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Britain and Foreign Affairs, 1931 to 1936 |
Disarmament |
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Whilst Britain was officially committed to disarmament and the League, in practice nothing had changed. When British interests were threatened, force was met with force, and the League was not consulted. For example, the British used force in defending Shanghai in 1927, and the League was not consulted over British management of Egypt. The British chiefs of staff were privately contemptuous of the League, and Baldwin, who made public demonstrations of support for the League during the election of 1935, was equally privately unimpressed by it. Supporters of the League failed to appreciate that commitment to it might involve Britain in a war, and they failed to draw up plans for a response for another power's aggression.
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Up to the formation of the National government, there had been general agreement over reconciliation with Germany and support for the League of Nations. However, during this period there was a considerable divide between the parties over foreign policy. Within the Labour party, their leader, Lansbury, was a pacifist, and Cripps, as a Marxist, was opposed to agreement in foreign affairs, as was Atlee, though not a Marxist.
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The general attitude was that the Great War had not been started by German aggression, and had arisen by mistake. There was faith in the negotiating processes of the League. There was also a general view that the Germans had legitimate grievances. Labour took the view that war was caused by capitalism. In February 1933 the Oxford Union passed a motion that ‘this House will not fight for King and Country'. There was a disarmament conference in February 1932. Labour and Liberals united in opposition to the government and strongly supported disarmament; the Liberals under Samuel went into formal opposition because of the government's hesitancy to support disarmament.
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However, the chiefs of staff were alarmed by the increasing strength of the Japanese navy and the development of the German air force, and called for further armaments to deter possible threats. They unconsciously assumed that if Germany were able to fight a war, Germany would choose to fight one. The government cancelled the rule that no great war need be fought for the next 10 years in March 1932, but at the same time the services budget was cut to its lowest level by Chamberlain in his budget.
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Disarmament Conference |
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The Disarmament conference opened in February 1932. Tension arose between Germany and France. The French wanted security, but the Germans wanted equality. The French proposed in September 1933 that the Germans could have equality on the condition that the British guaranteed French borders with demonstrable military preparations. The British rejected this proposal on financial grounds. The French offered Germany provisional equality for a trial period of four years. The Germans rejected this, and withdrew from the Disarmaments Conference on 14th October 1933. They also left the League of Nations.
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Whilst the English public tended the blame the government for the collapse of the conference, they continued to be more interested in domestic affairs. The election of a Labour candidate at a by-election at East Fulham appeared to be a triumph for pacifism, but on closer analysis the key voting issue was the means test, and there was a natural swing back to Labour as the unusual result of 1931 was reversed.
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Japanese invasion of Manchuria |
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Whilst the Disarmament conference was running, the Japanese invaded Manchuria. The Japanese invasion on 18th September 1931 of Manchuria signalled the end of the period of apparent internationals stability. Ironically, only one week earlier, Viscount Cecil, on behalf of the British government, addressed the Assembly of the League of Nations, saying, “there has scarcely been a period in the world's history when war seems less likely than it does at present.” The Chinese appealed for help to the League on 22nd September!
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The onus of responsibility for action to oppose the Japanese aggression fell on the British, since they were the only major power with vested interests in the region. The event coincided with the crisis over the gold standard, whilst the Washington naval treaty had given the Japanese naval superiority in the region, which the British were unable to counter since they had not developed Singapore into a naval base. Foreign minister, Sir John Simon, sought to reconcile China and Japan at Geneva where the League met. He initiated a commission headed by Lord Lytton to investigate the rights and wrongs of the matter. After touring the Far East the commission reported at the end of 1932 that the Japanese grievances were justified, and, whilst the report condemned the Japanese use of force, Japan herself was not sanctioned. However, Japan withdrew from the League when the Lytton report was adopted. The Chinese accepted the loss of the province and concluded the truce of Tangku with Japan in 1933. Thus, Britain rid itself of the responsibility for enforcing the covenant of the League against Japan. It was inconceivable that Britain could act alone, and the United States would not join Britain in any action, since they had the bulk of the trade with Japan.
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Attitudes to Germany |
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Labour was in favour of reconciliation with Germany; they believed that Germany had given up the aspiration to dominate Europe militarily, and they thought Germany could be trusted. In practice, the Conservatives followed the same policy, and thought that the French were unreasonable and difficult. Churchill outraged opinion among Conservatives when he said, on 23rd March 1933, “Thank God for the French army”. The appearance of Hitler on the scene should have united political opinion in England, but instead it continued to aggravate it; Labour disliked Hitler but they blamed Hitler's rise on German grievances, and pressed all the more harder for redress of these; on the Conservative side there was a subtle preference for Hitler's national socialism as opposed to communism, which was believed to be the alternative. The establishment felt very nervous about communism, and in 1934 the government was even successful in reintroducing general search warrants as a measure against supposed communist propaganda in the armed forces.
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The ambivalence of the conservative attitude to fascism was reflected in their response to Oswald Mosley's blackshirts. Many respectable Conservatives, including Lord Rothermere, were initially impressed by this movement, which adopted pseudo-military uniform and relied on street violence. However, the movement was killed off by the Public Order Act of 1936, which prohibited the wearing of political uniforms, and gave the police power to prohibit political processions. The Conservatives had the same attitude to Hitler. At first, they welcomed him as a saviour of his nation, but they were increasingly appalled by his use of violence and his treatment of the Jews.
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By the end of 1934 Germany was regarded by chiefs of staff as the major threat. Baldwin responded by agreeing to maintain air parity. The commitment to this and to maintaining a large fleet at a time of financial constraint meant that the army was virtually reduced to non-existence. Arms estimates were still lower in 1934 than they had been in 1924, and in 1935 they were only just a little higher. In 1935 a White Paper was prepared by senior civil servants warning of the threat that German rearmament posed to British security. The government diminished the statements in the paper relating to Germany, and published it on 4th March 1935 as the Statement Relating to Defence. This announced a significant change in British policy, since collective security was rejected in favour of security based on national armed forces. MacDonald initialled the paper, which was ironic, since he had defended pacifism during the First World War. However, the White Paper had very little impact on British public or political opinion; and, in fact, Hitler used it as an excuse to reintroduce conscription in Germany on 16th March 1935. MacDonald sought international cooperation as a means to containing Germany, and concluded the 'Stresa front' with the French and Italians (under Mussolini). The British also entered into bilateral negotiations with the Germans and in June they reached an agreement with Germany to limit the German navy to 35% of the British, with submarines at 45% or 100% in the event of trouble with Russia. This bilateral agreement openly rejected the treaty of Versailles.
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Baldwin becomes Prime Minister |
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The Jubilee of 6th May celebrating George V's twenty-fifth year of reign, was the occasion of MacDonald's last public appearance as prime minister. On 7th June Baldwin became prime minister and MacDonald took his place as lord president of the council. Simon had been discredited over his handling of the Manchurian crisis and was moved to the Home Office, and Hoare became foreign secretary.
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Italian invasion of Abyssinia |
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Mussolini ordered an Italian invasion of Abyssinia – one member state of the League attacking another! British chiefs of staff, alarmed by Germany, were keen to retain the friendship of Italy. Eden was sent to negotiate with Mussolini, and the Italians were offered the lowlands of Abyssinia without war; however, Mussolini rejected this, arguing that he must have the same position in Abyssinia as Britain had in Egypt! In response, Hoare organised economic sanctions against Italy. The policy was announced at the League of Nations on 11th September and applied on 3rd October 1935 when Italian armies attacked Abyssinia. The sanctions involved cutting off all credits to Italy and prohibiting all imports from Italy and some exports. The Labour party was in some quandary about whether to support these measures, but in the end a large majority came out in favour of them at the annual conference. However, the Labour party was still split, and Lansbury resigned as leader in protest. Atlee was elected as leader, but maintained a firm opposition to every call for rearmament right up to the outbreak of war in 1939.
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Whilst Labour was still in disarray, Baldwin dissolved parliament on 25th October 1935 and called an election for 14th November. The National government was effectively seeking a mandate for rearmament, though they only stated this in muted tones, as statements by Baldwin illustrate: he asked for power 'to remedy the deficiencies which have occurred in our defences,' and stated, 'I give you my word that there will be no great armaments'. However, the election campaign once again revolved around the domestic issues of housing, unemployment and the special areas. There was the lowest turnout since December 1923. The Conservatives held their vote of 1931, and Labour recovered theirs, giving them approximately 100 gains. Labour had 154, the Nationals 432, the Liberals fell from 32 to 20 (of which 4 were either Lloyd George or members of his family). The National Labour party suffered and Ramsay MacDonald and his son were not re-elected, although both were brought back at by-elections. There was one communist, William Gallacher, elected, who proved to be the only consistent voice of resistance to Hitler, until 23 August 1939, when the Nazi-Soviet pact undermined his position.
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Meanwhile, Mussolini was ignoring the economic sanctions against him. Oil-sanctions were proposed. However, the British were still anxious to avoid war with Italy, and they did not want to bring down Mussolini. Consequently, the British made an improved offer to Italy, with the agreement of France, under the Hoare-Laval plan. It gave Italy the fertile plains of Abyssinia, but allowed the emperor of Abyssinia to hold on to his mountain kingdom. Mussolini was prepared to accept the plan, but it was leaked to the French press, and raised a howl of protest in Britain. The government put the blame on Hoare, who resigned, and was replaced by Eden. The collapse of the Hoare-Laval pact signalled the end of the League; Mussolini pressed on with his war of conquest, and on 1st May, 1936, Emperor Haile Selassie left Abyssinia; Mussolini proclaimed the foundation of the new Roman empire. Neville Chamberlain spoke against the continuance of sanctions on 10th June, and on the 18th June they were withdrawn.
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German remilitarisation of the Rhineland |
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The Abyssinian crisis was eclipsed by the German remilitarisation of the Rhineland, which started on 7th March 1936. This was in contravention of the Locarno Treaty. France, equipped with an army only for defence, appealed to Britain and Italy, the other signatories of the Locarno Treaty to act. The British had no forces available with which to enforce the treaty, and British public opinion was sympathetic to the Germans — they accepted that the Rhineland was Germany's “own backyard”. The Council of the League met in London to discuss a response. The Soviet representative, Litvinov, proposed sanctions. It was accepted that the treaties of Locarno and Versailles had been broken. Hitler was invited to negotiate; he replied, saying that he had “no territorial claims in Europe”, and proposed a twenty-five year peace pact with the Western Powers. However, Hitler did not attend the meeting, nor did he reply to a specific list of questions sent to him by the British government.
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India |
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There was continuing political debate over India. However, both MacDonald and Baldwin were agreed on Dominion status for India. Negotiations progressed very slowly. In autumn 1931 there was a Round Table conference; a further Round table conference in 1932; a joint select committee met throughout 1933; in 1934 the Government of India Act introduced some measure of representation for the provinces in India. British interest in India was decreasing. Churchill opposed the government policy over India, but the majority of the Conservative party followed Baldwin's policy of cautious and gradual concession.
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Ireland |
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The Statute of Westminster acknowledged unfettered Dominion sovereignty. This gave the Irish the right to repudiate the treaty of 1921. The prime minister of the Irish Free State, Cosgrave, gave a pledge of good faith, but when de Valera became prime minister in 1932 he sought from the outset to dissociate Ireland from England and the treaty of 1921. During 1934 relations between England and Ireland worsened. The Irish refused to compensate the English for loans given to Irish people to purchase land from 1870 onwards; the English retaliated by imposing a 20% tariff on goods from Ireland. The dispute was resolved in lat 1934 when a trade agreement between England and Ireland swapping English coal for Irish cattle was concluded, thus effectively signalling the independence of Ireland. The civil war that followed the 1921 treaty had been futile.
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