National Government (1935–1937)

The National Government of 1935–1937 was formed by Stanley Baldwin on his reappointment as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom by King George V, following the resignation of Ramsay MacDonald in June 1935.

As a National Government it was a coalition of members of the Conservative Party, Liberal Nationals and National Labour, as well as a number of individuals who belonged to no political party. The Government oversaw the Edward VIII abdication crisis and three monarchs in 1936. In May 1937, Baldwin retired and was replaced as prime minister by Neville Chamberlain.

Cabinet

File:Stanley Baldwin ggbain.35233 (cropped).jpg

Stanley Baldwin was the serving prime minister

1935–1937

Office	Name	Term
Prime Minister	Stanley Baldwin	1935–1937
Lord President of the Council	Ramsay MacDonald	1935–1937
Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain	Douglas Hogg, 1st Viscount Hailsham	1935–1937
Leader of the House of Lords Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal	Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 7th Marquess of Londonderry	1935
	Edward Wood, 1st Viscount Halifax	1935–1937
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs	Sir Samuel Hoare	1935
	Anthony Eden	1935–1937
Secretary of State for the Home Department	Sir John Simon	1935–1937
Secretary of State for the Colonies	Malcolm MacDonald	1935
	James Henry Thomas	1935–1936
	William Ormsby-Gore	1936–1937
Secretary of State for War	Edward Wood, 1st Viscount Halifax	1935
	Duff Cooper	1935–1937
Secretary of State for India	Lawrence Dundas, 2nd Marquess of Zetland	1935–1937
Secretary of State for Air	Philip Cunliffe-Lister, 1st Viscount Swinton	1935–1937
Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs	James Henry Thomas	1935
	Malcolm MacDonald	1935–1937
Secretary of State for Scotland	Sir Godfrey Collins	1935–1936
	Walter Elliot	1936–1937
Chancellor of the Exchequer	Neville Chamberlain	1935–1937
Minister without Portfolio	Anthony Eden	1935
Minister without Portfolio	Lord Eustace Percy	1935–1936
First Lord of the Admiralty	Bolton Eyres-Monsell (from November 1935 as Viscount Monsell)	1935–1936
	Sir Samuel Hoare	1936–1937
President of the Board of Trade	Walter Runciman	1935–1937
Minister of Health	Sir Kingsley Wood	1935–1937
President of the Board of Education	Oliver Stanley	1935–1937

Notes

• Anthony Eden served as Minister without Portfolio, with specific responsibility for League of Nations Affairs (and was often referred to as "Minister for League of Nations Affairs) for approximately six months; during this time, he enjoyed equal status with the Foreign Secretary (Sir Samuel Hoare) and sat in the cabinet.

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	Stanley Baldwin	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	7 June 1935
Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain	Douglas Hogg, 1st Viscount Hailsham	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	7 June 1935
Lord President of the Council	Ramsay MacDonald	style="background: Template:Party color" |	National Labour	7 June 1935
Leader of the House of Lords Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal	Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 7th Marquess of Londonderry	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	7 June 1935
	Edward Wood, 1st Viscount Halifax	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	22 November 1935
Chancellor of the Exchequer	Neville Chamberlain	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	7 June 1935
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury	David Margesson	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	18 June 1935
Financial Secretary to the Treasury	Duff Cooper	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	18 June 1935
	William Morrison	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	22 November 1935
	John Colville	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	29 October 1936
Lords of the Treasury	James Stuart	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	18 June 1935 – May 1937
	Archibald Southby	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	18 June 1935 – 28 May 1937	Knighted
	Sir Walter Womersley	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	18 June 1935 – 6 December 1935
	George Frederick Davies	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	18 June 1935 – 6 December 1935
	James Blindell	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Liberal National	18 June 1935 – 28 May 1937	Knighted
	Arthur Hope	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	6 December 1935 – 28 May 1937
	Henry Morris-Jones	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Liberal National	6 December 1935 – 28 May 1937
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs	Sir Samuel Hoare, 2nd Baronet	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	7 June 1935
	Anthony Eden	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	22 December 1935
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs	James Stanhope, 7th Earl Stanhope	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	18 June 1935 – 16 June 1936
	Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, Viscount Cranborne	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	6 August 1935 – May 1937
	Ivor Miles Windsor-Clive, 2nd Earl of Plymouth	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	30 July 1936 – May 1937
Secretary of State for the Home Department and Deputy Leader of the House of Commons	Sir John Simon	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Liberal National	7 June 1935
Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department	Euan Wallace	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	18 June 1935
	Geoffrey Lloyd	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	28 November 1935
First Lord of the Admiralty	Sir Bolton Eyres-Monsell	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	7 June 1935
	Sir Samuel Hoare, 2nd Baronet	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	5 June 1936
Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty	Sir Victor Warrender, 8th Baronet	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	18 June 1935
	Lord Stanley	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	28 November 1935
Civil Lord of the Admiralty	Kenneth Lindsay	style="background: Template:Party color" |	National Labour	18 June 1935
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries	Walter Elliot	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Unionist	7 June 1935
	William Morrison	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	29 October 1936
Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries	Herbrand Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr	style="background: Template:Party color" |	National Labour	18 June 1935
	Herwald Ramsbotham	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	28 November 1935
	Charles Duncombe, 3rd Earl of Feversham	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	30 July 1936	also Deputy Minister of Fisheries
Secretary of State for Air	Philip Cunliffe-Lister, 1st Viscount Swinton	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	7 June 1935
Under-Secretary of State for Air	Sir Philip Sassoon, 3rd Baronet	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	18 June 1935
Secretary of State for the Colonies	Malcolm MacDonald	style="background: Template:Party color" |	National Labour	7 June 1935
	James Henry Thomas	style="background: Template:Party color" |	National Labour	22 November 1935
	William Ormsby-Gore	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	28 May 1936
Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies	Ivor Windsor-Clive, 2nd Earl of Plymouth	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	18 June 1935
	Herbrand Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr	style="background: Template:Party color" |	National Labour	30 July 1936
Minister for Coordination of Defence	Sir Thomas Inskip	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	13 March 1936
Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs	James Henry Thomas	style="background: Template:Party color" |	National Labour	7 June 1935
	Malcolm MacDonald	style="background: Template:Party color" |	National Labour	22 November 1935
Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs	Edward Stanley, Baron Stanley	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	18 June 1935
	Douglas Hacking	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	28 November 1935
	Edward Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	4 March 1936	Duke of Devonshire
President of the Board of Education	Oliver Stanley	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	7 June 1935
Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education	Herwald Ramsbotham	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	18 June 1935
	Herbrand Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr	style="background: Template:Party color" |	National Labour	28 November 1935
	Geoffrey Shakespeare	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Liberal National	30 July 1936
Minister of Health	Sir Kingsley Wood	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	7 June 1935
Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health	Geoffrey Shakespeare	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Liberal National	18 June 1935
	Robert Hudson	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	30 July 1936
Secretary of State for India	Lawrence Dundas, 2nd Marquess of Zetland	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	7 June 1935	For India and Burma from 1937
Under-Secretary of State for India	R. A. Butler	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	18 June 1935
Minister of Labour	Ernest Brown	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Liberal National	7 June 1935
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Labour	Anthony Muirhead	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	18 June 1935
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster	Sir J. C. C. Davidson	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	18 June 1935
Paymaster General	Ernest Lamb, 1st Baron Rochester	style="background: Template:Party color" |	National Labour	18 June 1935
	Robert Hutchison, 1st Baron Hutchison of Montrose	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Liberal National	6 December 1935
Minister for Pensions	Robert Hudson	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	18 June 1935
	Herwald Ramsbotham	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	30 July 1936
Minister without Portfolio	Anthony Eden	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	7 June 1935 – 22 December 1935	"Minister for League of Nations Affairs"
	Lord Eustace Percy	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	7 June 1935 – 31 March 1936
Postmaster-General	George Tryon	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	7 June 1935
Assistant Postmaster-General	Sir Ernest Bennett	style="background: Template:Party color" |	National Labour	18 June 1935
	Sir Walter Womersley	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	6 December 1935
Secretary of State for Scotland	Sir Godfrey Collins	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Liberal National	7 June 1935
	Walter Elliot	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Unionist	29 October 1936
Under-Secretary of State for Scotland	Noel Skelton	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Unionist	18 June 1935
	John Colville	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	28 November 1935
	Henry Wedderburn	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	29 October 1936
President of the Board of Trade	Walter Runciman	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Liberal National	7 June 1935
Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade	Leslie Burgin	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Liberal National	18 June 1935
Secretary for Overseas Trade	John Colville	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	18 June 1935
	Euan Wallace	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	28 November 1935
Secretary for Mines	Harry Crookshank	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	18 June 1935
Minister of Transport	Leslie Hore-Belisha	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Liberal National	18 June 1935	In Cabinet from 29 October 1936
Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport	Austin Hudson	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	18 June 1935
Secretary of State for War	Edward Wood, 1st Viscount Halifax	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	7 June 1935
	Duff Cooper	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	22 November 1935
Under-Secretary of State for War	Donald Howard, 3rd Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	18 June 1935
Financial Secretary to the War Office	Douglas Hacking	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	18 June 1935
	Sir Victor Warrender 8th Baronet	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	28 November 1935
First Commissioner of Works	William Ormsby-Gore	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	7 June 1935
	James Stanhope, 7th Earl Stanhope	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	16 June 1936
Attorney General	Sir Thomas Inskip	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	18 June 1935
	Sir Donald Somervell	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	18 March 1936
Solicitor General	Sir Donald Somervell	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	18 June 1935
	Sir Terence O'Connor	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	19 March 1936
Lord Advocate	Douglas Jamieson	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Unionist	18 June 1935
	Thomas Cooper	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Unionist	25 October 1935
Solicitor General for Scotland	Thomas Cooper	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Unionist	18 June 1935
	Albert Russell	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Unionist	29 November 1935
	James Reid	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Unionist	25 June 1936
Treasurer of the Household	Sir Frederick Penny	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	18 June 1935
Comptroller of the Household	Sir George Bowyer	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	21 June 1935
	Sir Lambert Ward	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	6 December 1935
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household	Sir Lambert Ward	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	18 June 1935
	George Davies	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	6 December 1935
Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms	George Bingham, 5th Earl of Lucan	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	18 June 1935
Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard	Arthur Chichester, 4th Baron Templemore	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	18 June 1935
Lords in Waiting	Henry Gage, 6th Viscount Gage	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	18 June 1935 – May 1937
	Geoffrey FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	18 June 1935 – May 1937
	Charles Duncombe, 3rd Earl of Feversham	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	18 June 1935 – 30 July 1936
	Basil Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 4th Marquess of Dufferin and Ava	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	29 October 1936 – 28 May 1937
	John Crichton, 5th Earl Erne	style="background: Template:Party color" |	Conservative	29 October 1936 – May 1937

References

• Butler, David, and G. Butler, Twentieth Century British Political Facts 1900–2000
• Hyde, H. Montgomery. Baldwin: The Unexpected Prime Minister (1973)
• Jenkins, Roy. Baldwin (1987) excerpt and text search
• Mowat, Charles Loch. Britain Between the Wars, 1918–1940 (1955). online pp 413–79
• Raymond, John, ed. The Baldwin Age (1960), essays by scholars 252 pages; online Template:Webarchive
• Smart, Nick. The National Government. 1931–40 (Macmillan 1999) Template:ISBN
• Taylor, A.J.P. English History 1914–1945 (1965) pp 321–88
• Thorpe, Andrew. Britain in the 1930s. The Deceptive Decade, (Oxford: Blackwell, 1992). Template:ISBN