1935 but Baldwin ran the show from 1931-1935. During this time Baldwin passed the Government of India Act 1935 famously quoted as saying 'the bomber will always get through. The only defence is offence'. this foreign policy was much critisiced and during his third term (1935-1937) the king, Edward VII, abdicated. Baldwin retired after the coronation of the new King George VI and was created Earl Baldwin of Bewdley.
So to re-cap Stanley Baldwin was Prime Minister from 1923-1937 with a few little blips on the way!
So who are we gonna have next, remember Neville Chamberlain, who's brother was critisised for making all that money off WWI?

Neville Chamberlain 28 May, 1937 - 10 May, 1940

Neville was not elected he simply kissed hands, he became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on May 28, 1937, and leader of the Conservative Party a few days later.
Neville Chamberlain had a great many proposals regarding social reform and change in Ireland which resulted in the birth of the Free State of Eire (southern Ireland) in 1937 and later the 1938 Anglo-Irish Agreement, the result of which meant Britain agreed to hand over the Treaty Ports to Irish control, while Ireland agreed to pay Britain £10 million.
Since the Balfour Declaration over 450,000 Jews had migrated to Palastine and a force of 20,000 British troops were reconquering Palastine. Chamberlain then brought about amending the British Mandate for Palastine, a significant part of which was the The MacDonald White Paper of 1939, so named after the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Malcolm MacDonald. It proposed a quota of 75,000 further Jewish immigrants for the next five years and then no more without the approval of the Arabs, it also placed restrictions on the purchace of land. The White Paper caused a massive outcry, both in the Jewish world and in British politics. Many supporting the National Government were opposed to the policy on the grounds that they claimed it contradicted the Balfour Declaration. A prominent critic was Leslie Hore-Belisha a Jew, who was appointed as Secretary of State for War in 1937. Leslie_Hore-Belisha sought to introduce conscription in 1938, but was rebuffed until 1939. In the early stages of the war he banned a song being sung by the British conscripts:
Onward Christian Soldiers,
You have nought to fear.
Israel Hore-Belisha
Will lead you from the rear.
Clothed by Monty Burton,
fed on Lyons pies;
Die for Jewish freedom
As a Briton always dies.
During this period Chamberlain had tried to deal with Nazi Germany through diplomatic channels and to quell any sign of dissent from within, particularly from Churchill. He called this "The general policy of appeasement" (June 7, 1934).
On his return from Germany at Heston Airport in September 1938, holding the Munich agreement, containing the resolution to commit to peaceful methods signed by both Hitler and himself he said, "My good friends, for the second time in our history, a British Prime Minister has returned from Germany bringing peace with honour. I believe it is peace for our time."
When Chamberlain resigned he said of the Irish President, Eamon de Valera, "I would like to testify that you did more than any former British Statesman to make a true friendship between the peoples of our two countries possible, and, if the task has not been completed, that it has not been for want of goodwill on your part."

Winston Churchill 10 May, 1940 - 5 July, 1945

Winston Churchill (read about the warmongerer) was educated at Harrow School in London.
During the General Strike of 1926, Churchill was reported to have suggested that machine guns be used on the striking miners.
Furthermore, he controversially claimed that the Fascism of Benito Mussolini had "rendered a service to the whole world," showing, as it had, "a way to combat subversive forces".
He denigrated the father of the Indian independence movement, Mahatma Gandhi, as "a half-naked fakir" who "ought to be laid, bound hand and foot, at the gates of Delhi and then trampled on by an enormous elephant with the new viceroy seated on its back".
10 May 1940, Chamberlain resigned, a meeting between him and other two party leaders led to the recommendation of Churchill, and as a constitutional monarch, George VI asked Churchill to be Prime Minister and to form an all-party government.
Breaking with tradition, churchill, did not send Chamberlain a message expressing regret over his resignation.
There is some controversy here as initially it was expected that Lord Halifax would succeed Chamberlain, but that he turned it down for spurious reasons, alledgedly the King favoured the appointment of Halifax, fearing that his own reign would not survive the war, and thought that Halifax would negotiate a settlement with Hitler to allow Britain to stay out of the war, so preserving the monarchy.

Catfish Note: Okay I'm going on far longer than I thought I would!

5 July, 1945 - October 25, 1951 Clement Attlee

Atlee was the first Labour Prime Minister to serve for a full Parliamentary term, and the first to have a majority in Parliament. He was the longest-serving Labour Party leader in history, he won a landslide election victory over Winston Churchill immediately after Churchill had led Britain through World War II. He was educated at Haileybury and University College, Oxford.
In the World War II coalition government, three interconnected committees ran the war. Churchill chaired the War Cabinet and the Defence Committee. Attlee was his regular deputy in these committees, and answered for the government in parliament, when Churchill was absent. Attlee chaired the third body, the Lord President's Committee, which ran the civil side of the war. As Churchill was more concerned with military matters, and expressed little interest in social issues at that time, this suited Attlee and like-minded advocates of reform.
Attlee's first Health Secretary, Aneurin Bevan, fought against general medical disapproval, to create the British National Health Service that still survives today. Although there are often disputes about its organisation and funding, British parties must still subscribe to its general principles in order to remain electable.

October 25, 1951 - 7 April 1955 Winston Churchill

The 1951 election was held soon after the UK general election, 1950, which Labour won, but with a very slim majority. They called an election on October 25, 1951, hoping to win more seats, but instead lost to the Conservative Party. (?)
During this period Churchill renewed what he called the "special relationship" between Britain and the United States, and lasted until his resignation in 1955.
The Mau Mau uprising: In British colonial Kenya, 1952, members of the Kikuyu tribe began a rebel uprising, and on 17 August 1952, a state of emergency was declared, and British troops were flown to Kenya to deal with the rebellion. As both sides increased the ferocity of their attacks, the country moved to full-scale civil war. In 1953, the Lari massacre, perpetrated by Mau-Mau insurgents against Kikuyu loyal to the British, changed the political complexion of the rebellion and gave the public-relations advantage to the British. (sound familiar?) Churchill ordered an increased military presence and appointed General Sir George Erskine, who would implement Operation Anvil in 1954 that broke the back of the rebellion in the city of Nairobi. Operation Hammer, in turn, was designed to root out rebels in the countryside.
The Malayan Emergency: In Malaya, a rebellion against British rule had been in progress since 1948. Churchill chose to use direct military action against those in rebellion while attempting to build an alliance with those who were not. He stepped up the implementation of a "hearts and minds" campaign and approved the creation of fortified villages, a tactic that would become a recurring part of Western military strategy in Southeast Asia. (See Vietnam War).

Anthony Eden 7 April 1955 – 9 January 1957