by Sir Ronald Waterhouse, another of Bonar Law's secretaries, at the same time as his official resignation as Prime Minister. Stamfordham had noted on the memorandum that it "practically expressed the views of Mr. Bonar Law". According to Blake, there was nothing in the memorandum to substantiate that claim. Davidson subsequently said that he had dictated the note after being asked by Stamfordham about the opinion of back-bench MP's. However, Blake argued, "In any case, the result [Baldwin as Bonar Law's successor] was affected only marginally. The King's decision was firmly based on his own good sense and the powerful arguments of Balfour against the choice of a peer as prime minister". After the appointment of Baldwin as prime minister, Davidson entered the government as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and effectively continued as the prime minister's private secretary. However, he lost his seat in parliament at the general election of December 1923, but regained it already in the general election in October the following year. Baldwin once again formed an administration after the brief first-ever 1924 Labour government, and made Davidson Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty. In this post he was forced to deal with cuts in naval expenditure proposed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Winston Churchill, especially regarding the construction of new cruisers. He served as deputy chief civil commissioner during the general strike of 1926, with responsibility for publicity. He also managed the short-lived British Gazette during the strike and arranged for the broadcasting of official bulletins. In 1926 Davidson left the government to take up the post of Chairman of the Conservative Party, which he remained until 1930. He was primarily charged with raising cash for the party and cleaning up the honours system, which had fallen into disrepute following informal cash-for-honours system instigated by Lloyd George in 1918. He was also the driving force behind the establishment of Ashridge in memory of Bonar Law. In 1928 he was sworn of the Privy Council. According to Blake, Davidson "left a lasting imprint on the organization of the party, including the creation of the Research Department, and many of the changes attributed to his successor, Neville Chamberlain, were in fact his". However, Davidson came under criticism after the defeat at the 1929 general election and resigned in 1930. In November 1931 Davidson was once again appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in