ABSTRACT
The tangled character of Labour's foreign policy in the early years of the 1930s can only be understood in the light of the debacle of 1931. Throughout the 1930s, Labour struggled with a number of issues: resisting challenges to the international order, dealing with its mistrust of the Conservative-dominated National Government, and tempering pacifism among its rank and file. Arthur Henderson had to split his time between preparing for the Disarmament Conference and restoring stability to the political wing of Labour. The Hastings conference was held while the Labour Party was reeling from the consequences of the split in the party and the subsequent setback in the general election of 1931. Labour could support the total abolition of national military and naval forces, the internationalization of civil aviation, as well as a comprehensive and continuous system of control and the working out of a definition of aggression.
