Editing History of the United Kingdom (section)

===Conservative control===
The [[Lloyd George ministry]] fell apart in 1922. [[Stanley Baldwin]], as leader of the Conservative Party (1923–1937) and as Prime Minister (in 1923–1924, 1924–1929 and 1935–1937), dominated British politics.<ref>{{Cite ODNB |last=Ball |first=Stuart |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/30550 |title=Baldwin, Stanley, first Earl Baldwin of Bewdley (1867–1947) |date=2004 |edition=January 2011 online |series=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/30550}}</ref> His mixture of strong social reforms and steady government proved a powerful election combination, with the result that the Conservatives governed Britain either by themselves or as the leading component of the [[National Government (United Kingdom)|National Government]]. He was the last party leader to win over 50% of the vote (in the [[1931 United Kingdom general election|general election of 1931]]). Baldwin's political strategy was to polarize the electorate so that voters would choose between the Conservatives on the right and the Labour Party on the left, squeezing out the Liberals in the middle.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Taylor |first=Andrew J. |date=July 2005 |title=Stanley Baldwin, Heresthetics and the Realignment of British Politics |journal=British Journal of Political Science |volume=35 |issue=3 |pages=429–463 |doi=10.1017/S0007123405000244 |doi-broken-date=1 November 2024 |jstor=4092239}}</ref> The polarization did take place and while the Liberals remained active under Lloyd George, they won few seats and were a minor factor until they [[Cameron–Clegg coalition|joined a coalition with the Conservatives]] in 2010. Baldwin's reputation soared in the 1920s and 1930s, but crashed after 1945 as he was blamed for the appeasement policies toward Germany, and as admirers of Churchill made him the Conservative icon. Since the 1970s Baldwin's reputation has recovered somewhat.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Williamson |first=Philip |author-link=Philip Williamson (historian) |date=March 2004 |title=Baldwin's Reputation: Politics and History, 1937–1967 |journal=Historical Journal |volume=47 |issue=1 |pages=127–168 |doi=10.1017/S0018246X03003546 |jstor=4091548|s2cid=145455237 |url=http://dro.dur.ac.uk/467/1/467.pdf }}</ref>

Labour won the 1923 election, but in 1924 Baldwin and the Conservatives returned with a large majority.

McKibbin finds that the political culture of the interwar period was built around an anti-socialist middle class, supported by the Conservative leaders, especially Baldwin.<ref>{{Harvp|McKibbin|2010}}.</ref>