Great Depression in the United Kingdom/Timelines

1919

Coalition Government Prime Minister David Lloyd George [1]

Bank of England raises discount rate from 5% to 6%

1920

Post-war recession [2].

Montagu Norman becomes Governor of the Bank of England

Bank of England raises its discount rate to 7%

1922

April

Economic and Monetary Conference recommends return to the gold standard [3].

October

General Election: Conservative 344 seats, Labour 142 seats, Liberal 62 seats.

Conservative Government. Bonar Law Prime Minister

1923

May

Conservative Government. Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer Stanley Baldwin[4].

December

General Election: Conservative 258 seats, Labour 191 seats, Liberal 158 seats.

1924

January

Labour Government. Prime Minister Ramsay McDonald[5]. Chancellor of the Exchequer Phillip Snowden [6].

October

General Election: Conservative 412 seats, Labour 151 seats, Liberal 40 seats.

Conservative Government. Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin. Chancellor of the Exchequer Winston Churchill.

1925

Britain rejoins the gold standard.

Bank of England increases the bank rate from 4% to 5%

1927

Bank of England bring bank rate down t o 4.5%.

1929

Bank of England raises the bank rate from 4.5% to 5.5% - and briefly to 6%.

May

General Election: Conservative 260 seats, Labour 287 seats, Liberal 59 seats.

Minority Labour Government. Prime Minister Ramsay McDonald. Chancellor of the Exchequer Phillip Snowden

October

Wall Street crash.

1930

Bank of England reduces the bank rate from 5% to 3%.

January

Economic Advisory Council - holds 13 meetings without reaching agreement.

May

Mosely Memorandum - rejected.

1931

May

Collapse of Kreditanstalt bank in Austria sparks a run on banks

July

Report of the Macmillan Committee on Finance and Industry - draws attention to the large volume of London's short-term liabilities.

May Report - forecasts a large budget deficit and recommends a £96m cut in public spending by public sector salary reductions and in Unemployment Benefit.

Run on the pound and heavy withdrawals from the Bank of England's gold reserves[7].

August

Bank of England announces that a credit of £50m. has been arranged with the Bank of France and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York

Cabinet disagreement over Phillip Snowden's proposed 10% cut in unemployment benefit.

The Cabinet dissolves and Ramsay Macdonald sets up coalition with the Conservatives.

National Government. Prime Minister Ramsay McDonald. Chancellor of the Exchequer Phillip Snowden.

Bank of England increases the bank rate from 3% to 6% and sterilises gold outflows.

September

Cabinet agrees 10% cut in unemployment benefit.

Britain leaves the gold standard

October

General Election: Conservative 470 seats, Labour 32 seats, Liberal 35 seats.

November

£ exchange rate falls to $3.40.

"National " Government Prime Minister Ramsay McDonald, Chancellor Neville Chamberlin

1932

The Exchange Equalisation Account created.

Bank of England reduces the bank rate from 6% to 2%.

General tariff of 10% on imports.

1933

World Economic Conference: US vetoes international currency stabilisation [8].

1935

National Government Prime Minister. Stanley Baldwin, Chancellor of the Exchequer Neville Chamberlin.