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Portrait of Ramsay MacDonald

Prime Ministers · 20th century

Ramsay MacDonald

1866–1937 · British (Scottish)

Labour; National Labour from 1931

In office: 1924; 1929–1935

James Ramsay MacDonald, born illegitimate in Lossiemouth, became Britain's first Labour prime minister in January 1924, leading a short-lived minority government. Returning to office in 1929, he faced the Great Depression, and in 1931 formed a National Government with Conservatives and Liberals, for which Labour expelled him as a traitor. He remained prime minister until 1935 and died at sea two years later.

How to spot them

  • ▸First Labour prime minister (1924)
  • ▸Born in Lossiemouth, Moray; illegitimate son of a farm labourer and a housemaid
  • ▸The Zinoviev Letter (1924)
  • ▸Formed the National Government in 1931 and was expelled from Labour
  • ▸Opposed British entry into the First World War; died at sea in 1937

In office

Britain's first Labour government (1924)

A minority government dependent on Liberal support; lasted about nine months

Diplomatic recognition of the Soviet Union (1924)

Britain formally recognised the USSR in February 1924

The Zinoviev Letter (1924)

Forged Comintern letter published by the Daily Mail days before the general election

The Campbell Case (1924)

Dropped prosecution of a communist editor, leading to the government's defeat

London Naval Treaty (1930)

Limited naval construction by Britain, the US and Japan

Formation of the National Government and the Labour split (1931)

Coalition formed amid the financial crisis; Britain left the gold standard weeks later

The Stresa Front with France and Italy (1935)

Short-lived agreement to oppose German rearmament

Key ideas

  • Evolutionary, parliamentary socialism rather than revolution
  • Internationalism and support for the League of Nations and disarmament

Quick-fire facts

  • •Resigned as Labour's leader in the Commons in 1914 over his opposition to the war
  • •Also served as his own Foreign Secretary in 1924
  • •Statute of Westminster passed in 1931 under his National Government
  • •Chaired the Round Table Conferences on India (1930–32)
  • •Succeeded by Stanley Baldwin in June 1935
  • •Died on 9 November 1937 aboard the liner Reina del Pacifico in the Atlantic
  • •His son Malcolm MacDonald was also a Cabinet minister

Drill it — 6 cards

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Sources