Joseph Chamberlain Amongst the dignitaries present were former Prime Minister Arthur Balfour, Bonar Law, Chamberlain's sons Austen and Neville (then Lord Mayor of Birmingham), and other members of the Chamberlain, Hutton and Martineau families. Winston Churchill called Chamberlain "a splendid piebald: first black, then white, or, in political terms, first fiery red, then true blue". This is the conventional view of Chamberlain's politics, that he became gradually more conservative, beginning to the left of the Liberal party and ending to the right of the Conservatives. An alternative view is that he was always a radical in home affairs and an imperialist in
Rise of Neville Chamberlain Conference, Chamberlain presented his first budget, in April 1932. The gold standard had been abandoned in the early days of the National Government; the Bank of England sought its restoration. Chamberlain, on advice from his officials, declined to restore the gold standard, realising that a devalued pound would improve the balance of trade. Otherwise, Chamberlain maintained the severe budget cuts that had been agreed to at the inception of the National Government: Chamberlain cut means-tested benefits and public sector wages, which proved to be an unpopular move. He also cut interest rates, which led to a house-building boom in the