A Government of Action: The Labour Premiership of Oswald Mosley and its Legacy

[Domrémy-Scorniçesti Axis]

During MacDonald's second term, Mosley took a more conciliatory tone towards the British political estabilishment in order to further his goal of becoming Prime Minister.

The 1931 general election campaign focused on the Great Depression. While the Tories and National Coalition supported laissez-faire economics, Mosley pointed out how they failed in the U.S, and instead proposed a Keynesian "government of action". Most of Mosley's energy was spent campaigning for other Labour candidates, and campaigning for his seat was largely ignored.

The pro-Liberal and Tory press made accusations of authoritarianism and socialism towards Mosley, but he said his economic plan aimed to benefit all Britons and create a corporate state. Still, the Labour administration was blamed for the poor economy, and the party lost.

Mosley would later be elected Prime Minister in 1935, defeating Baldwin's Conservatives in a rematch.

 Oswald Mosley as Leader of the Opposition (1931-1935)

During the premiership of Stanley Baldwin, Mosley mostly ignored legislative work in favor of increasing the Mosley Memorandum's popularity, holding protests and rallies around Britain. The Labour Party also started using motion pictures and radio in a massive scale, and became increasingly autocratic as Mosley became virtually the only visible Labour figure. This shift caused "traditional" party members to leave and create the Democratic Labour Party in March 1932.

Mosley's Labour Party supported Baldwin's chief initiatives of disarmament and self-government for the Commonwealth domains and India, but strongly opposed his laissez-faire economics, which they blamed for high unemployment.

By 1934, Britons widely thought Baldwin had failed to take significant action on the economy, and Mosley's handsomeness, oratory and magnetism made him "the most popular politician in the country", according to one of his biographers. Labour practically swept the by-elections in late 1933 and early 1934, and by the next general election season, it was widely perceived Mosley would become Prime Minister.

Feel free to criticize any unrealistic or inconsistent stuff.

 

[Aisha Clan-Clan]

Mosley could be a candidate for being the british FDR in this timeline. This isn't meant to be complimentary at all to either him or FDR, though. I view FDR as the main reason why the US is so comparatively free market by preventing one of the big two parties from being forced left because of having to adjust to wanting to take votes from a socialist third party in the 30s to 40s.

You probably get a program more comparable to the new deal in scope.

 

[Domrémy-Scorniçesti Axis]

Another reason the election ended up in deadlock was that Stanley Baldwin was popular among the sizeable chunk of voters who were skeptical of the Memorandum.

During the vote of confidence in November, 10 of the 21 National Labour MPs voted to confirm Mosley, as did three Conservative MPs who thought Labour had won.

 

[Domrémy-Scorniçesti Axis]

 Premiership of Oswald Mosley (1935-1938, foreign policy)

Mosley followed a non-intervention policy in continental Europe, refusing to take action when Germany remilitarized the Rhineland, and trying to deal with Hitler through negotiation alongside France. As Mosley's main political priority since the early 1920s was to avoid another war, the prime minister followed a policy of appeasement.

He also sought better relations with the Soviet Union than previous prime ministers had, unsuccessfully requesting a meeting with Stalin, and later during his first term, considering negotiations on a non-agression pact. The Communist Party of Britain was ordered to support Mosley, which they did even during WWII.

In 1936, the British military industry was nationalized together with railways and power stations, and the Prime Minister ordered an aerial buildup, clinging to the newly-outdated notion that "the bomber will always get through". Also that year, he declared neutrality in the Spanish Civil War, refusing to intervene in either side.

Mosley's administration condemned the Italian invasion of Ethiopia, and imposed sanctions on Italy after the war began. However, he refused to send military aid, according to historians due to not being completely anti-fascist (he had visited Italy in 1931).

The British government sent weapons and supply to the NRA after Japan invaded China, but did not get involved in other ways, as Japan had been a British ally since the Meiji restoration.

Mosley was present in the Munich meeting, and said "The spectre of war has left Europe for good" following the end of it.

 

[Yankeewolf]

Your formatting is messed up on the infoboxes, just wanted to let you know.

 

[Nivek]

A new take on a greater britain?

 

[Domrémy-Scorniçesti Axis]

Your formatting is messed up on the infoboxes, just wanted to let you know.

That's because I use my phone for them

 

[Domrémy-Scorniçesti Axis]

Mosley called the election in September 1937, in order to capitalize on the economic growth and recovery seen under his watch, and take advantage of an aristocratic Leader of the Opposition.

Two corrections:

• The NatLabs are supposed to win 13% of the popular vote.
• The NatLibs actually lost 2.9% of vote share.

 

[ILPD45]

I hope he doesn’t collaborate with Hitler and welcome Sea Lion with open arms. That would be too cliché, and might result in the thread being locked.

 

[Domrémy-Scorniçesti Axis]

I hope he doesn’t collaborate with Hitler and welcome Sea Lion with open arms. That would be too cliché, and might result in the thread being locked.

He obviously won't, since he's not a fascist ITTL.

 

[Domrémy-Scorniçesti Axis]

The Soviet Union's participation was mostly pro forma, but Stalin publicly accepted the German annexation of the Sudetenland.

Almost one year later, Britain would sign a non-agression pact with the Soviet Union, and Germany invaded Poland on its own (unless you count Slovakia).

 

[TimTurner]

Will be interesting to see how this develops.

 

[Domrémy-Scorniçesti Axis]

Mosley vetoed British aid to Finland during the war, outraging the anti-communist British public and contributing to his resignation.

Carol II remained the leader of Romania during the war, before being deposed by the Red Army in 1944 and executed the following year, along with his mistress Elena Lupsecu.

 

[Domrémy-Scorniçesti Axis]

Mfw the infobox comes out as raw code in the preview. Also, after the German invasion, Oswald Mosley began to adopt a war economy.

 

[Domrémy-Scorniçesti Axis]

Sir Oswald Mosley, the sixth Mosley baronet, resigned from the Premiership of the United Kingdom on 11 June 1940, following the Fall of France.

He was replaced by Deputy Prime Minister Clement Attlee, who immediately promised strong leadership in the war against Germany, and gave a speech where he said "Britain will never surrender; we will fight until Hitler and his henchmen are completely defeated".

Attlee nationalized all industries essential to the war effort, and began rationing of food, clothes and fuel, which was considered under Mosley but not implemented before his resignation due to populist concerns. The disgraced Prime Minister also resigned from Parliament, and a National Labour candidate won his constituency.

 

[Domrémy-Scorniçesti Axis]

During May and June 1940, the war spilled over French territory several times when Nationalist bands launched raids into southern France, but they quickly withdrew.

Also, the Mosley administration began an infantry buildup in Gibraltar due to fears of an invasion of the Nationalists won. Francisco Franco would later refuse to involve Spain in the war, even after Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, due to Spain's economy and infrastructure being devastated by the civil war.

The British and French government provided the Spanish Republicans with small arms, trucks, bomber aircraft and supplies, while other weapons were provided by the Soviets.