Rise of Neville Chamberlain The two had a son and a daughter, with Neville Chamberlain involving himself deeply in the children's upbringing. When he became Prime Minister in 1937 Chamberlain paid tribute to his wife: While Chamberlain had continued to give speeches at general elections, his entry into politics at age 42 in 1911 stemmed from interest in local politics and the opportunities they offered for social improvement. In 1910, Chamberlain appeared before a Parliamentary committee, testifying in favour of a bill to merge Birmingham with its suburbs. The bill passed, tripling the size of the city and greatly increasing its population. Chamberlain was
Neville Chamberlain MacDonald on Cabinet appointments and reshuffles. Although he had worked closely with the President of the Board of Trade, Walter Runciman over the tariff issue, Chamberlain dismissed him from his post, offering Runciman the token position of Lord Privy Seal, which an angry Runciman declined. Runciman, a member of the Liberal National Party, was thought by Chamberlain to be lazy. Soon after taking office, Chamberlain instructed his ministers to prepare two-year policy programmes. These reports were to be integrated with the intent of co-ordinating the passage of legislation through the current Parliament, the term of which was to expire in