On the issue of trade , Australian prime minister Stanley Bruce lobbied hard and consistently for the Conservative government of Stanley Baldwin to make changes to Great Britain 's trading arrangements to give preference to Dominion products over imports from elsewhere . Bruce argued for Empire-wide economic trading arrangements that would see domestic demands filled by production from member states before seeking supplemental imports from other countries and empires . Baldwin and the Conservatives would attempt to introduce such a scheme in Britain ; however , the British public feared higher prices for basic products ( particularly food ) , and this fear was a factor in the Conservative government 's defeat in the election of December 1923 . Baldwin 's successor Ramsay MacDonald repudiated the plan and it would not see fruition until the British Empire Economic Conference of 1932
British Empire Economic Conference
British Empire Economic Conference
1923 Imperial Conference