Political issues in Great Britain during the Great Depression

When the Great Depression began in the United States in 1929, a number of countries around the world created or raised customs duties, which caused a sharp decline in British exports. The unemployment rate jumped from 8% to 20% at the end of 1930. The United Kingdom cut public spending - which included funds given to social welfare programs for the unemployed. In 1931, further wage cuts and social assistance programs were made, and the national income tax was increased. These measures only worsened the country's socio-economic situation, and in 1932, the height of the Great Depression in the United Kingdom, unemployment rates were 25%. It was only with the abandonment of the gold standard and the introduction of customs duties on products imported from any country that were not part of the British Empire that the British economy gradually recovered.