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The Right Honourable Arthur Neville Chamberlain
(18 March 1869–9 November, 1940) was a
United Kingdom|British politician and Prime
Minister of the United Kingdom from
1937–1940.  Chamberlain is perhaps one of
the most controversial and ill-regarded British
Prime Ministers of the 20th century, largely due
to his policy of appeasement towards Nazi Germany
regarding the abandonment of  Czechoslovakia to
Hitler at Munich in 1938.

After working in business and local government,
and a short spell as Director of National Service
in 1916 and 1917, Chamberlain followed his father,
Joseph Chamberlain, and older half-brother, Austen
Chamberlain becoming a Member of Parliament in the
United Kingdom general election, 1918|1918 general
election aged 49.  He declined a junior
ministerial position, remaining a back-bencher
until he was appointed United Kingdom Postmaster
General|Postmaster General after the United
Kingdom general election, 1922|1922 general
election.  He was rapidly promoted in 1923 to
Secretary of State for Health|Minister of Health
and then Chancellor of the Exchequer, but
presented no Budget before the government fell in
1924.  He returned as Minister of Health,
introducing a range of reforming measures  from
1924 to 1929. He was appointed Chancellor of the
Exchequer in the coalition UK National
Government|National Government in 1931, and spent
six years reducing the war debt and the tax
burden.  Stanley Baldwin retired after the
Abdication Crisis of 1936|abdication of Edward
VIII of the United Kingdom|Edward VIII and the
Coronation of George VI of the United
Kingdom|George VI, and Chamberlain took his place
as Prime Minister in 1937.

Chamberlain's political legacy is overshadowed by
his dealings with Nazi Germany.  He signed the
Munich Agreement with Adolf Hitler in 1938 which
effectively allowed Germany to annex the
Sudentenland, leaving Czechoslovakia vulnerable,
one of the steps on the road to World War II. 
Chamberlain remained in office during the Phony
War, from September 1939 to May 1940, but resigned
the premiership immediately after Germany invaded
the Netherlands, Belgium and France, and died of
cancer within 6 months.

==Early life==


Chamberlain was the eldest son of the second
marriage of Joseph Chamberlain, Lord Mayor of
Birmingham, and a half-brother to Austen, later
Austen Chamberlain|Sir Austen Chamberlain.
Joseph's first wife had died shortly after giving
birth to Austen; Neville's mother also died in
childbirth in 1875 when Neville was six years old.
The Chamberlain children found their relations
with their father strained, and Neville grew up
developing strong bonds with those siblings who
were closest to him in age, most notably his
sisters Ida and Hilda, to whom he would write
every week he was away from them.

Chamberlain was educated at Rugby School, but the
experience unsettled him and he became rather shy
and withdrawn. At first he declined to join the
school debating society, changing his mind only in
1886 when he spoke in favour of his father's
position in the controversy over Irish Home Rule.
It was during this period that Chamberlain
developed a love of botany, and he was later to
become a fellow of the Royal Horticultural
Society. He was also fascinated by birds, becoming
a keen Ornithology|ornithologist; he would later
become interested in angling. Chamberlain had a
passion for music and literature, and in later
life would at crucial times quote William
Shakespeare.



After leaving school, Chamberlain became a day
attender at Mason Science College (later the
University of Birmingham), thus becoming one of
only two future Prime Ministers to attend a
university other than University of Oxford|Oxford
or University of Cambridge|Cambridge (the other
being John Russell, 1st Earl Russell|Lord John
Russell, who attended University of
Edinburgh|Edinburgh). He took a degree in science
and metallurgy, but shortly after graduation
became apprenticed to an accounting firm.

In 1890 Joseph Chamberlain's finances took a
downturn and he decided, against better advice
from his brothers, to try growing sisal in the
Bahamas. Neville and Austen were sent to the
Americas to investigate the island of Andros,
Bahamas|Andros which seemed a good prospect for a
plantation, but the crops failed in the unsuitable
environment and by 1896 the business was shut down
at a heavy loss.

Chamberlain's later ventures at home were more
successful. He served as chairman of several
manufacturing firms in Birmingham, including
'Elliots' a metal goods manufacturer, and
'Hoskins' a cabin berth manufacturer. He gained a
reputation for being a hands-on manager, taking a
strong interest in the day to day running of
affairs.

==Lord Mayor of Birmingham==
Although he would campaign for his father and
brother during elections, Chamberlain first
entered politics for himself in 1911 when he was
elected as a councillor to Birmingham City Council
and immediately became Chair of the Town Planning
Committee. The same year he married Anne Vere.
Under Chamberlain's direction, Birmingham soon
adopted and brought into law one of the first town
planning schemes in Britain. In 1913, Chamberlain
took charge of a committee looking at housing
conditions. The interim report of the committee
could not be implemented immediately because of
the war, but it did much to show Chamberlain's
vision of improvements to housing conditions.

In 1915, like his father before him, he became
Lord Mayor of Birmingham. Within the first two
months he had won government approval to increase
the electricity supply and organised the use of
coal as part of the war effort; he also prevented
a strike by the council workers. During this time,
he also assisted in the creation of the Birmingham
Symphony Orchestra and the establishment of the
Birmingham Municipal Bank, the only one of its
type in the country which aimed to encourage
savings so as to pay for the war loan. The Bank
proved highly successful and lasted until 1976.
Chamberlain was re-elected Lord Mayor in 1916, but
did not complete his term. Broader horizons
awaited.

==Early ministerial career==


In December 1916, Chamberlain was in London when
he received a message asking him to meet the new
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime
Minister, David Lloyd George. In a brief meeting,
Lloyd George offered Chamberlain the new position
of Director of National Service, with
responsibility for coordinating conscription and
ensuring that essential war industries were able
to function with sufficient workforces.
Chamberlain had been recommended for the position
by, among others, his brother Austen, and he
agreed to accept the post; despite several
interviews, however, he was left unclear about
many aspects of the job. Over the following eight
months only a few thousand volunteers were placed
in industry. Chamberlain clashed several times
with Lloyd George, who had taken a strong
disliking to him, thus making the position even
harder to operate. It had also been decided that
Chamberlain did not need a seat in Parliament to
undertake the job, which proved to be an error.
Chamberlain finally resigned in 1917. He and Lloyd
George retained a mutual contempt that would last
throughout their political careers.

Embittered by his failure, Chamberlain decided to
stand in the United Kingdom general election,
1918|next general election, when he was
successfully elected for the first time at the age
of 49–by far the oldest age for any future
Prime Minister entering Parliament to date. He was
offered a junior post at the Ministry of Health
but declined it, refusing to serve again in a
Lloyd George government. He also declined a
knighthood. Chamberlain spent the next four years
as a Conservative backbencher, despite his
half-brother Austen becoming leader of
Conservative MPs in 1921.

In October 1922, discontent amongst Conservatives
against the Lloyd George Coalition Government
erupted. At a meeting at the Carlton Club, the
majority of MPs voted to leave the coalition, even
though it meant abandoning their current
leadership, as Austen had pledged to support Lloyd
George. Fortuitously for Neville, he was abroad at
the time of the meeting and so not forced to
choose between supporting his brother's leadership
and bringing down a man he despised.

In 1922, the Conservatives won the United Kingdom
general election, 1922|general election.  The new
Conservative Prime Minister, Andrew Bonar Law,
offered Neville the position of United Kingdom
Postmaster General|Postmaster General outside the
Cabinet. There was much discussion amongst the
Chamberlain family as to whether or not he should
accept; in the end, Austen reluctantly agreed to
allow Neville to accept the post.

The Secretary of State for Health|Minister of
Health, Sir Arthur Griffith-Boscawen, lost his
seat and failed to win a by-election. To fill the
position, Law chose Chamberlain, who entered the
Cabinet for the first time as Minister of Health.
In this position, he introduced a Housing Act,
1923|Housing Act which provided subsidies for
private companies building affordable housing as a
first step towards a programme of slum clearances.
He also introduced the Rent Restriction Act, which
limited evictions and required rents to be linked
to the property's state of repair. When Stanley
Baldwin became Prime Minister four months later,
he promoted Chamberlain to Chancellor of the
Exchequer, a position which he held until the
government fell in January 1924. His first
Chancellorship was unusual in that he presented no
budget. 

Chamberlain remained one of the leading
Conservative figures, but he faced a significant
challenge in the United Kingdom general election,
1924|1924 general election from Oswald Mosley,
head of the Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party in
Birmingham. After a tense series of recounts,
Chamberlain was elected by a mere 77 votes; in
subsequent elections he stood in a safer seat. The
Conservatives formed a new government, but
Chamberlain declined a second term as Chancellor
of the Exchequer, choosing to become Secretary of
State for Health|Minister of Health again. 

Over the next four and a half years, he
successfully introduced 21 pieces of legislation,
the boldest of which was perhaps the Rating and
Valuation Act 1925, which radically altered local
government finance. The act transferred the power
to raise rates from the Poor law|Poor Law boards
of guardians to local councils, introduced a
single basis and method of assessment for
evaluating rates, and enacted a process of
quinquennial valuations. The measure established
Chamberlain as a strong social reformer, but it
angered some in his own party. He followed it with
the Local Government Act 1929, which abolished the
boards of guardians altogether, transferring their
powers to local governments and eliminating
workhouses. The Act also eliminated rates paid by
agriculture and reduced those paid by businesses,
a measure forced by Winston Churchill and the
Exchequer; the result was a strong piece of
legislation that won Chamberlain many acclaims.
Another prominent piece of legislation was the
Widows, Orphans, and Old Age Pensions Act 1925,
which did much to foster the development of the
embryonic Welfare State in Britain.

==Becoming the heir apparent==
In the United Kingdom general election, 1929|1929
general election, Chamberlain changed his
constituency from Ladywood to Edgbaston and held
it easily, but the Conservative Party lost the
election and entered a period of internal
conflict. In 1930, Chamberlain became Chairman of
the Conservative Party for a year and was widely
seen as the next leader. However, Stanley Baldwin
survived the conflict over his leadership and
retained it for another seven years. During this
period, Chamberlain became the founder and first
head of the Conservative Research Department.



During these two years out of power, Baldwin's
leadership came in for much criticism. Many in
politics, Conservative or otherwise, urged the
introduction of protective tariffs, an issue which
had caused conflict on and off for the last thirty
years. Chamberlain was inclined towards tariffs,
having a personal desire to see his father's last
campaign vindicated. The press baron Max Aitken,
1st Baron Beaverbrook|Lord Beaverbrook launched a
campaign for "Empire Free Trade," meaning the
removal of tariffs within the British Empire and
the erection of external tariffs; he was supported
in his opposition to Baldwin by Harold Sidney
Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere|Lord
Rothermere, who also opposed Baldwin's support for
India|Indian independence. Their main newspapers,
the Daily Express and Daily Mail respectively,
criticised Baldwin and stirred up discontent
within the party. At one point, Beaverbrook and
Rothermere created the United Empire Party, which
stood in by-elections and tried to get
Conservatives to adopt its platform. Chamberlain
found himself in the difficult position of
supporting his leader, even though he disagreed
with Baldwin's handling of the issue and was best
placed to succeed if he did resign. Baldwin stood
his ground, first winning a massive vote of
confidence within his party and then taking on the
challenge of the United Empire Party at the
Westminster St. George's by-election,
1931|Westminster St. George's by-election in 1931.
The official Conservative candidate was
victorious, and Chamberlain found his position as
the clear heir to Baldwin established, especially
after Churchill's resignation from the
Conservative Shadow Cabinet|Business Committee
over Indian Home Rule.

Chamberlain and Baldwin had a strong political
partnership throughout their fourteen years at the
height of politics together, but Chamberlain was
frustrated by Baldwin's sense of detachment and
disinterest in the detail of policy, while Baldwin
found Chamberlain's low opinion of the Labour
Party (UK)|Labour Party disappointing. Despite
their disagreements, their partnership proved to
be effective.

==Formation of the National Government==


While the Conservative Party settled internal
matters, the Labour Government faced a massive
economic crisis as currencies collapsed and
speculators turned towards the United Kingdom.
Matters were not helped by the publication of the
May Report, which revealed that the budget was
unbalanced. The revelation triggered a crisis of
confidence in the pound sterling|pound, and Labour
ministers grappled with the proposed budget cuts.
Given the possibility that the Government could
fall, Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald met
regularly with delegations from both the
Conservatives and Liberal Party (UK)|Liberals.
Baldwin spent much of the summer in France, so
Chamberlain was the primary leader of the
Conservative delegation; he soon came to the
conclusion that the best solution was a UK
National Government|National Government comprised
of politicians drawn from all parties, which would
be able to push through budget cuts without
inflicting blame on any individual party,
splitting the Labour Party as a convenient
side-effect. He also believed that a National
Government would have the greatest chance of
introducing tariffs. As the political situation
deteriorated, Chamberlain argued strongly for
coalition, eventually convincing both Baldwin and
MacDonald that this was the best outcome. George V
of the United Kingdom|King George V and the acting
Liberal leader Herbert Samuel, 1st Viscount
Samuel|Sir Herbert Samuel, among others, were also
convinced. Finally, on August 24 1931, the Labour
government resigned and MacDonald formed a
National Government. Chamberlain once more
returned to the Ministry of Health with the
specific task of encouraging local authorities to
make cuts to their expenditure.

==Return to the Exchequer==
After the United Kingdom general election,
1931|1931 general election, Chamberlain became
Chancellor of the Exchequer a second time. As
Chancellor, Chamberlain hoped to introduce
protective tariffs, but the economic situation
threatened government unity; at the general
election, the parties supporting the government
had agreed to ask for a "Doctor's mandate" to
enact any legislation necessary to resolve the
economic situation. Now the government, made up of
Conservatives, Liberals, National Labour Party (UK
1930s)|National Labour, and National Liberal Party
(UK)|Liberal Nationals, faced a major crisis. The
government agreed that no immediate steps would be
taken; instead, the issue was referred to a
sub-committee of the Cabinet–whose members
were largely in favour of tariffs. In the
meantime, Chamberlain introduced the Abnormal
Importations Act, 1931|Abnormal Importations Bill,
which allowed temporary duties to be imposed if
importers seemed to be taking advantage of
government delays. 

The Cabinet committee reported in favour, albeit
not unanimously, of introducing a general tariff
of 10% with exceptions for certain goods such as
produce from the Dominion|Dominions and colonies,
as well as higher tariffs for excessively high
imports or for particular industries which needed
safeguarding. In addition, the government would
negotiate with Dominion governments to secure
trading agreements within the British Empire,
promoting Chamberlain's father's vision of the
Empire as an economically self-sufficient unit.
The Liberals in the Cabinet, together with Philip
Snowden, 1st Viscount Snowden|Lord Snowden refused
to accept this and threatened resignation.
However, on the suggestion of Douglas Hogg, 1st
Viscount Hailsham|Lord Hailsham, the government
agreed to suspend the principle of collective
responsibility and allow the free traders to
publicly oppose the introduction of tariffs
without giving up membership in the government.
This unprecedented move had the effect of keeping
the National Government together at this stage,
but Chamberlain would have preferred to force the
Liberals' resignations from the government,
despite his reluctance to lose Snowden.
Nevertheless, when he announced the policy in the
House of Commons on February 4 1932, he considered
it "the greatest day of (his) life." For effect,
he used his father's former Dispatch Box|dispatch
box from his time at the Colonial Office and made
great play in his speech of the rare moment when a
son was able to complete his father's work. At the
end of his speech, Austen walked down from the
backbenches and shook Neville's hand amidst great
applause.

Later that year, Chamberlain travelled to Ottawa,
Canada, with a delegation of Cabinet ministers who
intended to negotiate free trade within the
Empire. The resulting Ottawa Agreement did not
live up to expectations, as most Dominion
governments were reluctant to allow British goods
in their markets. A series of bilateral agreements
increased the tariffs on goods from outside the
Empire even further, but there was still little
direct increase in internal trade. The agreement
was sufficient, however, to drive Snowden and the
Liberals out of the National Government;
Chamberlain welcomed this, believing that all the
forces supporting the government would eventually
combine into a single "National Party".



Chamberlain served as Chancellor until 1937,
during which time he emerged as the most active
Minister of the government. In successive budgets
he sought to undo the harsh budget cuts of 1931;
he also took a lead in ending war debts, which
were finally cancelled at a conference at Lausanne
in 1932. In 1934, he declared that economic
recovery was under way, stating that the nation
had "finished Hard Times and could now start
reading Great Expectations." However, from 1935
on, financial strains grew as the government
proceeded on a programme of rearmament.
Chamberlain, aware of the strain this was placing
on the Exchequer, found himself being attacked on
two fronts: Winston Churchill accused him of being
excessively frugal with defence expenditure, but
the Labour Party attacked him as a warmonger in
the United Kingdom general election, 1935|1935
general election. In the 1937 budget, Chamberlain
proposed one of his most controversial taxes, the
National Defence Contribution, which would raise
revenue from excessive profits in industry. The
proposal produced a massive storm of disapproval,
and some political commentators speculated that
Chamberlain might leave the Exchequer not for 10
Downing Street but for the backbenches.

==Appointment as Prime Minister==
Despite financial controversies, when Baldwin
retired after the Abdication Crisis of
1936|abdication of Edward VIII of the United
Kingdom|Edward VIII and the Coronation of George
VI of the United Kingdom|George VI, it was
Chamberlain who was invited to "Kiss Hands|kiss
hands"#Notes|1 and succeed him. He
became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on May
28, 1937, and leader of the Conservative Party
(UK)|Conservative Party a few days later.

Some historians have claimed that Chamberlain was
not even a Conservative at all, arguing that his
technocratic approach to government, commitment to
social reform through state interventionism, and
disdain for benign paternalism place him beyond
even that strand of radical Conservatism
associated with Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of
Beaconsfield|Disraeli. In many areas, his outlook
was similar to that of the Fabian Society|Fabians.
Chamberlain himself never liked to use the term
"Conservative", preferring the term "Unionist,"
which had been more commonplace when he first
entered politics and which recalled the Liberal
Unionist Party of his father.

Chamberlain was a Unitarian and as such did not
accept even nominally the basic trinitarian belief
of the Church of England, the first Prime Minister
to officially reject this doctrine since the
Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton|Duke of
Grafton. This did not bar him from advising the
King on appointments in the established church.

Chamberlain's ministerial selections were notable
for his willingness to appoint without regard for
balancing the parties supporting the UK National
Government|National Government. He was also
notable for maintaining a core of ministers close
to him who were in strong agreement with his goals
and methods, and for appointing a significant
number of ministers with no party political
experience, choosing those with experience from
the outside world. Such appointments included the
Law Lord Frederick Maugham, 1st Viscount
Maugham|Lord Maugham as Lord Chancellor, the
former First Sea Lord Ernle Chatfield, 1st Baron
Chatfield|Lord Chatfield as Minister for
Coordination of Defence, the businessman Andrew
Duncan as President of the Board of Trade, the
former Director-General of the BBC John Reith, 1st
Baron Reith|Sir John Reith as Minister of
Information and the department store owner
Frederick Marquis, 1st Earl of Woolton|Lord
Woolton as Minister of Food. Even when appointing
existing Member of Parliament|MPs, Chamberlain
often ignored conventional choices based on
service and appointed MPs who had not been in the
House of Commons very long, such as the former
civil servant and Governor of Bengal Sir John
Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley|John Anderson, who
became the Minister in charge of Air Raid
Precautions, or the former President of the
National Farmers Union (UK)|National Farmers Union
Sir Reginald Dorman-Smith, who was made Minister
of Agriculture.

For members of the government from May 1937 until
September 1939, see the Fourth National Ministry.

For members of the government from September 1939
until May 1940, see the Chamberlain War Ministry.

==Domestic policy==
Chamberlain's domestic policy, which receives
little attention from historians today, was
considered highly significant and radical at the
time. Achievements included the Factory Act 1937,
which consolidated and tightened many existing
measures and sought to improve working conditions
by limiting the number of hours that minors and
women could work and setting workplace regulation
standards. The Housing Act 1938 provided subsidies
that encouraged slum clearance and the relief of
overcrowding, as well as maintaining rent controls
for cheap housing. The Physical Training Act 1937
promoted exercise and good dieting and aimed for a
compulsory medical inspection of the population.
The Coal Act 1938 nationalised mining royalties
and allowed for the voluntary amalgamation of
industries. Passenger air services were made into
a public corporation in 1939. The Holidays with
Pay Act 1938 gave paid holidays to over eleven
million workers and empowered the Agricultural
Wages Boards and Trade Boards to ensure that
holidays were fixed with pay. In many of these
measures Chamberlain took a strong personal
interest. One of his first actions as Prime
Minister was to request two year plans from every
single department, and during his premiership he
would make many contributions. 

Few aspects of domestic policy gave Chamberlain
more trouble than agriculture. For years, British
farming had been a depressed industry; vast
sections of land went uncultivated while the
country became increasingly dependent upon cheap
foreign imports. These concerns were brought to
the forefront by the National Farmers Union
(UK)|National Farmers Union, which had
considerable influence on MPs with rural
constituencies. The union called for better
protection of tariffs, for trade agreements to be
made with the consent of the industry, and for the
government to guarantee prices for producers. In
support, Lord Beaverbrook's Daily Express launched
a major campaign for the country to "Grow More
Food," highlighting the "idle acres" that could be
used. In 1938, Chamberlain gave a speech at
Kettering in which he dismissed the Beaverbrook
campaign, provoking an adverse reaction from
farmers and his parliamentary supporters.

In late 1938, Chamberlain and his Minister of
Agriculture, Fisheries and Food|Minister of
Agriculture William Morrison, 1st Viscount
Dunrossil|William Shepherd Morrison proposed a
Milk Industry Bill that would set up ten trial
areas with district monopolies of milk
distribution, create a Milk Commission, cut or
reduce subsidies for quality milk, butter, and
cheese, and grant local authorities the power to
enforce pasteurization|pasteurisation. Politicians
and the milk industry reacted unfavorably to the
bill, fearing the level of state control involved
and the possible impact on small dairies and
individual retailers. The Milk Marketing Board
declared in favour of amendments to the Bill, a
rare move; at the start of December, the
government agreed to so radically redraft the Bill
as to make it a different measure. Early in 1939,
Chamberlain moved Morrison away from the Ministry
of Agriculture and appointed as his successor Sir
Reginald Dorman-Smith, MP for Petersfield and a
former president of the National Farmers Union.
Dorman-Smith was hailed as bringing greater
expertise to the role, but developments were slow;
after war had broken out, there were many who
still felt the country was not producing
sufficient food to overcome the problems of
restricted supplies.

Other proposed domestic reforms were cancelled
outright when the war began, such as the raising
of the school leaving age to 15, which would have
otherwise commenced on September 1, 1939 were it
not for the outbreak of World War II. The
Secretary of State for the Home Department|Home
Secretary, Samuel Hoare, 1st Viscount
Templewood|Sir Samuel Hoare, proposed a radical
reform of the criminal justice system, including
the abolition of flogging, which was also put on
hold. Had peace continued and a general election
been fought in 1939 or 1940, it seems likely that
the government would have sought to radically
extend the provision of pensions and health
insurance while introducing family allowances.

==Relations with Ireland==
When Chamberlain became Prime Minister, relations
between the United Kingdom and the Irish Free
State had been heavily strained for some years.
The government of Eamon de Valera, seeking to
transform the country into an independent
republic, had proposed a new constitution,
Constitution of Ireland|Bunreacht na hÉireann.
The constitution was adopted at the end of 1937,
turning the Free State into Éire, an internally
republican state which only retained the monarchy
as an organ for external relations. The British
government accepted the changes, formally stating
that it did not regard them as fundamentally
altering the position of Ireland within the
Commonwealth of Nations|British Commonwealth.

De Valera also sought to overturn other aspects of
the Anglo-Irish Treaty, most notably the partition
that had created Northern Ireland, as well as
seeking to reclaim control of the three "Treaty
Ports" which had remained in British control.
Chamberlain, mindful of the deteriorating European
situation, the desirability of support from a
friendly neutral Ireland in time of war, and the
difficulty of using the ports for defence if
Ireland was opposed, wished to achieve peaceful
relations between the two countries. The United
Kingdom was also claiming compensation from
Ireland.



Chamberlain, Secretary of State for Dominion
Affairs Malcolm MacDonald, and de Valera held a
conference starting in January 1938 in an attempt
to resolve the other conflicts between their
countries. De Valera hoped to secure, at the very
least, the British government's neutrality on the
matter of ending partition, but the devolved
Parliament of Northern Ireland|government of
Northern Ireland was implacably opposed to any
attempt to create a United Ireland. In February
1938, a Northern Ireland general election,
1938|Northern Ireland general election gave James
Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon|Lord Craigavon's
government an increased majority, strengthening
the Unionists' hand and making it difficult for
the government to make any concessions. Despite
this, de Valera proved willing to discuss the
other points of contention.

The result of the conference was a strong and
binding trade agreement between the two countries.
Britain agreed to hand over the Treaty Ports to
Irish control, while Ireland agreed to pay Britain
£10 million with wider claims cancelled. No
settlement on partition was reached, and
Chamberlain's hopes of being able to establish
munitions factories in Ireland were not realised
during the World War II|Second World War, but the
two countries also issued a formal expression of
friendship. Chamberlain had forged a strong
relationship with de Valera, as evidenced by the
latter's letter upon Chamberlain's resignation:

I would like to testify that you did more than any
former British Statesman to make a true friendship
between the peoples of our two countries possible,
and, if the task has not been completed, that it
has not been for want of goodwill on your part.

The agreement was criticised at the time and
subsequently by Winston Churchill, but he was the
lone voice of dissent; the Diehard
Conservatism|Diehard wing of the Conservative
Party was no longer willing to fight over the
issue of Ireland. Others have pointed out that the
issue's resolution resulted in Ireland taking a
stance of benevolent neutrality during the Second
World War (known in Ireland as The Emergency) and
recent evidence has shown the extent to which the
state helped the United Kingdom.

==Palestine White Paper==
One of the greatest controversies of Chamberlain's
premiership concerned the government's policy on
the future of the British Mandate of Palestine.
After successive commissions and talks had failed
to achieve a consensus, the government argued that
the Balfour Declaration, 1917|Balfour
Declaration's aim of a homeland for Jews in
Palestine (region)|Palestine had been achieved now
that over 450,000 had settled there and proposed a
quota of 75,000 further immigrants, with
restrictions on the purchase of land. These
proposals were set out in the White Paper of
1939|MacDonald White Paper of 1939, so named after
the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Malcolm
MacDonald.

The introduction of the White Paper caused massive
outcry, both in the Jewish world and in British
politics. Many supporting the National Government
were opposed to the policy on the grounds that it
contradicted the Balfour Declaration. Many
government MPs either voted against the proposals
or abstained, including Cabinet Ministers such as
the Jewish Leslie Hore-Belisha, 1st Baron
Hore-Belisha|Leslie Hore-Belisha. Although
adopted, implementation was slow; when the
Government fell the following year, the plans were
dropped.

==European policy==
Neville Chamberlain, as with many in Europe who
had witnessed the horrors of the First World War
and its aftermath, was committed to peace at
almost any price. Across the political spectrum in
the major Western Democracies, there was a sense
that war could, and should, be avoided by
concession, negotiation and compromise. The theory
was that dictatorships arose where peoples had
grievances, and that by removing the source of
these grievances, the dictatorship would become
less aggressive. Chamberlain, as even his
political detractors admitted, was an honourable
man, raised in the old school of European
politics. It was his misfortune, and Britain's,
that the imperial rules and aristocratic norms in
which he believed were, indeed, anachronistic. His
attempts to deal with Nazi Germany through
diplomatic channels and to quell any sign of
dissent from within, particularly from Churchill,
were called by Chamberlain "The general policy of
appeasement". (June 7, 1934)



The first crisis of Chamberlain's tenure was over
the annexation of Austria. The Nazism|Nazi
Government of Adolf Hitler|Hitler had already been
behind the assassination of one Chancellor of
Austria, Engelbert Dollfuss, and was pressuring
another to surrender. Informed of Germany's
objectives, Chamberlain's government decided it
was unable to stop events, and acquiesced to what
later became known as the Anschluss.

The second crisis came over a section of
Czechoslovakia sometimes referred to as the
Sudetenland, which was home to a large German
minority. The Munich Agreement, engineered by the
French and British governments, effectively
allowed Adolf Hitler to annex the country's
defensive frontier, leaving its industrial and
economic core within a day's reach of the
Wehrmacht. When Hitler invaded and seized the rest
of Czechoslovakia in March 1939, Chamberlain felt
betrayed by the breaking of the Munich Agreement
and decided to take a much harder line against the
Nazis, declaring war against Germany upon their
invasion of Poland.

The repeated failures of the Baldwin government to
deal with rising Nazi power are often laid,
historically, on the doorstep of Chamberlain,
since he presided over the final collapse of
European affairs, resisted acting on military
information, lied to the House of Commons about
Nazi military strength, shunted out opposition
which, correctly, warned of the need to prepare -
and above all, failed to use the months profitably
to ready for the oncoming conflict. However, it is
also true that by the time of his Premiership,
dealing with the Nazi Party in Germany was an
order of magnitude more difficult. Germany had
begun general conscription previously, and had
already amassed a formidable U-Boat fleet and air
arm. Chamberlain, caught between the bleak
finances of the Depression era, and his own
abhorrence of war - and a Kriegsherr who would not
be denied a war, gave ground and entered history
as a political goat for what was a more general
failure of political will and vision which had
begun with the Versailles Treaty in 1919.



Appeasement is defended by few today, particularly
in light of its results and Chamberlain's own
willingness to deceive the British public and go
back on his word to Parliament. However, it should
be remembered that a policy of keeping the peace
had broad support; had the Commons wanted to
appoint a more aggressive Prime Minister, Winston
Churchill would have been the obvious choice. Even
after the outbreak of war, it was not clear that
the invasion of Poland need lead to a general
conflict. What convicted Chamberlain in the eyes
of many commentators and historians was not the
policy itself, but his manner of carrying it out,
and the failure to hedge his bets. Many of his
contemporaries viewed him as stubborn and
unwilling to accept criticism, an opinion backed
up by his dismissal of cabinet ministers who
disagreed with him on foreign policy. If accurate,
this assessment of his personality would explain
why Chamberlain strove to remain on friendly terms
with the Nazi Germany|Third Reich long after many
of his colleagues became convinced that Hitler
could not be restrained. 

Chamberlain believed passionately in peace for
many reasons (most of which are discussed
appeasement|here), thinking it his job as
Britain's leader to maintain stability in Europe;
like many people in Britain and elsewhere, he
thought that the best way to deal with Germany's
belligerence was to treat it with kindness and
meet its demands. He also believed that the
leaders of men are essentially rational beings,
and that Hitler must necessarily be rational as
well. Most historians believe that Chamberlain, in
holding to these views, pursued the policy of
appeasement far longer than was justifiable, but
it is not exactly clear whether any course could
have averted war, and how much better the outcome
would have been had armed hostilities begun
earlier, given that France, as well, was unwilling
to commit its forces, and there were no other
effective allies: Italy had joined the Pact of
Steel, the USSR had signed a non-aggression pact,
and the United States was still officially
isolationist.

Chamberlain was nicknamed "Monsieur J'aime Berlin"
just before the outbreak of hostilities, and
remained hopeful up until the invasion of the Low
Countries by Germany that a peace treaty to avert
a general war could be obtained in return for
concessions "that we don't really care about".
Again this policy was widely criticised both at
the time and since; however, given that the French
General Staff was determined not to attack
Germany, but instead remain on the strategic
defensive, what alternatives Chamberlain could
have pursued were not clear. Instead, he took the
months of the phony war to complete development of
the Supermarine Spitfire|Spitfire and Hawker
Hurricane|Hurricane, and to strengthen the RDF or
Radar defence grid in England. Both of these
priorities would pay crucial dividends in the
Battle of Britain.

==Outbreak of war==
On September 1, 1939, the armies of Germany
invaded Poland. Many in the United Kingdom
expected war, but the government did not wish to
make a formal declaration unless it had the
support of France. France's intentions were
unclear at that point, and the government could
only give Germany an ultimatum: if Hitler withdrew
his troops within two days, Britain would help to
open talks between Germany and Poland. When
Chamberlain announced this in the House on
September 2, there was a massive outcry. The
prominent Conservative former minister Leo Amery,
believing that Chamberlain had failed in his
responsibilities, famously called on the acting
Leader of the Opposition Arthur Greenwood to
"Speak for England, Arthur!" Chief Whip David
Margesson, 1st Viscount Margesson|David Margesson
told Chamberlain that he believed the government
would fall if war was not declared. After bringing
further pressure on the French, who agreed to
parallel the British action, Britain declared war
on September 3, 1939.

In Chamberlain's radio broadcast to the nation, he
noted:

This morning the British Ambassador in Berlin
handed the German Government a final note stating
that, unless we hear from them by 11 o'clock that
they were prepared at once to withdraw their
troops from Poland, a state of war would exist
between us. I have to tell you now that no such
undertaking has been received, and that
consequently this country is at war with Germany.

You can imagine what a bitter blow it is to me
that all my long struggle to win peace has failed.
Yet I cannot believe that there is anything more,
or anything different, that I could have done, and
that would have been more successful... We have a
clear conscience, we have done all that any
country could do to establish peace, but a
situation in which no word given by Germany's
ruler could be trusted, and no people or country
could feel themselves safe, had become
intolerable... Now may God bless you all and may
he defend the right. For it is evil things that we
shall be fighting against, brute force, bad faith,
injustice, oppression, and persecution. And
against them I am certain that the right will
prevail.

As part of the preparations for conflict,
Chamberlain asked all his ministers to "place
their offices in his hands" so that he could carry
out a full scale reconstruction of the government.
The most notable new recruits were Winston
Churchill and the former Cabinet Secretary Maurice
Hankey, 1st Baron Hankey|Maurice Hankey, now Baron
Hankey. Much of the press had campaigned for
Churchill's return to government for several
months, and taking him aboard looked like a good
way to strengthen the government, especially as
both the Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party and
Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party declined to join.

Initially, Chamberlain intended to make Churchill
a minister without portfolio (possibly with the
sinecure office of Lord Privy Seal) and include
him in a War Cabinet of just six members, with the
service ministers outside it. However, he was
advised that it would be unwise not to give
Churchill a department, so Churchill instead
became First Lord of the Admiralty. Chamberlain's
inclusion of all three service ministers in the
War Cabinet drew criticism from those who argued
that a smaller cabinet of non-departmental
ministers could take decisions more efficiently.

==War premiership==
The first eight months of the war are often
described as the "Phony War," for the relative
lack of action. Throughout this period, the main
conflict took place at sea, raising Churchill's
stature; however, many conflicts arose behind the
scenes.

The Soviet invasion of Poland and the subsequent
Winter War|Russo-Finnish War led a call for
military action against the Soviets, but
Chamberlain believed that such action would only
be possible if the war with Germany were concluded
peacefully, a course of action he refused to
countenance. Finland's defeat in March of 1940
brought no consequences in Britain, though the
French government led by Édouard Daladier fell
after a rebellion in the Chamber of Deputies. It
was a worrying precedent for an allied Prime
Minister.

Problems grew at the War Office as the Secretary
of State for War, Leslie Hore-Belisha, 1st Baron
Hore-Belisha|Leslie Hore-Belisha, became an ever
more controversial figure. Hore-Belisha's high
public profile and reputation as a radical
reformer who was turning the army into a modern
fighting force made him attractive to many, but he
and the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, John
Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort|Lord Gort, soon lost
confidence in each other in strategic matters.
Hore-Belisha had also proved a difficult member of
the War Cabinet, and Chamberlain realised that a
change was needed; the Minister of Information,
Hugh Pattison Macmillan, Baron Macmillan|Lord
Macmillan, had also proved ineffective, and
Chamberlain considered moving Hore-Belisha to that
post. Senior colleagues raised the objection that
a Jewish Minister of Information would not benefit
relations with neutral countries, and Chamberlain
offered Hore-Belisha the post of President of the
Board of Trade instead. The latter refused and
resigned from the government altogether; since the
true nature of the disagreement could not be
revealed to the public, it seemed that Chamberlain
had folded under pressure from traditionalist,
inefficient generals who disapproved of
Hore-Belisha's changes.

When Germany invaded Norway in April of 1940, an
Allied campaign in Norway|expeditionary force was
sent to counter them, but the campaign proved
difficult and the forces were forced to withdraw.
The naval aspect of the campaign in particular
proved controversial and was to have repercussions
in Westminster.

==Fall and resignation==
Following the debacle of the British expedition to
Norway, Chamberlain found himself under siege in
the House of Commons. During the Norway Debate of
May 7, Leopold Stennett Amery|Leo Amery–who
had been one of Chamberlain's personal
friends–delivered a devastating indictment
of Chamberlain's conduct of the war. In concluding
his speech, he quoted the words of Oliver Cromwell
to the Long Parliament:

"You have sat too long here for any good you have
been doing. Depart, I say, and let us have done
with you. In the name of God, go".

When the vote came the next day over forty
government supporters voted against the government
and many more abstained. Although the government
won the vote, it became clear that Chamberlain
would have to meet the charges brought against
him. He initially tried to bolster his government
by offering to appoint some prominent Conservative
rebels and sacrifice some unpopular ministers, but
demands for an all-party coalition government grew
louder. Chamberlain set about investigating
whether or not he could persuade the Labour Party
to serve under him and, if not, then who should
succeed him.

Two obvious successors soon emerged: Edward Wood,
1st Earl of Halifax|Lord Halifax, then Secretary
of State for Foreign Affairs|Foreign Minister, and
Winston Churchill. Halifax would have proved
acceptable to almost everyone, but he was deeply
reluctant to accept, arguing that it was
impossible for a member of the House of Lords to
lead an effective government. Over the next
twenty-four hours, Chamberlain explored the
situation further. That afternoon he met with
Halifax, Churchill and Margesson, who determined
that if Labour should decline to serve under
Chamberlain then Churchill would have to try to
form a government. Labour leaders Clement Attlee
and Arthur Greenwood were unable to commit their
party and agreed to put two questions to the next
day's meeting of the National Executive Committee:
Would they join an all-party government under
Chamberlain? If not, would they join an all-party
government under "someone else"?

The next day, Germany invaded the Netherlands,
Belgium and France. At first, Chamberlain believed
it was best for him to remain in office for the
duration of the crisis, but opposition to his
continued premiership was such that, at a meeting
of the War Cabinet, Lord Privy Seal Sir Kingsley
Wood told him clearly that it was time to form an
all-party government. Soon afterwards, a response
came from the Labour National Executive–they
would not serve with Chamberlain, but they would
with someone else. On the evening of May 10 1940,
Chamberlain tendered his resignation to the King
and formally recommended Churchill as his
successor.

==Lord President of the Council and death==


Despite his resignation as Prime Minister,
Chamberlain remained leader of the Conservative
Party and retained a great deal of support. Some,
such as Rab Butler, would at times toast him as
"Jacobitism#Jacobite community, ideology and
policy|the King over the water". Although
Churchill was pressured by some of his own
supporters and some Labour MPs to exclude
Chamberlain from the government, he remembered the
mistake that David Lloyd George|Lloyd George made
in marginalising Herbert Henry Asquith|Asquith
during the World War I|First World War and
realised the importance of retaining the support
of all parties in the Commons. Churchill had first
planned to make Chamberlain Chancellor of the
Exchequer and Leader of the House of Commons, but
so many Labour and Liberal leaders were reluctant
to serve in such a government that Churchill
instead appointed him as Lord President of the
Council.

Chamberlain still wielded power within government
as the head of the main home affairs committees,
most notably the Lord President's Committee. He
served loyally under Churchill, offering much
constructive advice. Despite preconceived notions,
many Labour ministers found him to be a helpful
source of information and support. In late May
1940, the War Cabinet had a rapid series of
meetings over proposals for peace from Germany
which threatened to split the government.
Churchill was against the proposals, supported by
the Labour members Clement Attlee and Arthur
Greenwood and opposed by Lord Halifax. Chamberlain
was initially inclined to accept the terms, but
this division threatened to bring down the
government. Over the course of three days
Churchill, aided by Greenwood and the Liberal
leader Archibald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso|Sir
Archibald Sinclair, gradually persuaded
Chamberlain to oppose the terms, and Britain
remained in the war.

At this stage, Chamberlain still retained the
support of most Conservative MPs. This was most
visible in the House of Commons, where
Conservatives would cheer Chamberlain while
Churchill only received the applause of Labour and
Liberal members. Realising that this created the
impression of a weak government, Chamberlain and
the Chief Whip, David Margesson, took steps to
encourage the formation of a Conservative power
base that would support Churchill.

Despite this, there were many outside Parliament
who wished to see Chamberlain removed from the
government. In the summer of 1940, a highly
damning polemic entitled Guilty Men was released
by "Cato"–a pseudonym for three journalists
from the Max Aitken, 1st Baron
Beaverbrook|Beaverbrook publishing stable. The
piece, which attacked the record of the National
Government and called for the removal of
Chamberlain and other ministers who had allegedly
contributed to the British disasters, sold
phenomenally well, going into twenty-one editions
in the first few months despite not being carried
by several major bookshops. Similar criticisms
appeared in the press, and at one point
Chamberlain felt compelled to ask Churchill to
bring pressure on the critics.

At first, Chamberlain and many others regarded
Churchill as a mere caretaker premier and looked
forward to a return to 10 Downing Street after the
war. By midsummer, however, Chamberlain's health
was deteriorating; in July he underwent an
operation for stomach cancer. He made several
efforts to recover, but by the end of September he
felt that it was impossible to continue in
government, and he formally resigned as both Lord
President and Leader of the Conservative Party. By
special consent of Churchill and the King,
Chamberlain continued to receive state papers for
his remaining months so that he could keep himself
informed of the situation. He retired to Highfield
Park, near the village of Heckfield, in Hampshire,
where he died of cancer on November 9 at the age
of 71.

==Legacy==

Neville Chamberlain remains one of the most
controversial politicians in the history of
Britain. His policy on Europe has dominated most
writings to such an extent that many histories and
biographies devote almost all coverage of his
premiership to this single area of policy.

Written criticism of Chamberlain was given its
first early boost in the 1940 instant polemic
Guilty Men, which offered a deeply critical view
of the politics of the 1930s, most notably the
Munich Agreement and steps taken towards
rearmament. Together with Churchill's post-war
memoirs The Second World War (Churchill
memoirs)|The Second World War, texts like Guilty
Men heavily condemned and vilified appeasement.
The post-war Conservative leadership was dominated
by individuals such as Churchill, Eden, and Harold
Macmillan, who had made their name opposing
Chamberlain. Some even argued that Chamberlain's
foreign policy was in stark contrast to the
traditional Conservative line of interventionism
and a willingness to take military action.

In recent years, a revisionist school of history
has emerged to challenge many assumptions about
appeasement, arguing that it was a reasonable
policy given the limitations of British arms
available, the scattering of British forces across
the world, and the reluctance of Dominion
governments to go to war. Some have also argued
that Chamberlain's policy was entirely in keeping
with the Conservative tradition started by Edward
Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby|Lord Derby
between 1846-1868 and followed in the Splendid
Isolation under Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd
Marquess of Salisbury|Lord Salisbury in the 1880s
and 1890s.

The emphasis on foreign policy has overshadowed
Chamberlain's achievements in other spheres. His
achievements as Secretary of State for
Health|Minister of Health have been much praised
by social historians who have argued that he did
much to improve conditions and brought the United
Kingdom closer to the Welfare State of the
post-war world.

Chamberlain was, to an extent, unfortunate in his
biography; when his widow commissioned Keith
Feiling to write an official life in the 1940s,
the government papers were not available for
consultation. As a result, Feiling was unable to
tackle criticisms by pointing to the government
records in a way that later biographers could.
Feiling filled the gap with extensive use of
Chamberlain's private papers and produced a book
that is considered by many to be the best account
of Chamberlain's life, but which was unable to
overcome the negative image of him at the time.
Later historians have done much more, both
emphasising Chamberlain's achievements in other
spheres and making strong arguments in support of
appeasement as the natural policy, but a new clear
consensus has yet to be reached.

==References==
*Feiling, Keith. The Life of Neville Chamberlain.
Macmillan & Co. Ltd, 1946.
*Gilbert, Martin. The Roots of Appeasement. New
American Library, 1966.
*James, Robert Rhodes. The British Revolution,
1880-1939. Knopf, 1977.
*The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

==Notes==
1 Chamberlain went to his formal
appointment at Buckingham Palace uncertain about
whether or not the term "kiss hands" was literal
or metaphorical. The staff at the Palace whom he
spoke to before meeting the King did not know
either. It was only when the King invited him to
sit down, without offering a hand, that
Chamberlain deduced the answer.

Chamberlain was a cousin of British-born actor
Alan Napier, famous for playing "Alfred" on the
campy 1960s series Batman.

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of National Service | years=1916–1917 |
after=Auckland Geddes|Sir Auckland Geddes
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Postmaster General|Postmaster General |
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Joynson-Hicks, Bt | before1=Frederick Kellaway |
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Arthur Griffith-Boscawen | title2=Secretary of
State for Health|Minister of Health
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title=Chancellor of the Exchequer |
years=1923–1924 | after=Philip Snowden, 1st
Viscount Snowden|Philip Snowden
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Health | years=1924–1929 | after=Arthur
Greenwood
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title=Secretary of State for Health|Minister of
Health | years=1931 | after=Edward Hilton Young,
1st Baron Kennet|Edward Hilton Young
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of the Exchequer | years=1931–1937 |
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Baldwin | title1=Conservative Party (UK)|Leader of
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after=Winston Churchill
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of the Council | years=1940 | after=John Anderson,
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	Web Quotableonline.com Frasescelebres.org Greatbookscollection.org

The Right Honourable Arthur Neville Chamberlain
(18 March 1869–9 November, 1940) was a
United Kingdom|British politician and Prime
Minister of the United Kingdom from
1937–1940.  Chamberlain is perhaps one of
the most controversial and ill-regarded British
Prime Ministers of the 20th century, largely due
to his policy of appeasement towards Nazi Germany
regarding the abandonment of  Czechoslovakia to
Hitler at Munich in 1938.

After working in business and local government,
and a short spell as Director of National Service
in 1916 and 1917, Chamberlain followed his father,
Joseph Chamberlain, and older half-brother, Austen
Chamberlain becoming a Member of Parliament in the
United Kingdom general election, 1918|1918 general
election aged 49.  He declined a junior
ministerial position, remaining a back-bencher
until he was appointed United Kingdom Postmaster
General|Postmaster General after the United
Kingdom general election, 1922|1922 general
election.  He was rapidly promoted in 1923 to
Secretary of State for Health|Minister of Health
and then Chancellor of the Exchequer, but
presented no Budget before the government fell in
1924.  He returned as Minister of Health,
introducing a range of reforming measures  from
1924 to 1929. He was appointed Chancellor of the
Exchequer in the coalition UK National
Government|National Government in 1931, and spent
six years reducing the war debt and the tax
burden.  Stanley Baldwin retired after the
Abdication Crisis of 1936|abdication of Edward
VIII of the United Kingdom|Edward VIII and the
Coronation of George VI of the United
Kingdom|George VI, and Chamberlain took his place
as Prime Minister in 1937.

Chamberlain's political legacy is overshadowed by
his dealings with Nazi Germany.  He signed the
Munich Agreement with Adolf Hitler in 1938 which
effectively allowed Germany to annex the
Sudentenland, leaving Czechoslovakia vulnerable,
one of the steps on the road to World War II. 
Chamberlain remained in office during the Phony
War, from September 1939 to May 1940, but resigned
the premiership immediately after Germany invaded
the Netherlands, Belgium and France, and died of
cancer within 6 months.

==Early life==


Chamberlain was the eldest son of the second
marriage of Joseph Chamberlain, Lord Mayor of
Birmingham, and a half-brother to Austen, later
Austen Chamberlain|Sir Austen Chamberlain.
Joseph's first wife had died shortly after giving
birth to Austen; Neville's mother also died in
childbirth in 1875 when Neville was six years old.
The Chamberlain children found their relations
with their father strained, and Neville grew up
developing strong bonds with those siblings who
were closest to him in age, most notably his
sisters Ida and Hilda, to whom he would write
every week he was away from them.

Chamberlain was educated at Rugby School, but the
experience unsettled him and he became rather shy
and withdrawn. At first he declined to join the
school debating society, changing his mind only in
1886 when he spoke in favour of his father's
position in the controversy over Irish Home Rule.
It was during this period that Chamberlain
developed a love of botany, and he was later to
become a fellow of the Royal Horticultural
Society. He was also fascinated by birds, becoming
a keen Ornithology|ornithologist; he would later
become interested in angling. Chamberlain had a
passion for music and literature, and in later
life would at crucial times quote William
Shakespeare.



After leaving school, Chamberlain became a day
attender at Mason Science College (later the
University of Birmingham), thus becoming one of
only two future Prime Ministers to attend a
university other than University of Oxford|Oxford
or University of Cambridge|Cambridge (the other
being John Russell, 1st Earl Russell|Lord John
Russell, who attended University of
Edinburgh|Edinburgh). He took a degree in science
and metallurgy, but shortly after graduation
became apprenticed to an accounting firm.

In 1890 Joseph Chamberlain's finances took a
downturn and he decided, against better advice
from his brothers, to try growing sisal in the
Bahamas. Neville and Austen were sent to the
Americas to investigate the island of Andros,
Bahamas|Andros which seemed a good prospect for a
plantation, but the crops failed in the unsuitable
environment and by 1896 the business was shut down
at a heavy loss.

Chamberlain's later ventures at home were more
successful. He served as chairman of several
manufacturing firms in Birmingham, including
'Elliots' a metal goods manufacturer, and
'Hoskins' a cabin berth manufacturer. He gained a
reputation for being a hands-on manager, taking a
strong interest in the day to day running of
affairs.

==Lord Mayor of Birmingham==
Although he would campaign for his father and
brother during elections, Chamberlain first
entered politics for himself in 1911 when he was
elected as a councillor to Birmingham City Council
and immediately became Chair of the Town Planning
Committee. The same year he married Anne Vere.
Under Chamberlain's direction, Birmingham soon
adopted and brought into law one of the first town
planning schemes in Britain. In 1913, Chamberlain
took charge of a committee looking at housing
conditions. The interim report of the committee
could not be implemented immediately because of
the war, but it did much to show Chamberlain's
vision of improvements to housing conditions.

In 1915, like his father before him, he became
Lord Mayor of Birmingham. Within the first two
months he had won government approval to increase
the electricity supply and organised the use of
coal as part of the war effort; he also prevented
a strike by the council workers. During this time,
he also assisted in the creation of the Birmingham
Symphony Orchestra and the establishment of the
Birmingham Municipal Bank, the only one of its
type in the country which aimed to encourage
savings so as to pay for the war loan. The Bank
proved highly successful and lasted until 1976.
Chamberlain was re-elected Lord Mayor in 1916, but
did not complete his term. Broader horizons
awaited.

==Early ministerial career==


In December 1916, Chamberlain was in London when
he received a message asking him to meet the new
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime
Minister, David Lloyd George. In a brief meeting,
Lloyd George offered Chamberlain the new position
of Director of National Service, with
responsibility for coordinating conscription and
ensuring that essential war industries were able
to function with sufficient workforces.
Chamberlain had been recommended for the position
by, among others, his brother Austen, and he
agreed to accept the post; despite several
interviews, however, he was left unclear about
many aspects of the job. Over the following eight
months only a few thousand volunteers were placed
in industry. Chamberlain clashed several times
with Lloyd George, who had taken a strong
disliking to him, thus making the position even
harder to operate. It had also been decided that
Chamberlain did not need a seat in Parliament to
undertake the job, which proved to be an error.
Chamberlain finally resigned in 1917. He and Lloyd
George retained a mutual contempt that would last
throughout their political careers.

Embittered by his failure, Chamberlain decided to
stand in the United Kingdom general election,
1918|next general election, when he was
successfully elected for the first time at the age
of 49–by far the oldest age for any future
Prime Minister entering Parliament to date. He was
offered a junior post at the Ministry of Health
but declined it, refusing to serve again in a
Lloyd George government. He also declined a
knighthood. Chamberlain spent the next four years
as a Conservative backbencher, despite his
half-brother Austen becoming leader of
Conservative MPs in 1921.

In October 1922, discontent amongst Conservatives
against the Lloyd George Coalition Government
erupted. At a meeting at the Carlton Club, the
majority of MPs voted to leave the coalition, even
though it meant abandoning their current
leadership, as Austen had pledged to support Lloyd
George. Fortuitously for Neville, he was abroad at
the time of the meeting and so not forced to
choose between supporting his brother's leadership
and bringing down a man he despised.

In 1922, the Conservatives won the United Kingdom
general election, 1922|general election.  The new
Conservative Prime Minister, Andrew Bonar Law,
offered Neville the position of United Kingdom
Postmaster General|Postmaster General outside the
Cabinet. There was much discussion amongst the
Chamberlain family as to whether or not he should
accept; in the end, Austen reluctantly agreed to
allow Neville to accept the post.

The Secretary of State for Health|Minister of
Health, Sir Arthur Griffith-Boscawen, lost his
seat and failed to win a by-election. To fill the
position, Law chose Chamberlain, who entered the
Cabinet for the first time as Minister of Health.
In this position, he introduced a Housing Act,
1923|Housing Act which provided subsidies for
private companies building affordable housing as a
first step towards a programme of slum clearances.
He also introduced the Rent Restriction Act, which
limited evictions and required rents to be linked
to the property's state of repair. When Stanley
Baldwin became Prime Minister four months later,
he promoted Chamberlain to Chancellor of the
Exchequer, a position which he held until the
government fell in January 1924. His first
Chancellorship was unusual in that he presented no
budget. 

Chamberlain remained one of the leading
Conservative figures, but he faced a significant
challenge in the United Kingdom general election,
1924|1924 general election from Oswald Mosley,
head of the Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party in
Birmingham. After a tense series of recounts,
Chamberlain was elected by a mere 77 votes; in
subsequent elections he stood in a safer seat. The
Conservatives formed a new government, but
Chamberlain declined a second term as Chancellor
of the Exchequer, choosing to become Secretary of
State for Health|Minister of Health again. 

Over the next four and a half years, he
successfully introduced 21 pieces of legislation,
the boldest of which was perhaps the Rating and
Valuation Act 1925, which radically altered local
government finance. The act transferred the power
to raise rates from the Poor law|Poor Law boards
of guardians to local councils, introduced a
single basis and method of assessment for
evaluating rates, and enacted a process of
quinquennial valuations. The measure established
Chamberlain as a strong social reformer, but it
angered some in his own party. He followed it with
the Local Government Act 1929, which abolished the
boards of guardians altogether, transferring their
powers to local governments and eliminating
workhouses. The Act also eliminated rates paid by
agriculture and reduced those paid by businesses,
a measure forced by Winston Churchill and the
Exchequer; the result was a strong piece of
legislation that won Chamberlain many acclaims.
Another prominent piece of legislation was the
Widows, Orphans, and Old Age Pensions Act 1925,
which did much to foster the development of the
embryonic Welfare State in Britain.

==Becoming the heir apparent==
In the United Kingdom general election, 1929|1929
general election, Chamberlain changed his
constituency from Ladywood to Edgbaston and held
it easily, but the Conservative Party lost the
election and entered a period of internal
conflict. In 1930, Chamberlain became Chairman of
the Conservative Party for a year and was widely
seen as the next leader. However, Stanley Baldwin
survived the conflict over his leadership and
retained it for another seven years. During this
period, Chamberlain became the founder and first
head of the Conservative Research Department.



During these two years out of power, Baldwin's
leadership came in for much criticism. Many in
politics, Conservative or otherwise, urged the
introduction of protective tariffs, an issue which
had caused conflict on and off for the last thirty
years. Chamberlain was inclined towards tariffs,
having a personal desire to see his father's last
campaign vindicated. The press baron Max Aitken,
1st Baron Beaverbrook|Lord Beaverbrook launched a
campaign for "Empire Free Trade," meaning the
removal of tariffs within the British Empire and
the erection of external tariffs; he was supported
in his opposition to Baldwin by Harold Sidney
Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere|Lord
Rothermere, who also opposed Baldwin's support for
India|Indian independence. Their main newspapers,
the Daily Express and Daily Mail respectively,
criticised Baldwin and stirred up discontent
within the party. At one point, Beaverbrook and
Rothermere created the United Empire Party, which
stood in by-elections and tried to get
Conservatives to adopt its platform. Chamberlain
found himself in the difficult position of
supporting his leader, even though he disagreed
with Baldwin's handling of the issue and was best
placed to succeed if he did resign. Baldwin stood
his ground, first winning a massive vote of
confidence within his party and then taking on the
challenge of the United Empire Party at the
Westminster St. George's by-election,
1931|Westminster St. George's by-election in 1931.
The official Conservative candidate was
victorious, and Chamberlain found his position as
the clear heir to Baldwin established, especially
after Churchill's resignation from the
Conservative Shadow Cabinet|Business Committee
over Indian Home Rule.

Chamberlain and Baldwin had a strong political
partnership throughout their fourteen years at the
height of politics together, but Chamberlain was
frustrated by Baldwin's sense of detachment and
disinterest in the detail of policy, while Baldwin
found Chamberlain's low opinion of the Labour
Party (UK)|Labour Party disappointing. Despite
their disagreements, their partnership proved to
be effective.

==Formation of the National Government==


While the Conservative Party settled internal
matters, the Labour Government faced a massive
economic crisis as currencies collapsed and
speculators turned towards the United Kingdom.
Matters were not helped by the publication of the
May Report, which revealed that the budget was
unbalanced. The revelation triggered a crisis of
confidence in the pound sterling|pound, and Labour
ministers grappled with the proposed budget cuts.
Given the possibility that the Government could
fall, Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald met
regularly with delegations from both the
Conservatives and Liberal Party (UK)|Liberals.
Baldwin spent much of the summer in France, so
Chamberlain was the primary leader of the
Conservative delegation; he soon came to the
conclusion that the best solution was a UK
National Government|National Government comprised
of politicians drawn from all parties, which would
be able to push through budget cuts without
inflicting blame on any individual party,
splitting the Labour Party as a convenient
side-effect. He also believed that a National
Government would have the greatest chance of
introducing tariffs. As the political situation
deteriorated, Chamberlain argued strongly for
coalition, eventually convincing both Baldwin and
MacDonald that this was the best outcome. George V
of the United Kingdom|King George V and the acting
Liberal leader Herbert Samuel, 1st Viscount
Samuel|Sir Herbert Samuel, among others, were also
convinced. Finally, on August 24 1931, the Labour
government resigned and MacDonald formed a
National Government. Chamberlain once more
returned to the Ministry of Health with the
specific task of encouraging local authorities to
make cuts to their expenditure.

==Return to the Exchequer==
After the United Kingdom general election,
1931|1931 general election, Chamberlain became
Chancellor of the Exchequer a second time. As
Chancellor, Chamberlain hoped to introduce
protective tariffs, but the economic situation
threatened government unity; at the general
election, the parties supporting the government
had agreed to ask for a "Doctor's mandate" to
enact any legislation necessary to resolve the
economic situation. Now the government, made up of
Conservatives, Liberals, National Labour Party (UK
1930s)|National Labour, and National Liberal Party
(UK)|Liberal Nationals, faced a major crisis. The
government agreed that no immediate steps would be
taken; instead, the issue was referred to a
sub-committee of the Cabinet–whose members
were largely in favour of tariffs. In the
meantime, Chamberlain introduced the Abnormal
Importations Act, 1931|Abnormal Importations Bill,
which allowed temporary duties to be imposed if
importers seemed to be taking advantage of
government delays. 

The Cabinet committee reported in favour, albeit
not unanimously, of introducing a general tariff
of 10% with exceptions for certain goods such as
produce from the Dominion|Dominions and colonies,
as well as higher tariffs for excessively high
imports or for particular industries which needed
safeguarding. In addition, the government would
negotiate with Dominion governments to secure
trading agreements within the British Empire,
promoting Chamberlain's father's vision of the
Empire as an economically self-sufficient unit.
The Liberals in the Cabinet, together with Philip
Snowden, 1st Viscount Snowden|Lord Snowden refused
to accept this and threatened resignation.
However, on the suggestion of Douglas Hogg, 1st
Viscount Hailsham|Lord Hailsham, the government
agreed to suspend the principle of collective
responsibility and allow the free traders to
publicly oppose the introduction of tariffs
without giving up membership in the government.
This unprecedented move had the effect of keeping
the National Government together at this stage,
but Chamberlain would have preferred to force the
Liberals' resignations from the government,
despite his reluctance to lose Snowden.
Nevertheless, when he announced the policy in the
House of Commons on February 4 1932, he considered
it "the greatest day of (his) life." For effect,
he used his father's former Dispatch Box|dispatch
box from his time at the Colonial Office and made
great play in his speech of the rare moment when a
son was able to complete his father's work. At the
end of his speech, Austen walked down from the
backbenches and shook Neville's hand amidst great
applause.

Later that year, Chamberlain travelled to Ottawa,
Canada, with a delegation of Cabinet ministers who
intended to negotiate free trade within the
Empire. The resulting Ottawa Agreement did not
live up to expectations, as most Dominion
governments were reluctant to allow British goods
in their markets. A series of bilateral agreements
increased the tariffs on goods from outside the
Empire even further, but there was still little
direct increase in internal trade. The agreement
was sufficient, however, to drive Snowden and the
Liberals out of the National Government;
Chamberlain welcomed this, believing that all the
forces supporting the government would eventually
combine into a single "National Party".



Chamberlain served as Chancellor until 1937,
during which time he emerged as the most active
Minister of the government. In successive budgets
he sought to undo the harsh budget cuts of 1931;
he also took a lead in ending war debts, which
were finally cancelled at a conference at Lausanne
in 1932. In 1934, he declared that economic
recovery was under way, stating that the nation
had "finished Hard Times and could now start
reading Great Expectations." However, from 1935
on, financial strains grew as the government
proceeded on a programme of rearmament.
Chamberlain, aware of the strain this was placing
on the Exchequer, found himself being attacked on
two fronts: Winston Churchill accused him of being
excessively frugal with defence expenditure, but
the Labour Party attacked him as a warmonger in
the United Kingdom general election, 1935|1935
general election. In the 1937 budget, Chamberlain
proposed one of his most controversial taxes, the
National Defence Contribution, which would raise
revenue from excessive profits in industry. The
proposal produced a massive storm of disapproval,
and some political commentators speculated that
Chamberlain might leave the Exchequer not for 10
Downing Street but for the backbenches.

==Appointment as Prime Minister==
Despite financial controversies, when Baldwin
retired after the Abdication Crisis of
1936|abdication of Edward VIII of the United
Kingdom|Edward VIII and the Coronation of George
VI of the United Kingdom|George VI, it was
Chamberlain who was invited to "Kiss Hands|kiss
hands"#Notes|1 and succeed him. He
became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on May
28, 1937, and leader of the Conservative Party
(UK)|Conservative Party a few days later.

Some historians have claimed that Chamberlain was
not even a Conservative at all, arguing that his
technocratic approach to government, commitment to
social reform through state interventionism, and
disdain for benign paternalism place him beyond
even that strand of radical Conservatism
associated with Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of
Beaconsfield|Disraeli. In many areas, his outlook
was similar to that of the Fabian Society|Fabians.
Chamberlain himself never liked to use the term
"Conservative", preferring the term "Unionist,"
which had been more commonplace when he first
entered politics and which recalled the Liberal
Unionist Party of his father.

Chamberlain was a Unitarian and as such did not
accept even nominally the basic trinitarian belief
of the Church of England, the first Prime Minister
to officially reject this doctrine since the
Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton|Duke of
Grafton. This did not bar him from advising the
King on appointments in the established church.

Chamberlain's ministerial selections were notable
for his willingness to appoint without regard for
balancing the parties supporting the UK National
Government|National Government. He was also
notable for maintaining a core of ministers close
to him who were in strong agreement with his goals
and methods, and for appointing a significant
number of ministers with no party political
experience, choosing those with experience from
the outside world. Such appointments included the
Law Lord Frederick Maugham, 1st Viscount
Maugham|Lord Maugham as Lord Chancellor, the
former First Sea Lord Ernle Chatfield, 1st Baron
Chatfield|Lord Chatfield as Minister for
Coordination of Defence, the businessman Andrew
Duncan as President of the Board of Trade, the
former Director-General of the BBC John Reith, 1st
Baron Reith|Sir John Reith as Minister of
Information and the department store owner
Frederick Marquis, 1st Earl of Woolton|Lord
Woolton as Minister of Food. Even when appointing
existing Member of Parliament|MPs, Chamberlain
often ignored conventional choices based on
service and appointed MPs who had not been in the
House of Commons very long, such as the former
civil servant and Governor of Bengal Sir John
Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley|John Anderson, who
became the Minister in charge of Air Raid
Precautions, or the former President of the
National Farmers Union (UK)|National Farmers Union
Sir Reginald Dorman-Smith, who was made Minister
of Agriculture.

For members of the government from May 1937 until
September 1939, see the Fourth National Ministry.

For members of the government from September 1939
until May 1940, see the Chamberlain War Ministry.

==Domestic policy==
Chamberlain's domestic policy, which receives
little attention from historians today, was
considered highly significant and radical at the
time. Achievements included the Factory Act 1937,
which consolidated and tightened many existing
measures and sought to improve working conditions
by limiting the number of hours that minors and
women could work and setting workplace regulation
standards. The Housing Act 1938 provided subsidies
that encouraged slum clearance and the relief of
overcrowding, as well as maintaining rent controls
for cheap housing. The Physical Training Act 1937
promoted exercise and good dieting and aimed for a
compulsory medical inspection of the population.
The Coal Act 1938 nationalised mining royalties
and allowed for the voluntary amalgamation of
industries. Passenger air services were made into
a public corporation in 1939. The Holidays with
Pay Act 1938 gave paid holidays to over eleven
million workers and empowered the Agricultural
Wages Boards and Trade Boards to ensure that
holidays were fixed with pay. In many of these
measures Chamberlain took a strong personal
interest. One of his first actions as Prime
Minister was to request two year plans from every
single department, and during his premiership he
would make many contributions. 

Few aspects of domestic policy gave Chamberlain
more trouble than agriculture. For years, British
farming had been a depressed industry; vast
sections of land went uncultivated while the
country became increasingly dependent upon cheap
foreign imports. These concerns were brought to
the forefront by the National Farmers Union
(UK)|National Farmers Union, which had
considerable influence on MPs with rural
constituencies. The union called for better
protection of tariffs, for trade agreements to be
made with the consent of the industry, and for the
government to guarantee prices for producers. In
support, Lord Beaverbrook's Daily Express launched
a major campaign for the country to "Grow More
Food," highlighting the "idle acres" that could be
used. In 1938, Chamberlain gave a speech at
Kettering in which he dismissed the Beaverbrook
campaign, provoking an adverse reaction from
farmers and his parliamentary supporters.

In late 1938, Chamberlain and his Minister of
Agriculture, Fisheries and Food|Minister of
Agriculture William Morrison, 1st Viscount
Dunrossil|William Shepherd Morrison proposed a
Milk Industry Bill that would set up ten trial
areas with district monopolies of milk
distribution, create a Milk Commission, cut or
reduce subsidies for quality milk, butter, and
cheese, and grant local authorities the power to
enforce pasteurization|pasteurisation. Politicians
and the milk industry reacted unfavorably to the
bill, fearing the level of state control involved
and the possible impact on small dairies and
individual retailers. The Milk Marketing Board
declared in favour of amendments to the Bill, a
rare move; at the start of December, the
government agreed to so radically redraft the Bill
as to make it a different measure. Early in 1939,
Chamberlain moved Morrison away from the Ministry
of Agriculture and appointed as his successor Sir
Reginald Dorman-Smith, MP for Petersfield and a
former president of the National Farmers Union.
Dorman-Smith was hailed as bringing greater
expertise to the role, but developments were slow;
after war had broken out, there were many who
still felt the country was not producing
sufficient food to overcome the problems of
restricted supplies.

Other proposed domestic reforms were cancelled
outright when the war began, such as the raising
of the school leaving age to 15, which would have
otherwise commenced on September 1, 1939 were it
not for the outbreak of World War II. The
Secretary of State for the Home Department|Home
Secretary, Samuel Hoare, 1st Viscount
Templewood|Sir Samuel Hoare, proposed a radical
reform of the criminal justice system, including
the abolition of flogging, which was also put on
hold. Had peace continued and a general election
been fought in 1939 or 1940, it seems likely that
the government would have sought to radically
extend the provision of pensions and health
insurance while introducing family allowances.

==Relations with Ireland==
When Chamberlain became Prime Minister, relations
between the United Kingdom and the Irish Free
State had been heavily strained for some years.
The government of Eamon de Valera, seeking to
transform the country into an independent
republic, had proposed a new constitution,
Constitution of Ireland|Bunreacht na hÉireann.
The constitution was adopted at the end of 1937,
turning the Free State into Éire, an internally
republican state which only retained the monarchy
as an organ for external relations. The British
government accepted the changes, formally stating
that it did not regard them as fundamentally
altering the position of Ireland within the
Commonwealth of Nations|British Commonwealth.

De Valera also sought to overturn other aspects of
the Anglo-Irish Treaty, most notably the partition
that had created Northern Ireland, as well as
seeking to reclaim control of the three "Treaty
Ports" which had remained in British control.
Chamberlain, mindful of the deteriorating European
situation, the desirability of support from a
friendly neutral Ireland in time of war, and the
difficulty of using the ports for defence if
Ireland was opposed, wished to achieve peaceful
relations between the two countries. The United
Kingdom was also claiming compensation from
Ireland.



Chamberlain, Secretary of State for Dominion
Affairs Malcolm MacDonald, and de Valera held a
conference starting in January 1938 in an attempt
to resolve the other conflicts between their
countries. De Valera hoped to secure, at the very
least, the British government's neutrality on the
matter of ending partition, but the devolved
Parliament of Northern Ireland|government of
Northern Ireland was implacably opposed to any
attempt to create a United Ireland. In February
1938, a Northern Ireland general election,
1938|Northern Ireland general election gave James
Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon|Lord Craigavon's
government an increased majority, strengthening
the Unionists' hand and making it difficult for
the government to make any concessions. Despite
this, de Valera proved willing to discuss the
other points of contention.

The result of the conference was a strong and
binding trade agreement between the two countries.
Britain agreed to hand over the Treaty Ports to
Irish control, while Ireland agreed to pay Britain
£10 million with wider claims cancelled. No
settlement on partition was reached, and
Chamberlain's hopes of being able to establish
munitions factories in Ireland were not realised
during the World War II|Second World War, but the
two countries also issued a formal expression of
friendship. Chamberlain had forged a strong
relationship with de Valera, as evidenced by the
latter's letter upon Chamberlain's resignation:

I would like to testify that you did more than any
former British Statesman to make a true friendship
between the peoples of our two countries possible,
and, if the task has not been completed, that it
has not been for want of goodwill on your part.

The agreement was criticised at the time and
subsequently by Winston Churchill, but he was the
lone voice of dissent; the Diehard
Conservatism|Diehard wing of the Conservative
Party was no longer willing to fight over the
issue of Ireland. Others have pointed out that the
issue's resolution resulted in Ireland taking a
stance of benevolent neutrality during the Second
World War (known in Ireland as The Emergency) and
recent evidence has shown the extent to which the
state helped the United Kingdom.

==Palestine White Paper==
One of the greatest controversies of Chamberlain's
premiership concerned the government's policy on
the future of the British Mandate of Palestine.
After successive commissions and talks had failed
to achieve a consensus, the government argued that
the Balfour Declaration, 1917|Balfour
Declaration's aim of a homeland for Jews in
Palestine (region)|Palestine had been achieved now
that over 450,000 had settled there and proposed a
quota of 75,000 further immigrants, with
restrictions on the purchase of land. These
proposals were set out in the White Paper of
1939|MacDonald White Paper of 1939, so named after
the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Malcolm
MacDonald.

The introduction of the White Paper caused massive
outcry, both in the Jewish world and in British
politics. Many supporting the National Government
were opposed to the policy on the grounds that it
contradicted the Balfour Declaration. Many
government MPs either voted against the proposals
or abstained, including Cabinet Ministers such as
the Jewish Leslie Hore-Belisha, 1st Baron
Hore-Belisha|Leslie Hore-Belisha. Although
adopted, implementation was slow; when the
Government fell the following year, the plans were
dropped.

==European policy==
Neville Chamberlain, as with many in Europe who
had witnessed the horrors of the First World War
and its aftermath, was committed to peace at
almost any price. Across the political spectrum in
the major Western Democracies, there was a sense
that war could, and should, be avoided by
concession, negotiation and compromise. The theory
was that dictatorships arose where peoples had
grievances, and that by removing the source of
these grievances, the dictatorship would become
less aggressive. Chamberlain, as even his
political detractors admitted, was an honourable
man, raised in the old school of European
politics. It was his misfortune, and Britain's,
that the imperial rules and aristocratic norms in
which he believed were, indeed, anachronistic. His
attempts to deal with Nazi Germany through
diplomatic channels and to quell any sign of
dissent from within, particularly from Churchill,
were called by Chamberlain "The general policy of
appeasement". (June 7, 1934)



The first crisis of Chamberlain's tenure was over
the annexation of Austria. The Nazism|Nazi
Government of Adolf Hitler|Hitler had already been
behind the assassination of one Chancellor of
Austria, Engelbert Dollfuss, and was pressuring
another to surrender. Informed of Germany's
objectives, Chamberlain's government decided it
was unable to stop events, and acquiesced to what
later became known as the Anschluss.

The second crisis came over a section of
Czechoslovakia sometimes referred to as the
Sudetenland, which was home to a large German
minority. The Munich Agreement, engineered by the
French and British governments, effectively
allowed Adolf Hitler to annex the country's
defensive frontier, leaving its industrial and
economic core within a day's reach of the
Wehrmacht. When Hitler invaded and seized the rest
of Czechoslovakia in March 1939, Chamberlain felt
betrayed by the breaking of the Munich Agreement
and decided to take a much harder line against the
Nazis, declaring war against Germany upon their
invasion of Poland.

The repeated failures of the Baldwin government to
deal with rising Nazi power are often laid,
historically, on the doorstep of Chamberlain,
since he presided over the final collapse of
European affairs, resisted acting on military
information, lied to the House of Commons about
Nazi military strength, shunted out opposition
which, correctly, warned of the need to prepare -
and above all, failed to use the months profitably
to ready for the oncoming conflict. However, it is
also true that by the time of his Premiership,
dealing with the Nazi Party in Germany was an
order of magnitude more difficult. Germany had
begun general conscription previously, and had
already amassed a formidable U-Boat fleet and air
arm. Chamberlain, caught between the bleak
finances of the Depression era, and his own
abhorrence of war - and a Kriegsherr who would not
be denied a war, gave ground and entered history
as a political goat for what was a more general
failure of political will and vision which had
begun with the Versailles Treaty in 1919.



Appeasement is defended by few today, particularly
in light of its results and Chamberlain's own
willingness to deceive the British public and go
back on his word to Parliament. However, it should
be remembered that a policy of keeping the peace
had broad support; had the Commons wanted to
appoint a more aggressive Prime Minister, Winston
Churchill would have been the obvious choice. Even
after the outbreak of war, it was not clear that
the invasion of Poland need lead to a general
conflict. What convicted Chamberlain in the eyes
of many commentators and historians was not the
policy itself, but his manner of carrying it out,
and the failure to hedge his bets. Many of his
contemporaries viewed him as stubborn and
unwilling to accept criticism, an opinion backed
up by his dismissal of cabinet ministers who
disagreed with him on foreign policy. If accurate,
this assessment of his personality would explain
why Chamberlain strove to remain on friendly terms
with the Nazi Germany|Third Reich long after many
of his colleagues became convinced that Hitler
could not be restrained. 

Chamberlain believed passionately in peace for
many reasons (most of which are discussed
appeasement|here), thinking it his job as
Britain's leader to maintain stability in Europe;
like many people in Britain and elsewhere, he
thought that the best way to deal with Germany's
belligerence was to treat it with kindness and
meet its demands. He also believed that the
leaders of men are essentially rational beings,
and that Hitler must necessarily be rational as
well. Most historians believe that Chamberlain, in
holding to these views, pursued the policy of
appeasement far longer than was justifiable, but
it is not exactly clear whether any course could
have averted war, and how much better the outcome
would have been had armed hostilities begun
earlier, given that France, as well, was unwilling
to commit its forces, and there were no other
effective allies: Italy had joined the Pact of
Steel, the USSR had signed a non-aggression pact,
and the United States was still officially
isolationist.

Chamberlain was nicknamed "Monsieur J'aime Berlin"
just before the outbreak of hostilities, and
remained hopeful up until the invasion of the Low
Countries by Germany that a peace treaty to avert
a general war could be obtained in return for
concessions "that we don't really care about".
Again this policy was widely criticised both at
the time and since; however, given that the French
General Staff was determined not to attack
Germany, but instead remain on the strategic
defensive, what alternatives Chamberlain could
have pursued were not clear. Instead, he took the
months of the phony war to complete development of
the Supermarine Spitfire|Spitfire and Hawker
Hurricane|Hurricane, and to strengthen the RDF or
Radar defence grid in England. Both of these
priorities would pay crucial dividends in the
Battle of Britain.

==Outbreak of war==
On September 1, 1939, the armies of Germany
invaded Poland. Many in the United Kingdom
expected war, but the government did not wish to
make a formal declaration unless it had the
support of France. France's intentions were
unclear at that point, and the government could
only give Germany an ultimatum: if Hitler withdrew
his troops within two days, Britain would help to
open talks between Germany and Poland. When
Chamberlain announced this in the House on
September 2, there was a massive outcry. The
prominent Conservative former minister Leo Amery,
believing that Chamberlain had failed in his
responsibilities, famously called on the acting
Leader of the Opposition Arthur Greenwood to
"Speak for England, Arthur!" Chief Whip David
Margesson, 1st Viscount Margesson|David Margesson
told Chamberlain that he believed the government
would fall if war was not declared. After bringing
further pressure on the French, who agreed to
parallel the British action, Britain declared war
on September 3, 1939.

In Chamberlain's radio broadcast to the nation, he
noted:

This morning the British Ambassador in Berlin
handed the German Government a final note stating
that, unless we hear from them by 11 o'clock that
they were prepared at once to withdraw their
troops from Poland, a state of war would exist
between us. I have to tell you now that no such
undertaking has been received, and that
consequently this country is at war with Germany.

You can imagine what a bitter blow it is to me
that all my long struggle to win peace has failed.
Yet I cannot believe that there is anything more,
or anything different, that I could have done, and
that would have been more successful... We have a
clear conscience, we have done all that any
country could do to establish peace, but a
situation in which no word given by Germany's
ruler could be trusted, and no people or country
could feel themselves safe, had become
intolerable... Now may God bless you all and may
he defend the right. For it is evil things that we
shall be fighting against, brute force, bad faith,
injustice, oppression, and persecution. And
against them I am certain that the right will
prevail.

As part of the preparations for conflict,
Chamberlain asked all his ministers to "place
their offices in his hands" so that he could carry
out a full scale reconstruction of the government.
The most notable new recruits were Winston
Churchill and the former Cabinet Secretary Maurice
Hankey, 1st Baron Hankey|Maurice Hankey, now Baron
Hankey. Much of the press had campaigned for
Churchill's return to government for several
months, and taking him aboard looked like a good
way to strengthen the government, especially as
both the Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party and
Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party declined to join.

Initially, Chamberlain intended to make Churchill
a minister without portfolio (possibly with the
sinecure office of Lord Privy Seal) and include
him in a War Cabinet of just six members, with the
service ministers outside it. However, he was
advised that it would be unwise not to give
Churchill a department, so Churchill instead
became First Lord of the Admiralty. Chamberlain's
inclusion of all three service ministers in the
War Cabinet drew criticism from those who argued
that a smaller cabinet of non-departmental
ministers could take decisions more efficiently.

==War premiership==
The first eight months of the war are often
described as the "Phony War," for the relative
lack of action. Throughout this period, the main
conflict took place at sea, raising Churchill's
stature; however, many conflicts arose behind the
scenes.

The Soviet invasion of Poland and the subsequent
Winter War|Russo-Finnish War led a call for
military action against the Soviets, but
Chamberlain believed that such action would only
be possible if the war with Germany were concluded
peacefully, a course of action he refused to
countenance. Finland's defeat in March of 1940
brought no consequences in Britain, though the
French government led by Édouard Daladier fell
after a rebellion in the Chamber of Deputies. It
was a worrying precedent for an allied Prime
Minister.

Problems grew at the War Office as the Secretary
of State for War, Leslie Hore-Belisha, 1st Baron
Hore-Belisha|Leslie Hore-Belisha, became an ever
more controversial figure. Hore-Belisha's high
public profile and reputation as a radical
reformer who was turning the army into a modern
fighting force made him attractive to many, but he
and the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, John
Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort|Lord Gort, soon lost
confidence in each other in strategic matters.
Hore-Belisha had also proved a difficult member of
the War Cabinet, and Chamberlain realised that a
change was needed; the Minister of Information,
Hugh Pattison Macmillan, Baron Macmillan|Lord
Macmillan, had also proved ineffective, and
Chamberlain considered moving Hore-Belisha to that
post. Senior colleagues raised the objection that
a Jewish Minister of Information would not benefit
relations with neutral countries, and Chamberlain
offered Hore-Belisha the post of President of the
Board of Trade instead. The latter refused and
resigned from the government altogether; since the
true nature of the disagreement could not be
revealed to the public, it seemed that Chamberlain
had folded under pressure from traditionalist,
inefficient generals who disapproved of
Hore-Belisha's changes.

When Germany invaded Norway in April of 1940, an
Allied campaign in Norway|expeditionary force was
sent to counter them, but the campaign proved
difficult and the forces were forced to withdraw.
The naval aspect of the campaign in particular
proved controversial and was to have repercussions
in Westminster.

==Fall and resignation==
Following the debacle of the British expedition to
Norway, Chamberlain found himself under siege in
the House of Commons. During the Norway Debate of
May 7, Leopold Stennett Amery|Leo Amery–who
had been one of Chamberlain's personal
friends–delivered a devastating indictment
of Chamberlain's conduct of the war. In concluding
his speech, he quoted the words of Oliver Cromwell
to the Long Parliament:

"You have sat too long here for any good you have
been doing. Depart, I say, and let us have done
with you. In the name of God, go".

When the vote came the next day over forty
government supporters voted against the government
and many more abstained. Although the government
won the vote, it became clear that Chamberlain
would have to meet the charges brought against
him. He initially tried to bolster his government
by offering to appoint some prominent Conservative
rebels and sacrifice some unpopular ministers, but
demands for an all-party coalition government grew
louder. Chamberlain set about investigating
whether or not he could persuade the Labour Party
to serve under him and, if not, then who should
succeed him.

Two obvious successors soon emerged: Edward Wood,
1st Earl of Halifax|Lord Halifax, then Secretary
of State for Foreign Affairs|Foreign Minister, and
Winston Churchill. Halifax would have proved
acceptable to almost everyone, but he was deeply
reluctant to accept, arguing that it was
impossible for a member of the House of Lords to
lead an effective government. Over the next
twenty-four hours, Chamberlain explored the
situation further. That afternoon he met with
Halifax, Churchill and Margesson, who determined
that if Labour should decline to serve under
Chamberlain then Churchill would have to try to
form a government. Labour leaders Clement Attlee
and Arthur Greenwood were unable to commit their
party and agreed to put two questions to the next
day's meeting of the National Executive Committee:
Would they join an all-party government under
Chamberlain? If not, would they join an all-party
government under "someone else"?

The next day, Germany invaded the Netherlands,
Belgium and France. At first, Chamberlain believed
it was best for him to remain in office for the
duration of the crisis, but opposition to his
continued premiership was such that, at a meeting
of the War Cabinet, Lord Privy Seal Sir Kingsley
Wood told him clearly that it was time to form an
all-party government. Soon afterwards, a response
came from the Labour National Executive–they
would not serve with Chamberlain, but they would
with someone else. On the evening of May 10 1940,
Chamberlain tendered his resignation to the King
and formally recommended Churchill as his
successor.

==Lord President of the Council and death==


Despite his resignation as Prime Minister,
Chamberlain remained leader of the Conservative
Party and retained a great deal of support. Some,
such as Rab Butler, would at times toast him as
"Jacobitism#Jacobite community, ideology and
policy|the King over the water". Although
Churchill was pressured by some of his own
supporters and some Labour MPs to exclude
Chamberlain from the government, he remembered the
mistake that David Lloyd George|Lloyd George made
in marginalising Herbert Henry Asquith|Asquith
during the World War I|First World War and
realised the importance of retaining the support
of all parties in the Commons. Churchill had first
planned to make Chamberlain Chancellor of the
Exchequer and Leader of the House of Commons, but
so many Labour and Liberal leaders were reluctant
to serve in such a government that Churchill
instead appointed him as Lord President of the
Council.

Chamberlain still wielded power within government
as the head of the main home affairs committees,
most notably the Lord President's Committee. He
served loyally under Churchill, offering much
constructive advice. Despite preconceived notions,
many Labour ministers found him to be a helpful
source of information and support. In late May
1940, the War Cabinet had a rapid series of
meetings over proposals for peace from Germany
which threatened to split the government.
Churchill was against the proposals, supported by
the Labour members Clement Attlee and Arthur
Greenwood and opposed by Lord Halifax. Chamberlain
was initially inclined to accept the terms, but
this division threatened to bring down the
government. Over the course of three days
Churchill, aided by Greenwood and the Liberal
leader Archibald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso|Sir
Archibald Sinclair, gradually persuaded
Chamberlain to oppose the terms, and Britain
remained in the war.

At this stage, Chamberlain still retained the
support of most Conservative MPs. This was most
visible in the House of Commons, where
Conservatives would cheer Chamberlain while
Churchill only received the applause of Labour and
Liberal members. Realising that this created the
impression of a weak government, Chamberlain and
the Chief Whip, David Margesson, took steps to
encourage the formation of a Conservative power
base that would support Churchill.

Despite this, there were many outside Parliament
who wished to see Chamberlain removed from the
government. In the summer of 1940, a highly
damning polemic entitled Guilty Men was released
by "Cato"–a pseudonym for three journalists
from the Max Aitken, 1st Baron
Beaverbrook|Beaverbrook publishing stable. The
piece, which attacked the record of the National
Government and called for the removal of
Chamberlain and other ministers who had allegedly
contributed to the British disasters, sold
phenomenally well, going into twenty-one editions
in the first few months despite not being carried
by several major bookshops. Similar criticisms
appeared in the press, and at one point
Chamberlain felt compelled to ask Churchill to
bring pressure on the critics.

At first, Chamberlain and many others regarded
Churchill as a mere caretaker premier and looked
forward to a return to 10 Downing Street after the
war. By midsummer, however, Chamberlain's health
was deteriorating; in July he underwent an
operation for stomach cancer. He made several
efforts to recover, but by the end of September he
felt that it was impossible to continue in
government, and he formally resigned as both Lord
President and Leader of the Conservative Party. By
special consent of Churchill and the King,
Chamberlain continued to receive state papers for
his remaining months so that he could keep himself
informed of the situation. He retired to Highfield
Park, near the village of Heckfield, in Hampshire,
where he died of cancer on November 9 at the age
of 71.

==Legacy==

Neville Chamberlain remains one of the most
controversial politicians in the history of
Britain. His policy on Europe has dominated most
writings to such an extent that many histories and
biographies devote almost all coverage of his
premiership to this single area of policy.

Written criticism of Chamberlain was given its
first early boost in the 1940 instant polemic
Guilty Men, which offered a deeply critical view
of the politics of the 1930s, most notably the
Munich Agreement and steps taken towards
rearmament. Together with Churchill's post-war
memoirs The Second World War (Churchill
memoirs)|The Second World War, texts like Guilty
Men heavily condemned and vilified appeasement.
The post-war Conservative leadership was dominated
by individuals such as Churchill, Eden, and Harold
Macmillan, who had made their name opposing
Chamberlain. Some even argued that Chamberlain's
foreign policy was in stark contrast to the
traditional Conservative line of interventionism
and a willingness to take military action.

In recent years, a revisionist school of history
has emerged to challenge many assumptions about
appeasement, arguing that it was a reasonable
policy given the limitations of British arms
available, the scattering of British forces across
the world, and the reluctance of Dominion
governments to go to war. Some have also argued
that Chamberlain's policy was entirely in keeping
with the Conservative tradition started by Edward
Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby|Lord Derby
between 1846-1868 and followed in the Splendid
Isolation under Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd
Marquess of Salisbury|Lord Salisbury in the 1880s
and 1890s.

The emphasis on foreign policy has overshadowed
Chamberlain's achievements in other spheres. His
achievements as Secretary of State for
Health|Minister of Health have been much praised
by social historians who have argued that he did
much to improve conditions and brought the United
Kingdom closer to the Welfare State of the
post-war world.

Chamberlain was, to an extent, unfortunate in his
biography; when his widow commissioned Keith
Feiling to write an official life in the 1940s,
the government papers were not available for
consultation. As a result, Feiling was unable to
tackle criticisms by pointing to the government
records in a way that later biographers could.
Feiling filled the gap with extensive use of
Chamberlain's private papers and produced a book
that is considered by many to be the best account
of Chamberlain's life, but which was unable to
overcome the negative image of him at the time.
Later historians have done much more, both
emphasising Chamberlain's achievements in other
spheres and making strong arguments in support of
appeasement as the natural policy, but a new clear
consensus has yet to be reached.

==References==
*Feiling, Keith. The Life of Neville Chamberlain.
Macmillan & Co. Ltd, 1946.
*Gilbert, Martin. The Roots of Appeasement. New
American Library, 1966.
*James, Robert Rhodes. The British Revolution,
1880-1939. Knopf, 1977.
*The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

==Notes==
1 Chamberlain went to his formal
appointment at Buckingham Palace uncertain about
whether or not the term "kiss hands" was literal
or metaphorical. The staff at the Palace whom he
spoke to before meeting the King did not know
either. It was only when the King invited him to
sit down, without offering a hand, that
Chamberlain deduced the answer.

Chamberlain was a cousin of British-born actor
Alan Napier, famous for playing "Alfred" on the
campy 1960s series Batman.

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Health | years=1924–1929 | after=Arthur
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1st Baron Kennet|Edward Hilton Young
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of the Exchequer | years=1931–1937 |
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after=Winston Churchill
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