Stanley Baldwin (1867–1947) is one of the most significant modern British politicians, but also one of the most controversial and puzzling. As Conservative leader and three times prime minister, Baldwin presided over the beginning of his party's long twentieth-century dominance. He did so in new and difficult conditions: the onset of modern democratic politics, the rise of Labour, chronic economic depression, the General Strike, persistent newspaper attacks, imperial discontent, the Abdication, and the threats from Mussolini and Hitler. This book provides an understanding of Baldwin's career, including a serious analysis of the moral and intellectual influences of his early life. Its main concerns are the investigation of a Conservative mind, and its communication with the various audiences that constituted the political nation. This is not a conventional biography, but rather an examination of the nature of political leadership, Conservative politics and 'national values'.
Stanley Baldwin (1867–1947) is one of the most significant modern British politicians, but also one of the most controversial and puzzling. As Conservative leader and three times prime minister, Baldwin presided over the beginning of his party's long twentieth-century dominance. He did so in new and difficult conditions: the onset of modern democratic politics, the rise of Labour, chronic economic depression, the General Strike, persistent newspaper attacks, imperial discontent, the Abdication, and the threats from Mussolini and Hitler. This book provides an understanding of Baldwin's career, including a serious analysis of the moral and intellectual influences of his early life. Its main concerns are the investigation of a Conservative mind, and its communication with the various audiences that constituted the political nation. This is not a conventional biography, but rather an examination of the nature of political leadership, Conservative politics and 'national values'.
Zusammenfassung
This book is both an examination of one of the dominant figures of twentieth-century British politics, and a contribution to the understanding of political leadership and Conservative ideology. It reinterprets the career of Stanley Baldwin, Conservative leader 1923–37 and three times prime minister, in terms of his construction of a ‘national character’, his exploitation of the new mass media, and his exposition of a distinctive Conservative doctrine and language. Baldwin’s remarkable ascendancy is shown to have been based on his manipulation of widely held ‘national values’.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Introduction: the historical problem; 1. Public career; 2. Political leadership; 3. Influences: business and ethics; 4. Influences: community and service; 5. Purposes and methods; 6. Capitalism and industrial relations; 7. Democracy and public values; 8. Country and empire; 9. Soul and providence; 10. Armaments and anti-totalitarianism; Conclusion.
