Mr. Stanley Baldwin

With the nation at the polls, incumbent PM Stanley Baldwin’s election call had not yet backfired when this newsreel summary was released.

Compared to today’s 24-hour election news coverage, a twice-weekly 5-minute silent newsreel might seem a little lacking. But with the country at the polls, and little actual news to report, the padding shots of pensive politicians and fancy graphics - here some “lightning” cartoons of the party leaders - are actually rather familiar.

The cartoon represents Conservative Stanley Baldwin with his iconic pipe; Liberal leader Herbert Asquith, propped up by party rival David Lloyd George; and Labour leader Ramsay MacDonald lifted by the “working man”. Although the Conservatives won the most seats, the result was a hung Parliament leading to the country’s first Labour Government - albeit a short-lived minority one.