Tag Archives: Ramsay MacDonald

Paul Walter

Book review: The Men Of 1924

By Paul Walter | Tue 8th July 2025 - 11:00 am

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Most of us, who are interested in politics, would be able to answer that evergreen pub quiz question: “Who was the UK’s first Labour Prime Minister?”

Ramsay MacDonald, I hear you cry.

But when pushed to say more about the truly ground-breaking Labour government of 1924, most of us would probably be reduced to mumbling “um er”.

Peter Clark’s book “The Men Of 1924” is an exceptionally informative and readable account of that stunning change in British politics.

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Posted in Books | Also tagged | 5 Comments
Paul Walter

On May 8th, could David Cameron just lock the doors of Downing Street and stay put?

By Paul Walter | Mon 20th April 2015 - 9:25 am

24 days ago, I wrote that We’re heading for a Labour minority government backed by the SNP.

Since then, there have been thousands more people polled, millions more pounds spent on campaigning and millions more words written/said about the election. So, I now have a ++BREAKING NEWS++ update!

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , , , and | 66 Comments
Mark Pack

How leaflets used to look: Labour’s Citizen leaflet from 1929

By Mark Pack | Mon 29th October 2012 - 10:53 am

Today’s leaflet in my series on old election leaflets is a centrally produced Labour party 4-pager from 1929. As with the Conservative leaflet from 1931 which I previously featured, the design may be very different from good modern leaflets, but the content has some very familiar overtones.

The May 1929 contest was the first general election in which women under 30 could vote and also one of only three elections in the modern era where the party with the most votes did not also win the most seats. Despite being slightly out-polled by the Conservatives, Labour won more seats in …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , and | 3 Comments
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:

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , and | 6 Comments
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