My Life by Oswald Mosley

Author:Oswald Mosley [Mosley, Oswald]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: History
Publisher: Friends of Oswald Mosley (FOM) - oswaldmosley.com
Published: 2003-10-31T11:00:00+00:00

Consensus for National Action: 1930 and Today?

The Formation of the New Party

ACTION, whether in 1930 or 1968, requires the means to act. I proposed a reform of parliamentary procedure, giving the Government power to act by order, subject to the right of Parliament to dismiss it at any time by vote of censure. This policy I gave in detail to the Select Committee on Procedure and Public Business on June 4, 1931. I had already proposed the reform of the machinery of government outlined in my resignation speech, which has not yet been implemented, and had previously submitted to a conference of Ministers in November 1929 a plan for a small Cabinet of action, as in time of war, assisted by an economic General Staff.

At the time of my resignation I believed that all this could only be done by a national consensus of the most vital elements in the country, and I entered into close relations with Lloyd George and a number of the younger and abler men of all parties. The effort failed then because the degree of crisis was insufficient to secure so great a change; comparative figures of the economic position in Britain and other countries will illustrate the point. Our country never reached the same grave situation as had prevailed elsewhere in Europe.

The economic situation of the 1930s is now recurring, and it will be aggravated rather than ameliorated by the changes science has since brought and by the distortions wars have imposed on the economy of the world. Action of a drastic character will therefore again be required, and it may be of interest to consider not only my long-term policy, but still more the changes in parliamentary procedure and the reform of government machinery necessary to meet the parallel situation, because they remain completely relevant.

We may also do well to enquire why in 1930 every vital element in political life was frustrated in the attempt to secure action, why the dull lethargy of mediocrity triumphed in the coalition of Baldwin and MacDonald which commanded the Conservative Party machine.

There are only two ways to meet such a situation: a national consensus to secure action—which we first attempted—or a grass-roots movement of the people, which I set out to create when that attempt failed. It is right always to try with the utmost patience to secure action by the gentle, English method of national agreement. More drastic action which bitterly divides the nation should only be undertaken if without it the nation may die. This became necessary in my view in the early thirties because the danger was not apparent enough to secure a national consensus, and yet might at any time have become very grave indeed. What then occurred belongs to the rest of this story. I believe the danger this time will gradually become so apparent that a consensus for national action will be possible for the limited period which will be necessary. Indeed, at a certain point it will be inevitable. All

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