Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat

The British Empire was a collection of territories ruled over or administrated by Britain that covered almost a quarter of the world’s landmass in 1940. Churchill, like many of his contemporaries, was a staunch imperialist firmly in favor of maintaining the British Empire. Prior to WWII, the empire was Britain’s main source of international power and prestige, but it declined in the post-war years due to growing independence and anti-colonialism movements, leaving the present-day British Commonwealth in its place.

A motion or vote of confidence, called a “motion of no confidence” if raised by the opposition, is a proposal put forth to Parliament to determine whether the government still has the necessary support of members of Parliament to command a majority over key issues. Governments generally need not prove that they have the ongoing confidence of Parliament; however, if at any point this motion proves that confidence is lost, the government or its key ministers are expected to resign. Following Chamberlain’s resignation, Churchill’s new coalition government and its plans for war were legitimized by the unanimous passing of a motion of confidence.

The Norway Debate was a historic meeting of the House of Commons from May 7 to May 9, 1940, that discussed Britain’s failure to prevent the German invasion of Norway. Chamberlain and his government were castigated for their failure to adequately lead the British war effort, and a vote of no confidence split the house and proved that Chamberlain’s majority was greatly reduced. This debate was a major contributing factor to Chamberlain’s resignation, Churchill’s appointment as prime minister, and the writing of the “Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat” speech.