Empire Free Trade Crusade facts for kids

The Empire Free Trade Crusade was a political party in the United Kingdom. It was started by Lord Beaverbrook in July 1929. The party wanted the British Empire to become a huge area where goods could be traded freely without taxes. This idea was called "free trade."

What Was the Empire Free Trade Crusade?

This political group aimed to make trade easier within the British Empire. They wanted countries in the Empire to trade with each other without extra costs or taxes. This would make goods cheaper and help businesses grow within the Empire.

Why Was It Formed?

The Empire Free Trade Crusade was created to go against two main things. First, they opposed the Labour government elected in 1929. Second, they disagreed with Conservative leader Stanley Baldwin's ideas about trade. Baldwin wanted to protect British businesses by adding taxes to goods from other countries. This is called "protectionism."

Lord Beaverbrook and his group wanted something stronger. They called for a "fiscal union of the Empire." This meant having very strong rules against goods from countries outside the Empire. It was a more extreme version of an idea called Imperial Preference. Imperial Preference was about giving special trade deals to countries within the British Empire.

Working Together

Lord Beaverbrook started signing up members in late 1929. He realized that Stanley Baldwin would not agree with his goals. In 1930, Beaverbrook briefly joined another group. This was the United Empire Party, led by Lord Rothermere. The two parties then worked together for a while.

Young Crusaders

On April 16, 1930, a special group for young people was launched in London. It was called the Young Crusaders. This group was for members under 25 years old. It was the youth wing of the Empire Free Trade Crusade.

Elections and Decline

In October 1930, a person named Ernest Taylor ran for the party. He stood in a special election called the Paddington South by-election. He won the election, taking a seat that usually went to the Conservative Party.

However, the party's success did not last. A second candidate ran in the 1931 Westminster St George's by-election. This time, the Conservative candidate won. The group started to decline after this.

Things got even harder when Ernest Taylor joined the Conservative Party. This happened after the Conservatives won the 1931 UK general election. Lord Beaverbrook kept the group going until the late 1930s. But the party did not run in any more elections after 1931.