Great Depression in the United Kingdom/Timelines

1919

November

Coalition Government Prime Minister David Lloyd George

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

1920

Post-war recession [1].

Montagu Norman becomes Governor of the Bank of England

Bank of England raises its discount rate to 7%

1922

Economic and Monetary Conference recommends return to the gold standard [2].

October

Conservative Government. Bonar Law Prime Minister

1923

May

Conservative Government. Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer Ramsay McDonald.

1924

(January) Labour Government. Prime Minister Ramsay McDonald. Chancellor of the Exchequer Phillip Snowden.

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

1925

Britain rejoins the gold standard.

1929

June

General Election: Labour 288 seats, Conservative 206 seats, Liberal 59 seats.

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

Bank of England raises the bank rate from 4.5% to 5.5%

October

Wall Street crash.

1930

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

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

Run on the pound and heavy withdrawals from the Bank of England's gold reserves[3]..

August

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

Labour Government Resigns.

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

September

Cabinet agrees 10% cut in unemployment benefit.

Britain leaves the gold standard

November

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

1932

General tariff of 10% on imports

1933

World Economic Conference: US vetoes international currency stabilisation [4].

1935

June

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