Rise of Neville Chamberlain Chamberlain demanded that Mosley retract the claim "as a gentleman". Mosley, whom Baldwin described as "a cad and a wrong 'un", refused to retract the allegation. It took several recounts before Chamberlain was declared the winner by 77 votes and Mosley blamed poor weather for the result. Chamberlain had not wanted to desert Ladywood, but now deemed the seat impossible to hold and was adopted for Birmingham Edgbaston for the next election (held in 1929), at which Ladywood fell to Labour by eleven votes. The Unionists won the 1924 election, their last under that name. Baldwin formed a new government,
Rise of Neville Chamberlain Lloyd George in the post, and his eight-month tenure sparked a hatred between the two which lasted Chamberlain's lifetime. In 1918, Chamberlain was elected to the House of Commons, at age 49 the oldest man to enter Parliament and later become Prime Minister. After four years on the backbenches, Chamberlain saw rapid promotion, briefly becoming Chancellor of the Exchequer after less than a year as a minister. Chamberlain subsequently spent five years as Minister of Health, securing the passage of many reforming acts. After two years in opposition, Chamberlain became part of Ramsay MacDonald's National Government, and spent five and