Chamberlain, Baldwin, and inherited rearmament decisions

Concentrating responsibility for Britain's readiness on Chamberlain alone overlooks the decisions inherited from Baldwin and MacDonald. Chamberlain had held the premiership for only a little over two years when war began, and demands for fighters, radar, and other equipment help explain his effort to gain preparation time. MacDonald's ending of the Ten Year Rule and Baldwin's subsequent period in office place rearmament within a longer sequence of decisions. Industry was also recovering from treaty restrictions, the Great Depression, and the aftermath of the First World War. Wartime deaths had removed future skilled workers as well as people who already possessed expertise.