ABSTRACT
The First World War marks a watershed in the history of British municipal housing. During the course of the years 1914-18 government economic policy was directed entirely to the defeat of Imperial Germany. One consequence was that the maintenance, repair and building of houses came to a virtual standstill. The flow of demand for these activities, and for the outputs of the construction industry in general, did not cease but accumulated like the waters behind a temporary dam. When the government cut itself loose from the Addison Act in 1921 no substitute had yet been devised. At the beginning of 1924 joint meetings were set up between the government, the building industry workers and their employers, at the time an unusual innovation. In June Ramsay MacDonald formed his second minority government, which was to last for two years. In any event, during the summer of 1931 the stability of sterling vis-a-vis the other major world currencies was under severe pressure.
