Debate “On Socialism” in the House of Lords of the United Kingdom in 1935

Abstract

Th e author focuses on a one-of-a-kind debate “On Socialism”, which took place in the House of Lords of the British Parliament in the spring of 1935. For a long time, the upper chamber served as a barrier to the implementa-tion of bold social and political legislation. Until the beginning of the 20th century socialists had never been represented in the Parliament. As the Labor Party came into political spotlight and gradually strengthened its positions in the 1920s–1930s, the House of Lords was forced to adapt its composition to changing reali-ties. In 1924, the Labor faction was formed here for the fi rst time. A decade later, the Lords were prepared to seriously discuss the merits and demerits of the social-ist system. Th e article analyzes both the main arguments of the Laborites, who promoted transition to a new social system, and the theses put forward by Con-servatives and Liberals, supporters of the capitalist system. Particular emphasis is placed on the coverage and feedback which the discussion held in Westminster received on the pages of the British press of various political stances. Th e author comes to the conclusion that the arguments put forward by both supporters and opponents of socialism were in many respects similar to the theses that appeared in the course of the discussion in the Lower house of the UK Parliament in 1923. Th is discussion had a similar nature and was the fi rst of this kind in the British history. At the same time, the analyzed debate which took place in the House of Lords more than a decade later, bore an unmistakable imprint of a new era. Th e “Great Depression” of 1929–1933 had an important impact on the worldview of the generation, as it strengthened the conviction of left -wing politicians that capitalism was not the subject to improvement. Opponents of socialism, on the contrary, argued that a socialist future for Britain was not only economically un-tenable, but also dangerous, and incompatible with the unique English national character, based on individualism.