Baldwin was born into a prosperous family in Worcestershire. He studied at Harrow and went on to Cambridge. His examination results were poor and afterwards he entered his family’s business, helping it to grow into a large industrial concern.

In 1908, Stanley Baldwin became MP for Bewdley in a by-election, his father’s old seat until his death earlier that year. In Parliament, Baldwin earned a reputation as a popular and pleasant MP amongst his peers. He became a Parliamentary Private Secretary to Bonar Law and then a Financial Secretary to the Treasury in 1917.

Experience of government caused Baldwin to develop a deep dislike for Lloyd George. In October 1922, at the famous Carlton Club meeting, he spoke out, warning that Lloyd George’s dynamism had destroyed the Liberals and the Tories might well be next. They voted to end the coalition.

In the new government, Baldwin was an assertive Chancellor, able to overrule an ailing Bonar Law.  When Bonar Law resigned, after offering no advice on who should follow, the King made some consultations and asked Baldwin to became Prime Minister, to the horror of the powerful Tory grandee Lord Curzon who had expected the call.

Baldwin’s first government was not a great success. It lasted eight months, before he decided to call a general election on the topic of protectionism, which would prove one of his few big mistakes when the Conservative Party lost seats. He was replaced by a weak Labour government led by MacDonald. It fell in October and there was an election. This time Baldwin was much better prepared, using radio broadcasting in a masterful fashion, and leading his party to a landslide victory.

Back in government, Baldwin made Winston Churchill Chancellor. Churchill restored Britain to the gold standard, causing economic suffering, and eventually leading to the General Strike of 1926, which was a major crisis for the government.

Baldwin was patient, decent, and was conciliatory, tending to avoid confrontation. He focused on trying to ease class tensions.  He had a strong sense of Christianity and Englishness, and represented this in his radio broadcasts, which reassured a nation dealing with turbulence at home and abroad. However, critics argued the reassuring image conjured by Baldwin’s broadcasts was complacent, a message that grew sharper with time.

He had expected to win the 1929 election, but was defeated, losing power for the second time. He would be back in power in 1931, when MacDonald’s second Labour government fragmented, and the national government was formed, with Baldwin Lord President of the Council. Heading the Conservatives, Baldwin won the election in 1931, and propped up the National Government. In 1935, Baldwin became Prime Minister of the National Government, winning another election that year.

In 1934, Baldwin had endorsed military rearmament, and a programme began, which continued when he became Prime Minister, but the policy was not pursued with any particular sense of urgency. There can be little doubt that Baldwin underestimated the threat from the fascist powers.

The one bright spot of Baldwin’s third premiership was the abdication crisis. It was Baldwin who effectively forced Edward VIII to choose between the Crown and Wallis Simpson. He was able to unite Parliament, the Dominion governments, and the Cabinet to reject Edward’s proposal for a morganatic marriage. He outmanoeuvred the King, and Edward ultimately abdicated in favour of his brother George.

Consequently, Stanley Baldwin is the only prime minister to have served three sovereigns: George V, Edward VIII, and George VI. He is also the last Prime Minister to have simultaneously held the position of Chancellor (in 1923).

Baldwin resigned in 1937. When he did so, he was very popular and he accepted a peerage. Shortly afterwards, he fronted an appeal to help Jewish refugees escaping Nazi Germany. But when the war began, the national mood towards him darkened. He was increasingly blamed for Britain’s early defeats and for interwar complacency, and he received much hate mail. This caused him great pain, but he stood by his policies, arguing that the weight of public opinion had supported his actions.

He died in 1947.