- published: 19 Apr 2013
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James Ramsay MacDonald, FRS (12 October 1866 – 9 November 1937) was a British statesman who was the first Labour Party Prime Minister, leading a Labour Government in 1924, a Labour Government from 1929 to 1931, and a National Government from 1931 to 1935.
Historians credit MacDonald, along with Keir Hardie and Arthur Henderson, as one of the three principal founders of the Labour Party. His speeches, pamphlets and books made him an important theoretician, but he played an even more important role as Leader of the Labour Party. He entered Parliament in 1906 and was the Chairman of the Labour MPs from 1911 to 1914. His opposition to the First World War made him unpopular, and he was defeated in 1918. The fading of wartime passions made it easier for an anti-war politician to find a platform, and he returned to Parliament in 1922, which was the point at which Labour replaced the Liberal Party as the second-largest party.
His first government—formed with Liberal support—in 1924 lasted nine months, but was defeated at the 1924 General Election when the electorate punished Labour over the Campbell case, and the Conservatives won a majority. Nevertheless his short term demonstrated that the Labour party was sufficiently competent and well organised to run the government. A powerful orator, by the 1920s he had earned great public respect for his pacifism.
Ramsay MacDonald introduces his Labour Cabinet 1929
Ramsay MacDonald appeals for support
Ramsay MacDonald opposing entering WW1
Mr Ramsay Macdonald Speaks To The Nation Aka Ramsey Mc'donald - Longer Version (1931)
Mr. Ramsay Macdonald (1924)
Mr Ramsay Macdonald (1935)
Ramsay MacDonald and His Labour Cabinet
Gordon Ramsay attempts to teach Norm MacDonald a recipe
Britain in the 20th Century: The Great War and its Consequences - Professor Vernon Bogdanor
Ramsay MacDonald