Rise of Neville Chamberlain Rise of Neville Chamberlain The early life, business career and political rise of Neville Chamberlain culminated on 28 May 1937, when he was summoned to Buckingham Palace to "kiss hands" and accept the office of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Chamberlain had long been regarded as Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin's political heir, and when Baldwin announced his retirement, Chamberlain was seen as the only possible successor. Chamberlain was born in 1869; his father was the politician and future Cabinet minister, Joseph Chamberlain. He was educated at Rugby School and Mason College (now Birmingham University); at neither institution was he
Neville Chamberlain quickly by keeping economic pressure on Germany through a blockade while continuing rearmament. Chamberlain was reluctant to go too far in altering the British economy. The government submitted an emergency war budget about which Chamberlain stated, "the only thing that matters is to win the war, though we may go bankrupt in the process". Government expenditures rose by little more than the rate of inflation between September 1939 and March 1940. Despite these difficulties, Chamberlain still enjoyed approval ratings as high as 68% and almost 60% in April 1940. In early 1940 the Allies approved a naval campaign that was