The Liberals, also, by August 1931 were beginning to crumble. Lloyd George's attempt to wrest the initiative for party by a bold espousal of Keynesian economics had failed in the 1929 general election. strategy of seeking an accommodation with Labour was bitterly opposed by many Liberals. In March 1931, Sir John Simon spoke of socialism as "a poisonous doctrine" and declared that would not close his mind to tariffs as a method of dealing with the economic crisis. In June 1931, Simon and two other prominent Liberals resigned the parliamentary whip. It was generally believed that were proposing to seek an electoral pact with the Conservatives, so as to ensure that would hold their seats against what was expected to be a Conservative landslide at the next general election.