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Alleviating inter-war unemployment

Unemployed man advertising for work.

Lack of welfare provision in the 1930s meant no safety-net for the unemployed.
©TopFoto

At the end of the First World War, Britain faced huge social and economic problems, and unemployment became the major social problem of the inter-war period. The government deployed an unemployment insurance scheme from November 1920 to alleviate unemployment.

Related documents

Post-war policy

Cabinet Memorandum. Rehabilitation of Trade and the Provision of Employment. 17 February 1919 (PDF, 2.017 MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 2. Unemployment. 13 August 1920 (PDF, 1.376MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Unemployment. 17 December 1920 (PDF, 3.253MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 3. Unemployment. 6 October 1921 (PDF, 7.836MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Relief to the Necessitous Areas. Memorandum by the Minister of Health. 24 July 1923 (PDF, 4.666MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Statement to be made on the question of the grants to necessitous areas. Memorandum by the Minister of Health. 31 July 1923 (PDF, 0.234MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Present Tendency of Wages. Memorandum by the Minister of Labour. 25 February 1921 (PDF, 1.749MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 2. Reduction of Expenditure. 11 May 1921 (PDF, 1.600MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. The Report of the Committee on National Expenditure. 6 February 1922 (PDF, 1.678MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 3. Proposals of the Committee on National Expenditure. 24 February 1922 (PDF, 2.231MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 4. Second Interim Report of the Committee on National Expenditure. 24 February 1922 (PDF, 2.231MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Interim Report of the Committee on National Expenditure. 14 December 1921 (PDF, 30.744MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Second Interim Report of Committee on National Expenditure. 28 January 1922 (PDF, 21.816MB)

The Conservatives in power

Cabinet Memorandum. The Necessity for National Economy. Note by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. 20 November 1922 (PDF, 0.240 MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Committee on Unemployment. 27 July 1923 (PDF, 2.24MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 4. Economic Policy of the Government. 23 October 1923 (PDF, 2.354MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 3. Unemployment and Housing. 23 January 1924 (PDF, 3.956MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 5. Unemployment. 21 May 1924 (PDF, 4.047MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Unemployment Committee: Fourth Interim Report on Trunk Road Reconstruction. 20 May 1924 (PDF, 0.692 MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Unemployment Committee: Interim Report on Unemployment. January 1924 (PDF, 6.600 MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Unemployment Committee: Third Interim Report on Unemployment. 6 April 1924 (PDF, 1.256 MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Unemployment Committee. Relief of Unemployment: Progress of the Schemes outlined by the Government. 25 July 1924 (PDF, 5.415 MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 8. Unemployment. 22 July 1925 (PDF, 3.830MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Report of Standing Committee on Expenditure. 11 February 1926 (PDF, 1.463MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Standing Committee on Expenditure. 9 February 1926 (PDF, 8.0625 MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. The Gold Standard. 10 February 1926 (PDF, 2.829MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Unemployment Grants Committee. Memorandum by the Minister of Labour. 4 June 1926 (PDF, 3.495 MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Unemployment Grants Committee. Memorandum by the Minister of Labour. 11 February 1927 (PDF, 0.730 MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 5. Unemployment Grants Committee. 23 February 1927 (PDF, 3.029MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Unemployment. Memorandum by the Home Secretary. 7 February 1929 (PDF, 1.683 MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Unemployment. Memorandum by the Minister of Labour. 16 February 1929 (PDF, 1.753 MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. An employment policy for the Election. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs. 18 March 1929 (PDF, 1.381 MB)

Labour and the depression

Cabinet Memorandum. Unemployment Policy. Memorandum by the Lord Privy Seal. 23 October 1929 (PDF, 3.085 MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Unemployment Policy. Memorandum by the Lord Privy Seal. 29 November 1929 (PDF, 2.445 MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Interdepartmental Committee on Unemployment: Progress Report on Unemployment Schemes. 24 October 1929 (PDF, 2.466 MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Statement of the Principle Measures taken by His Majesty's Government in Connection with Unemployment. Memorandum by the Prime Minister. 24 November 1930 (PDF, 2.646 MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 5. Unemployment Policy. 21 January 1931 (PDF, 0.473MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Observations on the Liberal Proposals for dealing with Unemployment. 22 November 1930 (PDF, 21.672 MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Report of the Macmillan Committee on Finance and Industry. 27 June 1931 (PDF, 50.929MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 3. The Financial Situation and the Inter-Party Discussions. 22 August 1931 (PDF, 1.708MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. The Financial Situation and the Inter-Party Discussions. 22 August 1931 (PDF, 1.110MB)

Cabinet Conclusions 1. The Financial Situation. 23 August 1931 (PDF, 2.150MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. The Financial Position. 24 August 1931 (PDF, 1.187MB)

The 1930s

Cabinet Memorandum. Economy: Draft White Paper. 8 September 1931 (PDF, 2.427MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. National Economy Bill. 4 September 1931 (PDF, 0.909MB)

Search using Unemployment Grants Committee Necessitous areas National Economy Bill

Further reading

Swann, B. & Turnbull, M., Records of Interest to Social Scientists 1919 to 1939 Employment and Unemployment (London: HMSO, 1978)
Garside, W., British Unemployment, 1919-1939 A Study in Public Policy (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1990)

Content

Alleviating inter-war unemployment
Lloyd George's coalition
Labour and Conservative policy

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