Cashing In”
The Parties and the National Government, August 1931—September 1932
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 10064870 |
|---|---|
| Authors | David Wrench (0000-0001-7875-4134, University of Greater Manchester, corresponding author), DAVID J WRENCH |
| Year | 1984 |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 135-153 |
| Publication date | 1984-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of British Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0021-9371 • E-ISSN: 1545-6986 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1086/385821 |
| OpenAlex | W2117260561 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 4 |
The traditional approach to the political crisis of 1931 and the events that followed it is to seek to establish responsibility, or guilt, for the fall of the second Labour Government and the formation of its National successor. Few doubt the conventional wisdom that after August 1931 the Conservatives were “cashing in,” completing the imprisonment of MacDonald, securing a massive parliamentary majority, enacting protectionist legislation, and finally causing the resignation of the free traders in September 1932. This orthodoxy has been reinforced in a recent study by John Fair, in which a new “culprit” has been found in Neville Chamberlain. If the evidence of his “culpability” in bringing down the Labour Government is unconvincing, it is buttressed by the assumption that the Conservatives gained most from the crisis, by controlling the new government and enacting conservative measures. The study of these events cannot advance beyond the discovery of culprits while it remains confined to the study of individual roles. What is needed, and what this article seeks to supply, is an analysis which takes into account the whole political context, the condition and prospects of all the parties concerned at the time when the crisis broke upon them. It is necessary to separate clearly the expectations of the parties in August from the quite unforseen rewards that they reaped in the October election. The partisan bitterness which has plagued the study of the crisis has largely resulted from a failure to achieve such a separation
Context (archaeology · Culpability · Economics · Government (linguistics · Law and economics · Legislation · Market economy · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Protectionism · Successor cardinal · History · Law · Political and Economic history of UK and US · Public Administration
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.03 |
| Citation span | 1988 - 1988 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |