The first Labour government was elected in January 1924, led by Ramsey MacDonald. It was a minority government with 191 MPs, which was less than a third of the House of Commons. So it had to rely on support from the Liberal Party. This stopped it getting its more ambitious plans enacted.
That Labour government lasted only 9 months, at which point the Liberal Party withdrew its support.
Here are some of the achievements of that government during its short time in office:
- Built more homes Passed the Wheatley Act, which addressed a housing shortage by starting a building programme of over half a million houses[1]. Under this Act, 521,700 houses had been completed by 1933.
- Cut taxes for most people Reduced direct and indirect taxation on working-class people[2].
- Increased education Established a secondary school system for children aged between 11 and 14[3].
- Increased unemployment insurance Raised unemployment benefit by 20% for men and 25% for women[4].
(We include only 4 achievements by this government as it was only in power for about 9 months, which is about 3% of the total time Labour has been in government since 1924)
[1] Housing (Financial Provisions) Act 1924.
[2] Tanner, D., Thane, P., & Tiratsoo, N. (Eds.). (2000). Labour’s first century. Cambridge University Press.
[3] Labour’s Great Record: An Outline of the First Six Months’ Work of the Labour Government, by Labour Publications Department.
[4] Mowat, C. L. (1955). Britain between the Wars 1918-1940.