How Well Did The British Political System

Hold Up In The 1930S. Essay, Research Paper

How well did the British political system hold up in the 1930 s.

The 1930 s were a turbulent time for politics around the world, democratic leaderships were under major strain following the Wall Street crash and the ensuing depression, by 1940 only the United Kingdom, Sweden, Finland and Switzerland were countries not ruled by dictators within Europe and the Balkans. Admittedly the aggression of the Axis powers had brought about the downfall of six democracies between 1938 and 1940 but the fact still remains that political fairness and democratic elections were all but destroyed in mainland Europe during this era.

From the 24th of August 1931 until after the Second World War Britain was ruled by a coalition government. This government was formed initially as a temporary measure to allay the potential collapse of the British economy in the wake of Wall Street. As coalitions around Europe fell under the control of dictators the National Government was a surprisingly successful alliance. There were potentially major threats within Britain to the stability of this administration but resounding public support and several shrewd policies led to this being one of the most effective governments for many years.

In the aftermath of the Wall Street crash many extreme political groups came to the fore notably the Nazi party in Germany. Within Britain extreme political and ideological groups also began to appear. The largest and perhaps the most frightening group of extreme opposition to the National Government came from the far right in the form of Oswald Mosley and the British Union of Fascists, the BUF. Mosley had a member of the Conservatives but was a minister in the second Labour government, in 1930 he put forward an unemployment plan that included ideas for public works schemes much like those of the Nazi party but this was rejected first by the cabinet and then the parliamentary Labour party. Several historians have suggested that if he had been prepared to bide his time he would have eventually led the Labour party but Mosley wanted power.

The British Union of Fascists began in 1932; by 1934 the movement had amassed a membership of more than 50,000. The fact that so many fascist supporters were allowed within the long standing democracy of Britain, especially considering that Mosley had links with and had visited Benito Mussolini, gives doubt to the ability of the National government and the stability of the system. Lord Rothermere, the wealthy owner of the traditionally right-wing newspaper, The Daily Mail, also leant his support to the fascist movement thus giving the extremists a small amount of credibility.

But for all their support Mosleys Blackshirts were never any more than a small minority who had gained their support from extraordinary economic circumstances and had very little significance after the National government managed to calm the sliding depression. Had the situation worsened then the BUF may have grown but as has happened with every extremist right-wing group around the world a violent, ruthless and racist face of the movement showed at the parties rally at Olympia and growing links with the Nazi party lost the faction any integrity it may once have had.

Disillusionment and poor living standards among the electorate and false promises to wealthier businessmen gave the Nazi party the means to come to power but the National government had none of the failings of their German equivalents so the right wing extremists were easily quelled and in the event itself did more to stop themselves than anyone else.

On the opposite side of the political scale come the extreme left wing groups, there had been a tiny Communist party within Britain since 1920, its membership peaked at 16,000 in 1938 and that is about the lengths the British Communists got to within Britain. The Communists have been described as a revolutionary party in a non-revolutionary situation and this statement proves that the National government was controlling the situation well enough to negate any potential danger of revolution. The majority of the Communists support came from the intellectual middle class who were fascinated with the ideas of equality and Marxism.

The Communist parties largest influence was not a political one, even though they organised several strikes, but an ideological one with the Left Book Club, set up in 1936, reaching 50,000 subscribers to whom were sold mostly Communist books. The existence of this group could be construed as a weakness of the system but the club was not readying the electorate for revolution it was merely letting off steam .

The Communist party did not pose a threat to the political hierarchy in Britain nor was there ever a chance of revolution because the National government never gave enough cause for dissent and cynicism. The Communists, like the British Fascists, were all but destroyed in the public eye by links with Hitlers Germany when in August 1939 Russia signed a peace pact with the Nazis.

A larger and more significant left wing group was the National Unemployed Workers Movement, the NUWM. After the Wall Street crash the unions membership grew from 10,000 to 50,000. The movement had no political weight but used marches and strikes as mediums to highlight the plights of the unemployed. The National government strugg