Allied Forces Act 1940 Allied Forces Act 1940 The Allied Forces Act 1940 (3 & 4 Geo. VI c. 51) was an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed in late 1940, after the fall of France. The Act gave legal authority for the recognised sovereign governments of Belgium, Czechoslovakia, the Netherlands, Norway and Poland – all countries then under German occupation – to raise, equip and maintain independent armed forces on British soil. A sixth country, France, was provided for by authorising the activity of the Free French forces under General de Gaulle. The forces would be fully independent,
Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom) Commons, was for the chairman to function as acting leader in the House. Maclean therefore took on the role of Leader of the Opposition, followed by Asquith, who returned to the House by winning a by-election (1920–22). From 1922 the Labour Party had a recognised leader so took over all remaining commons opposition roles from the Opposition Liberal Party. Since 1922 the principal Government and Opposition parties have been the Labour Party and the Conservative Party. There were three instances of peers being seriously considered for the prime ministership, during the twentieth century (Curzon of Kedleston in 1923, Halifax in