Richard Austen Butler Biography and Timeline

Birth of Richard Austen Butler

Birth of Richard Austen Butler

Member of Parliament

Elected Member of Parliament for Saffron Walden

Junior Minister of India Office

Appointed Junior Minister at the India Office

Czechoslovakia Questions

Answers Commons questions on Czechoslovakia as the Foreign Office monitors German pressure on the state.

Czechoslovakia Questions

Responds for the government to further Commons questions concerning Czechoslovakia and European security.

Czechoslovakia Questions

Sets out the government's position in Commons questioning about the developing Czechoslovak crisis.

Czechoslovakia Questions

Rejects a proposal for a population exchange between Germany and Czechoslovakia while answering for the Foreign Office.

Czechoslovakia Questions

Answers Commons questions as the government continues seeking a negotiated solution to Sudeten German demands.

Czechoslovakia Questions

Responds to parliamentary questioning on Czechoslovakia during increasing tension between Prague and the Sudeten German movement.

Czechoslovakia Questions

Provides Foreign Office answers on Czechoslovakia as Britain tries to prevent the nationality dispute from becoming a wider war.

Czechoslovakia Questions

Continues presenting the government's negotiated approach to the Czechoslovak crisis in the Commons.

Mutual Assistance Pact Question

Answers Commons questions about proposals for mutual assistance against aggression amid concern over German expansion.

Czechoslovakia Questions

Responds to Commons questions on Czechoslovakia as British diplomacy continues to favour negotiation.

Czechoslovakia Questions

Answers further questions about the Czechoslovak dispute and British efforts to reduce tension.

Czechoslovakia Questions

Gives Foreign Office responses on the Sudeten crisis before the later Runciman mediation mission.

Czechoslovakia Questions after Munich

Answers detailed Commons questions on the implementation and consequences of the Munich settlement.

Czechoslovakia Questions

Continues answering questions on Czechoslovakia immediately after the Munich debate.

Post-Munich Czechoslovakia Questions

Responds to parliamentary questions on Czechoslovakia as the territorial settlement is implemented.

Junior Minister of Foreign Office

Appointed Junior Minister at the Foreign Office

Minister of Education

Appointed Minister of Education

Role range: 1940-1945

Reform of Education

Introduces the 1944 Education Act

Role range: 1940-1945

Chairman

Appointed Chairman of the Conservative Research Department

Role range: 1945-1964

Minister of Labour

Appointed Minister of Labour, during Churchills "caretaker Government"

Role range: 1945-1945 – 1945-1945

Chairman

Appointed Chairman of the Conservative Industrial Policy Committee

Charter

The Industrial Policy Committee draws up the Industrial Charter, "Butskellism"

Economy of Great Britain

The Industrial Charter is repeated in "The Right Road for Britain"

Election

Draws up the Manifesto entitled, "This Is The Road" for the general election

Manifesto

Draws up the Manifesto entitled, "This Is The Road" for the general election

Chancellor of the Exchequer

Appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer

Role range: 1951-1955 – 1951-1955

Economy of Great Britain

Proposes the "Robot" scheme to float the pound & allow exchange rates "to take the strain"

Role range: 1951-1955 – 1951-1955

Flotation of Sterling

Sterling is floated by Rab Butler prior to his 1952 Buget

Role range: 1951-1955 – 1951-1955

Budget

Reduces the standard rate of tax to 9 shillings in the pound. Due to a trade surplus 6d is taken off the standard rate of income tax

Role range: 1951-1955 – 1951-1955

Income Tax

Due to a trade surplus 6d is taken off the standard rate of income tax

Role range: 1951-1955 – 1951-1955

Chairman

Appointed Chairman of the Cabinet, due to the ill health of Churchill & Eden

Role range: 1951-1955

Leader of House of Commons

Appointed Leader of the House of Commons

Role range: 1951-1955 – 1955-1955

Lord Privy Seal

Appointed Lord Privy Seal

Role range: 1951-1955 – 1955-1955

Budget

Reduces taxation prior to the general election

Role range: 1951-1955 – 1951-1955

Election

Reduces taxation prior to the general election

Role range: 1951-1955 – 1951-1955

Senior Ministers Face Parliamentary Opposition

Richard Austen Butler and his colleagues encountered growing criticism of the government's decision to attack Egypt.

Role range: 1956-1957

Cabinet Addresses Opposition After Military Halt

Richard Austen Butler and other ministers faced political scrutiny over the intervention and its abrupt cessation.

Role range: 1956-1957