David Lloyd George

The Right Honourable David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, OM , PC (January 17, 1863 – March 26, 1945) was a British statesman and the last Liberal to be Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Prime Minister

He progressed to replace Asquith as prime minister of a new wartime coalition government between the Liberals and the Conservatives. This was a move that split his Liberal Party into two factions; those who supported Asquith and those who supported the coalition government. Despite this opposition, Lloyd George steered the country politically through the war, and represented Britain at the Versailles Peace Conference, clashing with both French Premier Georges Clemenceau and American President Woodrow Wilson. Lloyd George wanted to punish Germany politically and economically for devastating Europe during the war, but did not want to utterly destroy the German economy and political system the way Clemenceau and many other people of France wanted to do. Memorably, he replied to a question as to how he had done at the peace conference, "Not badly, considering I was seated between Jesus Christ and Napoleon." Lloyd George favoured plebiscites on the Germano-Polish border that resulted in many military clashes, and an extremely long and defenceless border between those two countries.

Related Topics:
Conservatives - Versailles Peace Conference - French - Premier - Georges Clemenceau - American - President - Woodrow Wilson

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Lloyd George began to feel the weight of the coalition with the Conservatives after the war. His decision to extend conscription to Ireland was nothing short of disastrous, indirectly leading a majority of Irish MPs to declare independence. He presided over a bloody war of attrition in Ireland, that led to the formation of the Irish Free State. The involvement of government in atrocities was a major factor in turning Irish people away from the United Kingdom. At one point, he famously declared of the IRA "We have murder by the throat!". However he was soon to begin negotiations with IRA leaders to end the conflict. He was a bitter opponent of Welsh nationalism. His 1918 General Election campaign featured promises of reforms on education, housing, health and transport. The traditionalist Conservative Party, however, had no intention of introducing these reforms, which led to three years of frustrated fighting within the coalition. It was this fighting, coupled with the increasingly differing ideologies of the two forces in a country reeling from the costs of war that led to Lloyd George being removed from power. The Conservatives maintained that they did not need Lloyd George to be electable simply because he was the man who won the war for Britain. They also accused him of selling knighthoods and peerages for money and lacking any executive accountability as prime minister, claiming that he never turned up to Cabinet meetings and banished some government departments to the gardens of 10 Downing Street. A meeting in 1922 at London's Carlton Club between the frustrated and underused coalition backbenchers sealed Lloyd George's fate. Prominent Conservative politician Austen Chamberlain argued for supporting Lloyd George, while prospective party leader Andrew Bonar Law argued the other way, claiming that breaking up the coalition "wouldn't break Lloyd George's heart".

Related Topics:
War - Irish Free State - IRA - Welsh - 1918 - Education - Housing - Health - Transport - Knighthoods - Peerages - Money - Accountability - Cabinet - 10 Downing Street - London's - Carlton Club - Austen Chamberlain - Andrew Bonar Law

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