ABSTRACT
Hugh Dalton exercised a crucial role in the formation of the Labour party’s foreign and domestic policy, as a leading member of the national executive committee throughout the 1930s. The minutes identify a number of policy memoranda submitted to this committee, of which only a few survive in Dalton’s papers. In the immediate aftermath of the 1931 crisis, feeling within the Labour party was very hostile to the banking community. Nationalization of the joint stock banks and all other financial institutions of the City became official party policy over the objections of the leadership. Dalton also organized more research on Labour’s proposed budget, focusing in particular on appropriate and feasible ways to finance Labour’s proposed development plan to reduce unemployment. The report began by distinguishing between a panic arising after an election in which Labour won a majority in normal times and one which occurred during a period of economic crisis.
