Ramsay MacDonald came from a working-class family in the village of Lossiemouth in 1866. He was the illegitimate son of serving girl and he never knew his father. Raised locally, he was an intelligent and read widely. When he was 18, he briefly secured employment in Bristol, where he discovered socialist politics for the first time. He then lived in London, experiencing unemployment before finding work as a clerk. In London, he threw himself into politics, eventually becoming a secretary to Thomas Lough, a radical Liberal.

During the 1890s, he worked to get left wing MPs elected, and ran in the 1895 election as an Independent Labour Party candidate. Though he was defeated, he met his future wife, Margaret Gladstone, as a result of the campaign, and they married in 1896. Margaret was wealthy, bringing some security to MacDonald’s life, and they would undertake a series of overseas trips, leaving him well informed about foreign affairs.

In 1900, MacDonald became secretary of the Labour Representation Committee (LRC), a political alliance of socialist organisations and trade unions. That year, MacDonald ran for Parliament again, and failed again, but the LRC got two ‘Labour’ MPs elected for the first time. In 1906, MacDonald ran again and this time was elected MP for Leicester. He began to argue that Labour must aim to displace the Liberals in Parliament, rather than seeking cooperation. In 1911, he became the Chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party. That year, Margaret died, leaving MacDonald grief stricken. He would remain a widower for the rest of his life. When he was Prime Minister, it was MacDonald’s devoted daughter Ishbel who was hostess of Downing Street.

In 1914, MacDonald opposed Britain’s involvement in the First World War and, unable to carry his Labour colleagues with him, resigned as parliamentary leader.  His anti-war stance was received with vitriol by the press and, in 1918, MacDonald lost his seat.

He was elected to Parliament again in 1922 as MP for Aberavon in Wales. Labour had gained 100 seats in that election, and MacDonald was elected to lead the parliamentary party. The country returned to the polls in 1923, resulting in a three-way hung Parliament. With the consent of Liberal leader Asquith, MacDonald unexpectedly became Prime Minister on 22 January 1924.

The subsequent Labour government lasted just 10 months, with MacDonald serving as both Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary (just as Lord Salisbury had done). The government was rather conventional, though MacDonald was praised for the 1924 London Reparation Conference and for opening diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union.

But, lacking a majority, the government was unstable and it fell after 10 months. Another election came, and this time the Conservatives won (benefitting from the disintegration of the Liberals). Five years of Opposition followed for MacDonald.

In 1929, the election delivered a hung Parliament, but MacDonald had won 287 seats and now had the largest party. During his second government, MacDonald once again focused on international affairs (even though he was not Foreign Secretary this time). He visited the United States in October 1929 and presided over the London Naval Conference of 1930.

But, shortly after MacDonald became Prime Minister, the Wall Street Crash happened, and the Great Depression began. Unemployment rose, businesses failed, and MacDonald’s government, which responded with fairly orthodox economic measures, was unequal to the challenge. In August 1931, a banking crisis in Europe led to a run on the pound. Ultimately, MacDonald was able to secure a Franco-American loan, but the Cabinet was too divided to continue. He expected to leave the premiership, but the King asked him to head a National Government with Conservative support, to which he agreed.

This proved a controversial decision and many in Labour Party, from which he was expelled, never forgave him. Only 13 Labour MPs joined him in supporting the National Government, and he was instantly a figurehead of a fundamentally Conservative government. He continued as Prime Minister until 1935 when he resigned on health grounds. That year he lost his seat in the general election but was elected in a by-election soon afterwards. He continued to sit in cabinet until 1937, when Baldwin resigned. In November 1937, he died at sea during a voyage to a holiday in South America.