Tag Archives: Arthur Henderson

Mark Pack

How leaflets used to look: a Tory attack on Labour’s economic policies, 1931

By Mark Pack | Wed 4th July 2012 - 10:25 am

Today’s leaflet in my series on old election leaflets is a centrally produced Conservative Party leaflet from October 1931. Ramsay MacDonald had led a Labour administration under August 1931 when it split over a Budget and economic crisis. MacDonald earned his place in Labour’s hall of infamy by then forming a National Government with Conservatives and Liberals. Only two Labour colleagues joined MacDonald in this government, so the attacks in this leaflet on “Arthur Henderson and other Socialist ex-Ministers” are, nominally at least, directed at Labour rather than MacDonald and co. in the coalition.

Swap references such as the Empire Marketing Board for current ones and the basic arguments being made in the leaflet are remarkably similar to contemporary politics:

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , and | 6 Comments
Advert

Recent Comments

  • Mick Taylor
    Far too many people are being taken in by claims of high taxation. When I started work in the late 60s the basic rate of income tax was 33% and the top rate (s...
  • Jana
    @Tim Roger’s “ The gas will not stay in the ground because Norway will take their share and then ours” Excellent point. I haven’t read that argument...
  • Jana
    “ First, we need to be clear about the difference between constitutional democracy – or liberal democracy – and popular democracy” I don’t agree th...
  • theakes
    Judging from yesterdays results, 3 Conservative gains, it now seems pretty clear that they are back. Surely we have to adopt a different approach. There is a vo...
  • expats
    Lord William Wallace...........At the end of the Cold War American liberals thought that democracy had triumphed, and that authoritarian states would move towar...