Chancellor of the Exchequer, while the next two prominent members of the party, J. H. Thomas and J. R. Clynes, became Colonial Secretary and Lord Privy Seal respectively. The Fabian Sidney Webb, who had, along with Henderson, been instrumental in conceiving Labour's 1918 programme 'Labour and the New Social Order' which had committed the party to nationalisation (Clause IV), was appointed President of the Board of Trade; another Fabian, Lord Olivier, became Secretary of State for India. A former chairman of the parliamentary party, Willie Adamson, became Scottish Secretary, while left-wingers Fred Jowett and John Wheatley became, respectively, First Commissioner of Works and Minister of Health. The Cabinet was characterised by a moderate trade union feel, although it also contained a few Liberals. Only three members had previously been ministers (two only briefly): Richard Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane (ex-Liberal), Arthur Henderson and J. R. Clynes; though others had been under-secretaries. Domestic policy The main achievement of the government was that it showed itself to be 'fit to govern'. Although this might not have meant much in terms of concrete policy-making, it at least did not alarm voters who may have feared that the party would dismantle the country and promulgate 'socialism'; although, in any case, its tenuous parliamentary position would have made radical moves near impossible. Hence, Labour policies such as nationalisation, the 'capital levy' taxation and public works programmes to alleviate unemployment were either played down or ignored altogether. However, to act 'respectably', as any other government would have, was a major component of the MacDonald electoral appeal and strategy. Indeed, some historians have seen, in this time, an electoral consensus that existed between MacDonald and his Conservative counterpart Baldwin, to maintain the stability of the electoral system and preclude any radicalism that might have alienated voters or exacerbated crises such as unemployment. By 1929, voters felt able to trust Labour and thus they were voted back in again. Despite lacking a parliamentary majority, the First Labour Government was able to introduce a number of measures which made life more tolerable for working people. The main achievement of the government was the 1924 Wheatley Housing Act, which MacDonald dubbed 'our most important legislative item'. This measure went some way towards rectifying the problem of the housing shortage, caused by the disruption of the building trade during the First World War and the inability of working-class tenants to rent decent,