Liberal government, 1905–1915 explained

The Liberal government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland that began in 1905 and ended in 1915 consisted of two ministries: the first led by Henry Campbell-Bannerman (from 1905 to 1908) and the final three by H. H. Asquith (from 1908 onwards).

Formation

With the fall of Arthur Balfour's Conservative government in the United Kingdom in December 1905, the Liberals under Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman were called in to form a government. In the subsequent election, the Liberals won an enormous majority.^[1] Campbell-Bannerman was succeeded as prime minister by H. H. Asquith in 1908.^[2]

Policies

See main article: Liberal welfare reforms and Welfare state in the United Kingdom. The Liberal government was supported by 29 Labour Party MPs. Chancellor David Lloyd George crafted the People's Budget and introduced a great deal of social legislation,^[3] such as old age pensions and unemployment insurance for a significant part of the working population. For many working people, for whom in old age the threat of the workhouse was very real, these represented a very significant change. Equally groundbreaking was the Parliament Act 1911 which:

• Removed the law-making veto from the House of Lords thus rendering it constitutionally most expedient to run any future government from the House of Commons
• Enshrined into law the previous convention, which the Lords had broken in 1909, that the Lords may not reject Money Bills
• Cut the length of Parliaments from seven years to five

Many of the members of Asquith's cabinet, however, opposed the social measures promulgated by leading figures such as Winston Churchill and David Lloyd George. This resistance was arguably a reflection of the extent to which many Liberals still adhered to the Party's Gladstonian, classical liberal tradition in spite of the growth of the "New Liberalism". Morley was opposed to both old-age pensions and the provisions of the Trade Boards Act of 1909, while Runciman was against the eight-hour day for miners and compensation for workers. Burns, Bryce, Loreburn, and W.S. Robson were opposed to land reform, insurance, and the feeding of schoolchildren,^[4] while several cabinet members^[5] (such as Crewe,^[6] Fitzmaurice,^[7] Harcourt,^[8] and McKenna^[9]) were critical of Lloyd George's progressive "People's Budget." Nevertheless, according to Neil Smith, the majority of the members of the Edwardian Liberal Cabinets were supportive of social reform and social progress.^[10] As noted by one study,

They (the Liberal Cabinet members) sought to respond to the discontent of the electorate by using the existing structure of government to correct the ills of society through innovative legislation. Two-thirds of the Liberal candidates, including Edwin Montagu, had pledged support for such measures during the campaign. While their support was often expressed in general terms, their intent was clear: Social and economic reform must be the first order of the new government.^[11]

Fate

Although the government lost a great deal of support by the two general elections of 1910, they managed to hold on by dint of support from the Irish Parliamentary Party. After early mismanagement during the First World War, particularly the failure of the Dardanelles Campaign, Asquith was forced to bring the Unionists into the government in a coalition.^[12]

Cabinets

Campbell-Bannerman ministry

Cabinet Name:	Campbell-Bannerman ministry
Incumbent:	1905–1908
Government Head Title:	Prime Minister
Government Head:	Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman
State Head Title:	Monarch
State Head:	Edward VII
Political Party:	Liberal Party
Election:	1906 general election
Opposition Party:	Conservative Party
Previous:	Balfour ministry
Successor:	First Asquith ministry

• Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman – Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and Leader of the House of Commons^[13]
• The Lord Loreburn – Lord Chancellor
• The Earl of Crewe – Lord President of the Council
• The Marquess of Ripon – Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords
• H. H. Asquith – Chancellor of the Exchequer
• Herbert Gladstone – Secretary of State for the Home Department
• Sir Edward Grey, Bt – Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
• The Earl of Elgin – Secretary of State for the Colonies
• Richard Haldane – Secretary of State for War
• John Morley – Secretary of State for India
• The Lord Tweedmouth – First Lord of the Admiralty
• David Lloyd George – President of the Board of Trade
• Sir Henry Fowler – Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
• Sir John Sinclair – Secretary for Scotland
• James Bryce – Chief Secretary for Ireland
• John Burns – President of the Local Government Board
• The Earl Carrington – President of the Board of Agriculture
• Augustine Birrell – President of the Board of Education
• Sydney Buxton – Postmaster-General

Changes

• January 1907 – Augustine Birrell succeeds Bryce as Irish Secretary. Reginald McKenna succeeds Birrell at the Board of Education.^[14]
• March 1907 – Lewis Harcourt, the First Commissioner of Works, enters the cabinet.^[15]

Asquith ministry

Cabinet Name:	Asquith ministries
Government Head Title:	Prime Minister
Government Head:	H. H. Asquith
State Head Title:	Monarch
Government Head History:	1908–1916
Political Party:	Liberal Party
Budget:	People's Budget
Opposition Party:	Conservative Party
Previous:	C-Bannerman ministry
Successor:	Asquith coalition ministry

Office	Name	Term
Prime Minister First Lord of the Treasury	H. H. Asquith	May 1908 – May 1915
Lord Chancellor	The Lord Loreburn^[16]	April 1908 – June 1912
	The Viscount Haldane	June 1912 – May 1915
Lord President of the Council	The Lord Tweedmouth	April–September 1908
	The Viscount Wolverhampton	September 1908 – June 1910
	The Earl Beauchamp	June–November 1910
	The Viscount Morley of Blackburn	November 1910 – August 1914
	The Earl Beauchamp	August 1914 – May 1915
Lord Privy Seal	The Marquess of Ripon	May–October 1908
	The Earl of Crewe^[17]	October 1908 – October 1911
	The Earl Carrington	October 1911 – February 1912
	The Marquess of Crewe	February 1912 – May 1915
Chancellor of the Exchequer	David Lloyd George	May 1908 – May 1915
Home Secretary	Herbert Gladstone	May 1908 – February 1910
	Winston Churchill	February 1910 – October 1911
	Reginald McKenna	October 1911 – May 1915
Foreign Secretary	Sir Edward Grey, Bt	May 1908 – May 1915
Secretary of State for the Colonies	The Earl of Crewe	May 1908 – November 1910
	Lewis Harcourt	November 1910 – May 1915
Secretary of State for War	Richard Haldane^[18]	May 1908 – June 1912
	Jack Seely	June 1912 – March 1914
	H. H. Asquith	March–August 1914
	The Earl Kitchener	August 1914 – May 1915
Secretary of State for India	The Viscount Morley of Blackburn	May 1908 – November 1910
	The Earl of Crewe	November 1910 – May 1915
First Lord of the Admiralty	Reginald McKenna	May 1908 – October 1911
	Winston Churchill	October 1911 – May 1915
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster	The Viscount Wolverhampton	May–September 1908
	The Lord FitzMaurice	September 1908 – June 1909
	Herbert Samuel	June 1909 – May 1910
	Joseph Pease	May 1910 – October 1911
	Charles Hobhouse	October 1911 – February 1914
	Charles Masterman	February 1914 – January 1915
	Edwin Samuel Montagu	January–May 1915
President of the Board of Trade	Winston Churchill	May 1908 – February 1910
	Sydney Buxton	February 1910 – February 1914
	John Burns	February–August 1914
	Walter Runciman	August 1914 – May 1915
Secretary for Scotland	John Sinclair^[19]	May 1908 – February 1912
	Thomas McKinnon Wood	February 1912 – May 1915
Chief Secretary for Ireland	Augustine Birrell	May 1908 – May 1915
President of the Local Government Board	John Burns	May 1908 – February 1914
	Herbert Samuel	February 1914 – May 1915'
President of the Board of Agriculture	The Earl Carrington	May 1908 – October 1911
	Walter Runciman	October 1911 – August 1914
	The Lord Lucas	August 1914 – May 1915
President of the Board of Education	Walter Runciman	May 1908 – October 1911
	Joseph Pease	October 1911 – May 1915
Postmaster General	Sydney Buxton	May 1908 – February 1910
	Herbert Samuel	February 1910 – February 1914
	Charles Hobhouse	February 1914 – May 1915
First Commissioner of Works	Lewis Harcourt	May 1908 – November 1910
	The Earl Beauchamp	November 1910 – August 1914
	The Lord Emmott	August 1914 – May 1915
Attorney General	Sir Rufus Isaacs^[20]	June 1912 – October 1913
	Sir John Simon	October 1913 – May 1915

Changes

• September 1908 – Lord Wolverhampton succeeds Lord Tweedmouth as Lord President. Lord FitzMaurice succeeds Lord Wolverhampton as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
• October 1908 – Lord Crewe succeeds Lord Ripon as Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords, while remaining also Colonial Secretary.
• June 1909 – Herbert Samuel succeeds Lord FitzMaurice at the Duchy of Lancaster.
• February 1910 – Winston Churchill succeeds Herbert Gladstone as Home Secretary. Sydney Buxton succeeds Churchill at the Board of Trade. Herbert Samuel succeeds Buxton as Postmaster-General. Joseph Pease succeeds Samuel as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
• June 1910 – Lord Beauchamp succeeds Lord Wolverhampton as Lord President.
• November 1910 – Lord Beauchamp succeeds Lewis Vernon Harcourt as First Commissioner of Public Works. Lord Morley of Blackburn succeeds Beauchamp as Lord President. Lord Crewe succeeds Morley as India Secretary, remaining also Lord Privy Seal. Lewis Harcourt succeeds Crewe as Colonial Secretary.
• October 1911 – Winston Churchill and Reginald McKenna switch offices, Churchill taking the Admiralty and McKenna the Home Office. Lord Carrington succeeds Lord Crewe as Lord Privy Seal. Crewe remains India Secretary. Walter Runciman succeeds Lord Carrington at the Board of Agriculture. Joseph Albert Pease succeeds Runciman at the Board of Education. Charles Edward Henry Hobhouse succeeds Pease at the Duchy of Lancaster.
• February 1912 – Lord Crewe succeeds Lord Carrington as Lord Privy Seal, remaining also India Secretary. Thomas McKinnon Wood succeeds Lord Pentland as Secretary for Scotland.
• June 1912 – The Attorney-General, Sir Rufus Isaacs, enters the cabinet. Lord Haldane succeeds Lord Loreburn as Lord Chancellor. Jack Seely succeeds Haldane as Secretary for War.
• October 1913 – Sir John Simon succeeds Sir Rufus Isaacs as Attorney-General.
• February 1914 – John Burns succeeds Sydney Buxton as President of the Board of Trade. Herbert Samuel succeeds Burns at the Local Government Board. Sir Charles Edward Henry Hobhouse succeeds Samuel as Postmaster-General. Charles Frederick Gurney Masterman succeeds Hobhouse at the Duchy of Lancaster.
• March 1914 – Asquith temporarily succeeds Jack Seely as Secretary for War.
• August 1914 – Lord Beauchamp succeeds Lord Morley as Lord President. Lord Emmott succeeds Beauchamp as First Commissioner of Public Works. Walter Runciman succeeds John Burns as President of the Board of Trade. Lord Lucas succeeds Runciman at the Board of Agriculture. Lord Kitchener succeeds Asquith as Secretary for War.
• January 1915 – Edwin Samuel Montagu succeeds Charles Frederick Gurney Masterman as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

List of ministers

Members of the cabinet are in bold face.

Office	Name	Date
scope=row rowspan=2	Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and Leader of the House of Commons	Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman	5 December 1905
H. H. Asquith	5 April 190825 May 1915
scope=row rowspan=2	Chancellor of the Exchequer	H. H. Asquith	10 December 1905
David Lloyd George	12 April 1908
scope=row rowspan=5	Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury and Government Chief Whip in the House of Commons	George Whiteley	12 December 1905
Jack Pease	3 June 1908
The Master of Elibank	14 February 1910
Percy Illingworth	7 August 1912
John Gulland	24 January 1915
scope=row rowspan=7	Financial Secretary to the Treasury	Reginald McKenna	12 December 1905
Walter Runciman	29 January 1907
Charles Hobhouse	12 April 1908
Thomas McKinnon Wood	23 October 1911
Charles Masterman	13 February 1912
Edwin Montagu	11 February 1914
Francis Dyke Acland	3 February 1915
scope=row rowspan=17	Junior Lords of the Treasury	Herbert Lewis	18 December 19057 July 1909
Jack Pease	18 December 19053 June 1908
Freeman Freeman-Thomas	21 December 19052 February 1906
Cecil Norton	21 December 19057 July 1909
John Fuller	2 February 190627 February 1907
John Henry Whitley	27 February 190720 February 1910
Oswald Partington	7 July 190919 January 1911
John Gulland	7 July 190924 January 1915
William Wedgwood Benn	20 February 191025 May 1915
Ernest Soares	20 February 191016 April 1911
Percy Illingworth	28 February 19107 August 1912
William Jones	19 January 191125 May 1915
Freddie Guest	16 April 191121 February 1912
Sir Arthur Haworth	23 February 191216 April 1912
Henry Webb	16 April 191225 May 1915
Cecil Beck	3 February 191525 May 1915
Walter Rea	3 February 191525 May 1915
scope=row rowspan=2	Lord Chancellor	The Lord Loreburn	10 December 1905
The Viscount Haldane	10 June 1912
scope=row rowspan=6	Lord President of the Council	The Earl of Crewe	10 December 1905
The Lord Tweedmouth	12 April 1908
The Viscount Wolverhampton	13 October 1908
The Earl Beauchamp	16 June 1910
The Viscount Morley of Blackburn	3 November 1910
The Earl Beauchamp	5 August 1914
scope=row rowspan=4	Lord Privy Seal	The Marquess of Ripon	10 December 1905
The Earl of Crewe	9 October 1908
The Earl Carrington	23 October 1911
The Marquess of Crewe	13 February 1912
scope=row rowspan=3	Secretary of State for the Home Department	Herbert Gladstone	10 December 1905
Winston Churchill	14 February 1910
Reginald McKenna	23 October 1911
scope=row rowspan=4	Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department	Herbert Samuel	12 December 1905
Charles Masterman	7 July 1909
Ellis Ellis-Griffith	19 February 1912
Cecil Harmsworth	4 February 1915
scope=row	Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs	Sir Edward Grey	10 December 1905
scope=row rowspan=4	Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs	Lord Edmond Fitzmaurice	18 December 1905
Thomas McKinnon Wood	19 October 1908
Francis Dyke Acland	23 October 1911
Neil Primrose	4 February 1915
scope=row rowspan=3	Secretary of State for the Colonies	The Earl of Elgin	10 December 1905
The Earl of Crewe	12 April 1908
Lewis Harcourt	3 November 1910
scope=row rowspan=5	Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies	Winston Churchill	12 December 1905
J. E. B. Seely	12 April 1908
The Lord Lucas of Crudwell	23 March 1911
The Lord Emmott	23 October 1911
The Lord Islington	10 August 1915
scope=row rowspan=4	Secretary of State for War	Richard Haldane	10 December 1905
J. E. B. Seely	12 June 1912
H. H. Asquith	30 March 1914
The Earl Kitchener	5 August 1914
scope=row rowspan=4	Under-Secretary of State for War	The Earl of Portsmouth	12 December 1905
The Lord Lucas of Crudwell	12 April 1908
J. E. B. Seely	23 March 1911
Harold Tennant	14 June 1912
scope=row rowspan=6	Financial Secretary to the War Office	Thomas Buchanan	14 December 1905
Francis Dyke Acland	12 April 1908
Charles Mallet	4 March 1910
Francis Dyke Acland	31 January 1911
Harold Tennant	25 October 1911
Harold Baker	14 June 1912
scope=row rowspan=4	Secretary of State for India	John Morley	10 December 1905
The Earl of Crewe	3 November 1910
The Viscount Morley of Blackburn	7 March 1911
The Earl of Crewe	25 May 1911
scope=row rowspan=6	Under-Secretary of State for India	John Ellis	12 December 1905
Charles Hobhouse	29 January 1907
Thomas Buchanan	12 April 1908
The Master of Elibank	5 June 1909
Edwin Montagu	20 February 1910
Charles Roberts	17 February 1914
scope=row rowspan=3	First Lord of the Admiralty	The Lord Tweedmouth	10 December 1905
Reginald McKenna	12 April 1908
Winston Churchill	23 October 1911
scope=row rowspan=2	Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty	Edmund Robertson	12 December 1905
Thomas Macnamara	13 April 1908
scope=row	Civil Lord of the Admiralty	George Lambert	18 December 1905
scope=row rowspan=3	President of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries	The Earl Carrington	10 December 1905
Walter Runciman	23 October 1911
The Lord Lucas of Crudwell	6 August 1914
scope=row rowspan=3	Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries	Sir Edward Strachey	20 December 1909
The Lord Lucas	23 October 1911
Sir Harry Verney	10 August 1914
scope=row rowspan=4	President of the Board of Education	Augustine Birrell	10 December 1905
Reginald McKenna	23 January 1907
Walter Runciman	12 April 1908
Jack Pease	23 October 1911
scope=row rowspan=4	Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education	Thomas Lough	18 December 1905
Thomas McKinnon Wood	13 April 1908
Sir Charles Trevelyan	19 October 1908
Christopher Addison	10 August 1914
scope=row rowspan=2	Chief Secretary for Ireland	James Bryce	10 December 1905
Augustine Birrell	23 January 1907
scope=row rowspan=2	Vice President of the Department of Agriculture for Ireland	Sir Horace Plunkett	12 December 1905
Thomas Russell	21 May 1907
scope=row rowspan=7	Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster	Sir Henry Fowler	10 December 1905
The Lord Fitzmaurice	13 October 1908
Herbert Samuel	25 June 1909
Jack Pease	14 February 1910
Charles Hobhouse	23 October 1911
Charles Masterman	11 February 1914
Edwin Montagu	3 February 1915
scope=row rowspan=2	President of the Local Government Board	John Burns	10 December 1905
Herbert Samuel	11 February 1914
scope=row rowspan=4	Parliamentary Secretary to the Local Government Board	Walter Runciman	18 December 1905
Thomas Macnamara	29 January 1907
Charles Masterman	12 April 1908
Herbert Lewis	7 July 1909
scope=row rowspan=3	Paymaster General	Richard Causton	12 December 1905
Ivor Guest	23 February 1910
The Lord Strachie	23 May 1912
scope=row rowspan=3	Postmaster-General	Sydney Buxton	10 December 1905
Herbert Samuel	14 February 1910
Charles Hobhouse	11 February 1914
scope=row rowspan=2	Assistant Postmaster-General	Sir Henry Norman	3 January 1910
Cecil Norton	20 February 1910
scope=row rowspan=2	Secretary for Scotland	John Sinclair	12 April 1908
Thomas McKinnon Wood	13 February 1912
scope=row rowspan=5	President of the Board of Trade	David Lloyd George	10 December 1905
Winston Churchill	12 April 1908
Sydney Buxton	14 February 1910
John Burns	11 February 1914
Walter Runciman	5 August 1914
scope=row rowspan=3	Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade	Hudson Kearley	18 December 1905
Harold Tennant	10 January 1909
J. M. Robertson	25 October 1911
scope=row rowspan=3	First Commissioner of Works	Lewis Harcourt	10 December 1905
The Earl Beauchamp	3 November 1910
The Lord Emmott	6 August 1914
scope=row rowspan=4	Attorney General	Sir John Lawson Walton	12 December 1905
Sir William Robson	28 January 1908
Sir Rufus Isaacs	7 October 1910
Sir John Simon	19 October 1913
scope=row rowspan=5	Solicitor General	Sir William Robson	12 December 1905
Sir Samuel Thomas Evans	28 January 1908
Sir Rufus Isaacs	6 March 1910
Sir John Simon	7 October 1910
Sir Stanley Buckmaster	19 October 1913
scope=row rowspan=3	Lord Advocate	Thomas Shaw	12 December 1905
Alexander Ure	14 February 1909
Robert Munro	30 October 1913
scope=row rowspan=5	Solicitor General for Scotland	Alexander Ure	18 December 1905
Arthur Dewar	18 February 1909
William Hunter	18 April 1910
Andrew Anderson	3 December 1911
Thomas Morison	30 October 1913
scope=row rowspan=7	Attorney General for Ireland	Richard Cherry	20 December 1905
Redmond Barry	2 December 1909
Charles O'Connor	26 September 1911
Ignatius O'Brien	24 June 1912
Thomas Molony	10 April 1913
John Moriarty	20 June 1913
Jonathan Pim	1 July 1914
scope=row rowspan=7	Solicitor General for Ireland	Redmond Barry	20 December 1905
Charles O'Connor	2 December 1909
Ignatius O'Brien	19 October 1911
Thomas Molony	24 June 1912
John Moriarty	25 April 1913
Jonathan Pim	20 June 1913
James O'Connor	1 July 1914
scope=row rowspan=3	Lord Steward of the Household	The Lord Hawkesbury	18 December 1905
The Earl Beauchamp	31 July 1907
The Earl of Chesterfield	22 June 1910
scope=row rowspan=2	Lord Chamberlain of the Household	The Viscount Althorp	18 December 1905
The Lord Sandhurst	14 February 1912
scope=row rowspan=3	Vice-Chamberlain of the Household	Wentworth Beaumont	18 December 1905
John Fuller	27 February 1907
Geoffrey Howard	6 February 1911
scope=row rowspan=2	Master of the Horse	The Earl of Sefton	18 December 1905
The Earl of Granard	6 September 1907
scope=row rowspan=3	Treasurer of the Household	Sir Edward Strachey	18 December 1905
William Dudley Ward	20 December 1909
Freddie Guest	21 February 1912
scope=row rowspan=3	Comptroller of the Household	The Master of Elibank	18 December 1905
The Earl of Liverpool	12 July 1909
The Lord Saye and Sele	1 November 1912
scope=row rowspan=3	Government Chief Whip in the House of Lords	The Lord Ribblesdale	18 December 1905
The Lord Denman	29 May 1907
The Lord Colebrooke	15 March 1911
scope=row rowspan=3	Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms	The Earl Beauchamp	18 December 1905
The Lord Denman	31 July 1907
The Lord Colebrooke	26 June 1911
scope=row rowspan=3	Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard	The Duke of Manchester	18 December 1905
The Lord Allendale	29 April 1907
The Earl of Craven	2 October 1911
scope=row rowspan=15	Lords in Waiting	The Lord Denman	18 December 190531 July 1907
The Earl of Granard	18 December 190521 August 1907
The Lord Acton	18 December 190525 May 1915
The Earl Granville	18 December 190525 May 1915
The Lord Hamilton of Dalzell	18 December 19052 October 1911
The Lord Colebrooke	21 February 190626 June 1911
The Lord Herschell	31 July 190725 May 1915
The Lord O'Hagan	1 November 190715 April 1910
The Lord Tweedmouth	15 April 19104 December 1911
The Lord Willingdon	19 July 1911 31 January 1913
The Viscount Allendale	2 October 191125 May 1915
The Lord Ashby St Ledgers	31 January 19138 February 1915
The Lord Stanmore	1 May 191425 May 1915
The Lord Ranksborough	8 February 191525 May 1915

Notes

See also

• Edwardian era
• List of British governments

Further reading

• Book: Blewett, Neal. Neal Blewett. The Peers, the Parties and the People: The British General Elections of 1910. 1972. Toronto and Buffalo. University of Toronto Press. registration. 0-8020-1838-6.
• Brooks, David. The Age of Upheaval: Edwardian Politics, 1899-1914 (1995) online
• Butler, David and Gareth Butler. Twentieth Century British Political Facts, 1900–2000. (St. Martin's, 2000)
• Byrne, Mike. Britain 1895-1918 (Access to History, 2005), textbook.
• Cross, Colin. The Liberals in Power, 1905-1914 (1963) online
• Dangerfield, George. The Strange Death of Liberal England (1935), a famous classic focused on the Irish crisis (the rebellion in Ulster), the suffragette movement and the labour movement, 1910-1914. online
• Daglish, N. D. "A 'difficult and somewhat thankless task': politics, religion and the Education Bill of 1908." Journal of educational administration and history 31.1 (1999): 19–35.
• Douglas, Roy. The history of the Liberal Party, 1895-1970 (1971) online
• Emy, H.V. Liberals, Radicals and Social Politics 1892–1914 (Cambridge UP, 1973) online
• Ensor, R.C.K. England: 1900-1939 (Oxford UP, 1936) online
• Glaser, John F. "English Nonconformity and the Decline of Liberalism" American Historical Review 63#2 (1958), pp. 352-363 Halévy, Elie. The Rule of Democracy, 1905-1914 (vol 6 of "History of the English People, 1905-1914") (1934); online
• Hay, James Roy. Origins of the Liberal Welfare Reforms, 1906–14 (1975) 78pp online
• Jenkins, Roy. Mr. Balfour's poodle: an account of the struggle between the House of Lords and the government of Mr. Asquith (1954) online
• Quinault, Roland. "Asquith's Liberalism." History 77.249 (1992): 33–49.
• Russell, A. K. Liberal landslide : the general election of 1906 (1973).
• Searle, G. R. A New England?: peace and war, 1886–1918 (Oxford UP, 2004), wide-ranging scholarly survey, 952 pp.
• Wrigley, Chris. ed. A Companion to Early Twentieth-Century Britain (Blackwell, 2003); 32 essays by experts, on 1900–1939, with emphasis on historiography. online

Leadership

• Cregier, Don M. Bounder from Wales: Lloyd George's Career Before the First World War (U of Missouri Press, 1976).
• Gilbert, Bentley Brinkerhoff. David Lloyd George: The Architect of Change, 1863-1912 (1987) online
• Gilbert, Bentley Brinkerhoff. David Lloyd George: a political life: Organizer of Victory: 1912-1916 (1987) online
• Gilbert, Bentley Brinkerhoff. "David Lloyd George: Land, The Budget, and Social Reform." American Historical Review 81.5 (1976): 1058–1066. online
• Gilbert, Bentley B. "David Lloyd George: the reform of British landholding and the budget of 1914." Historical Journal 21.1 (1978): 117–141.
• Grigg, John. Lloyd George: The People's Champion, 1902–1911 (1978). biography online
• Grigg, John. Lloyd George: from peace to war, 1912-1916 (1985) online
• Jenkins, Roy. Asquith: portrait of a man and an era (1964) online
• Levine, Naomi. Politics, Religion, and Love: The Story of H.H. Asquith, Venetia Stanley, and Edwin Montagu, Based on the Life and Letters of Edwin Samuel Montagu (NYU Press, 1991).
• Murray, Bruce K. The People's Budget, 1909–1910: Lloyd George and Liberal Politics (1980).
• Packer, Ian. Lloyd George, liberalism and the land: The land issue and party politics in England, 1906–1914 (Boydell & Brewer, 2001).
• Pelling, Henry. Winston Churchill (1974) pp.110-146 online
• Quinault, Roland. "Asquith's Liberalism." History 77.249 (1992): 33–49. online
• Stephenson, Charles. Churchill as Home Secretary: Suffragettes, Strikes, and Social Reform 1910-11 (2023)

Primary sources and year books

• The Liberal year book: 1906 (1906); online
• The Liberal year book: 1907 (1907); online
• The Liberal Year Book: 1908 (1908); online
• Annual Register 1906
• Annual Register 1907
• Statistical Abstract of the United Kingdom annual 1901–1909, online

Notes and References

1. A. K. Russell, Liberal landslide : the general election of 1906 (1973).
2. Tuchman, Barbara. The Guns of August. Ed. Margaret Macmillan. New York: Library of America, 2008. p. 66.
3. John Grigg, Lloyd George: The People's Champion, 1902–1911 (1978)
4. Book: Tanner, Duncan. Duncan Tanner. Political Change and the Labour Party 1900-1918. 1990. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. 0521329817. 48. Ideas and politics, 1906-1914.
5. Murray. Bruce. Autumn 2009. The "People's Budget" A Century On. Journal of Liberal History. Liberal Democrat History Group. 64. 4–13. 9 August 2015.
6. Book: Waterhouse, Michael. Edwardian Requiem: A Life of Sir Edward Grey. 2013. Biteback Publishing Ltd. London. 9781849545808.
7. Book: Murray, Bruce. The People's Budget: 1909–1910 ; Lloyd George and Liberal Politics. 1980. Clarendon Press. 149. The Budget in the Cabinet.
8. Jackson. Patrick. Autumn 2003. Biography: Lewis Harcourt. Journal of Liberal History. Liberal Democrat History Group. 40. 14–17.
9. Book: Campbell, John. John Campbell (biographer). Pistols at Dawn: Two Hundred Years of Political Rivalry from Pitt and Fox to Blair and Brown. 2010. Vintage. London. 9781845950910. 149. H. H. Asquith and David Lloyd George. https://archive.org/details/pistolsatdawntwo0000camp/page/149.
10. Social reform in Edwardian liberalism: the genesis of the policies of national insurance and old age pensions, 1906–11 - Durham e-Theses. Smith. Neil. 1972. Durham E-Theses. 9 August 2015. Masters .
11. Book: Naomi Levine. Politics, Religion, and Love: The Story of H.H. Asquith, Venetia Stanley, and Edwin Montagu, Based on the Life and Letters of Edwin Samuel Montagu. registration. 1991. NYU Press. 82–83. 978-0-8147-5057-5 .
12. Keegan, John. The First World War. New York: Vintage, 1998. p. 320.
13. All posts referenced in Cook, Chris. The Routledge Companion to Britain in the Nineteenth Century, 1815–1914. Abingdon: Routledge, 2005. p. 52.
14. Daglish, Neal. Education Policy Making in England and Wales: The Crucible Years, 1895-1911. Abingdon: Routledge, 2013. p. 315.
15. Jenkins, Roy. Churchill: A Biography. New York: MacMillan, 2001. p. 123.
16. Earl Loreburn from 1911.
17. Marquess of Crewe from 1911
18. Viscount Haldane from 1911
19. Lord Pentland from 1909
20. Lord Reading from 1913.