Editing Ramsay MacDonald (section)

=== Premiership of the National Government (1931–1935) ===
{{Further|National Government (1931–1935)}}
The National Government's huge majority left MacDonald with the largest mandate ever won by a British Prime Minister at a democratic election, but MacDonald had only a small following of National Labour men in Parliament. He was ageing rapidly, and was increasingly a figurehead. In control of domestic policy were Conservatives [[Stanley Baldwin]] as Lord President and [[Neville Chamberlain]] the chancellor of the exchequer, together with [[National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)|National Liberal]] [[Walter Runciman, 1st Viscount Runciman of Doxford|Walter Runciman]] at the [[Board of Trade]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Harford Montgomery Hyde|title=Baldwin; the unexpected Prime Minister|url=https://archive.org/details/baldwinunexpecte0000hyde|url-access=registration|year=1973|publisher=Hart-Davis MacGibbon|page=[https://archive.org/details/baldwinunexpecte0000hyde/page/345 345]|isbn=978-0246640932 }}</ref> MacDonald, Chamberlain and Runciman devised a compromise tariff policy, which stopped short of protectionism while ending free trade and, at the [[British Empire Economic Conference|1932 Ottawa Conference]], cementing commercial relations within the Commonwealth.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Wrench | first1 = David | year = 2000 | title = 'Very Peculiar Circumstances': Walter Runciman and the National Government, 1931–3 | journal = Twentieth Century British History | volume = 11 | issue = 1| pages = 61–82 | doi=10.1093/tcbh/11.1.61}}</ref>

Besides his preference for a cohesive British Empire and a [[protective tariff]], he felt an independent British defence programme would be the wisest policy. However, budget pressures and a strong popular pacifist sentiment forced a reduction in the military and naval budgets.{{sfn|Taylor|1965|pp=359–370}} MacDonald involved himself heavily in foreign policy.  Assisted by the National Liberal leader and Foreign Secretary [[John Simon, 1st Viscount Simon|John Simon]], he continued to lead British delegations to international conferences, including the [[Geneva Disarmament Conference]] and the [[Lausanne Conference (1932)|Lausanne Conference]] in 1932, and the [[Stresa Conference]] in 1935.<ref>{{cite book|author=Kevin Morgan|title=Ramsay MacDonald|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E0ubhRtZ13kC&pg=PA79|year=2006|publisher=Haus Publishing|page=79|isbn=978-1904950615}}</ref> He went to [[Rome]] in March 1933 to facilitate [[Nazi Germany]]'s return to the concert of European powers and to continue the policy of appeasement.<ref>Aage Trommer, "MacDonald in Geneva in March 1933: A study in Britain's European policy." ''Scandinavian Journal of History'' 1#1–4 (1976): 293–312.</ref> On 16 August 1932 he granted the [[Communal Award]] upon India, partitioning it into separate electorates for [[Hindus]], [[Islam in South Asia|Muslims]], [[Sikhism in India|Sikhs]] and [[Dalit|Untouchables]].  Most important of all, he presided at the [[World Economic Conference (London)|World Economic Conference in London]] in June 1933.  Nearly every nation was represented, but no agreement was possible. The American president torpedoed the conference with a bombshell message that the US would not stabilise the depreciating dollar.  The failure marked the end of international economic cooperation for another decade.{{sfn|Taylor|1965|pp=334–335}}

MacDonald was deeply affected by the anger and bitterness caused by the fall of the Labour government. He continued to regard himself as a true Labour man, but the rupturing of virtually all his old friendships left him an isolated figure. One of the only other leading Labour figures to join the government, Philip Snowden, was a firm believer in [[free trade]] and resigned from the government in 1932 following the introduction of tariffs after the [[Ottawa agreement]].{{sfn|Morgan|1987|page=213}}{{Incomplete short citation|date=January 2021}}