The depression of 1929 to 1935 was a particularly severe one, resulting primarily from the Wall Street Crash, however there were many other contributory factors. During this period two governments came in to power. The Labour government 1929-3, led by Ramsey Macdonald and the national government 1931-5, which consisted of Conservative and Liberals led by Macdonald, in a coalition. The policies adopted by the parties were very different despite having the same leader. A Laissez Faire policy was pursued by Labour up until the end of their office, whilst the National Government abandoned this policy in favour for policies of more direct action, to deal with the now record level of 2.5 million unemployed.…
