During the period prior to the organisation of the Economic Advisory Council, the policies undertaken by the second Labour Government had come under fire from several directions. The Government's strongest internal critic was Sir Oswald Mosley, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and a member of the ministerial team responsible for co-ordinating unemployment policies. On 11 September 1929 Mosley proposed that the central government should take control of an enlarged road-building programme away from the local authorities traditionally responsible for road building. He also emphasised the need for a body under the Prime Minister to give continuous consideration to proposals for long-term development and reconstruction. Mosley's September memorandum and subsequent Cabinet discussions may have hastened the promotion of the Economic Advisory Council, but they did not prove fast enough for Mosley, who on 16 January 1930 presented the Cabinet with a long memorandum making far-reaching proposals for future unemployment policy and its organisation. Keynes received a copy of the proposals from Mosley on 16 January. There is no indication that Keynes met with or wrote to Mosley at this stage.

Matters moved a step further on 6 February.

My dear Keynes,

Further to our talk on the telephone this morning, the point on which I sought your guidance relates to the whole possibility of financing public works by loan. […]