Liberal Government 1905–15
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 Campbell-Bannerman Ministry, led by Henry Campbell-Bannerman, and then the First Asquith Ministry, led by H.H. Asquith.
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. Campbell-Bannerman was succeeded by Herbert Henry Asquith in 1908.
Policies
The Liberal government, supported by 29 Labour Party MPs, crafted the People's Budget, which introduced social legislation: 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
- Gave planned budgetary free rein to the House of Commons (all Money Bills) and
- Helped to shape the later Salisbury Convention under which the House of Lords does not by convention oppose manifesto commitments
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 Nationalists. 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.
Cabinets
Campbell-Bannerman's Cabinet
- Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman — Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and Leader of the House of Commons
- 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.
- March 1907 — Lewis Harcourt, the First Commissioner of Works, enters the Cabinet.
Asquith’s Cabinet
OFFICE | NAME | TERM |
Prime Minister First Lord of the Treasury | H. H. Asquith | May 1908 – May 1915 |
Lord Chancellor | The Lord Loreburn[1] | 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[2] | 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[3] | May 1908 – June 1912 |
John 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[4] | 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[5] | 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 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 MacKinnon 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. John 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 John Edward Bernard Seely, 1st Baron Mottistone 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 | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
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 1908 – 25 May 1915 | ||
Chancellor of the Exchequer | H. H. Asquith | 10 December 1905 | |
David Lloyd George | 12 April 1908 | ||
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 | ||
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 Samuel Montagu | 11 February 1914 | ||
Francis Dyke Acland | 3 February 1915 | ||
Junior Lords of the Treasury | Herbert Lewis | 18 December 1905 – 7 July 1909 | |
Jack Pease | 18 December 1905 – 3 June 1908 | ||
Freeman Freeman-Thomas | 21 December 1905 – 2 February 1906 | ||
Cecil Norton | 21 December 1905 – 7 July 1909 | ||
John Fuller | 2 February 1906 – 27 February 1907 | ||
John Henry Whitley | 27 February 1907 – 20 February 1910 | ||
Oswald Partington | 7 July 1909 – 19 January 1911 | ||
John Gulland | 7 July 1909 – 24 January 1915 | ||
William Wedgwood Benn | 20 February 1910 – 25 May 1915 | ||
Ernest Soares | 20 February 1910 – 16 April 1911 | ||
Percy Illingworth | 28 February 1910 – 7 August 1912 | ||
William Jones | 19 January 1911 – 25 May 1915 | ||
Frederick Edward Guest | 16 April 1911 – 21 February 1912 | ||
Sir Arthur Haworth, Bt | 23 February 1912 – 16 April 1912 | ||
Henry Webb | 16 April 1912 – 25 May 1915 | ||
Cecil Beck | 3 February 1915 – 25 May 1915 | ||
Walter Rea | 3 February 1915 – 25 May 1915 | ||
Lord Chancellor | The Lord Loreburn | 10 December 1905 | created Earl of Loreburn 4 July 1911 |
The Viscount Haldane | 10 June 1912 | ||
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 | ||
Lord Privy Seal | The Marquess of Ripon | 10 December 1905 | also Leader of the House of Lords 10 December 1905 – 14 April 1908 |
The Earl of Crewe | 9 October 1908 | also Leader of the House of Lords; created Marquess of Crewe 3 July 1911 | |
The Earl Carrington | 23 October 1911 | ||
The Marquess of Crewe | 13 February 1912 | also Leader of the House of Lords | |
Secretary of State for the Home Department | Herbert Gladstone | 10 December 1905 | |
Winston Churchill | 14 February 1910 | ||
Reginald McKenna | 23 October 1911 | ||
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 | ||
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | Sir Edward Grey, Bt | 10 December 1905 | |
Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | Lord Edmond Fitzmaurice | 18 December 1905 | created Baron Fitzmaurice 9 January 1906 |
Thomas McKinnon Wood | 19 October 1908 | ||
Francis Dyke Acland | 23 October 1911 | ||
Neil Primrose | 4 February 1915 | ||
Secretary of State for the Colonies | The Earl of Elgin | 10 December 1905 | |
The Earl of Crewe | 12 April 1908 | also Leader of the House of Lords | |
Lewis Harcourt | 3 November 1910 | ||
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 | ||
Secretary of State for War | Richard Haldane | 10 December 1905 | created Viscount Haldane 27 March 1911 |
J. E. B. Seely | 12 June 1912 | ||
H. H. Asquith | 30 March 1914 | also Prime Minister | |
The Earl Kitchener | 5 August 1914 | ||
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 | ||
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 Trevor Baker | 14 June 1912 | ||
Secretary of State for India | John Morley | 10 December 1905 | created Viscount Morley of Blackburn 2 May 1908 |
The Earl of Crewe | 3 November 1910 | also Leader of the House of Lords | |
The Viscount Morley of Blackburn | 7 March 1911 | ||
The Earl of Crewe | 25 May 1911 | also Leader of the House of Lords; created Marquess of Crewe 3 July 1911 | |
Under-Secretary of State for India | John Edward Ellis | 12 December 1905 | |
Charles Hobhouse | 29 January 1907 | ||
Thomas Buchanan | 12 April 1908 | ||
The Master of Elibank | 5 June 1909 | ||
Edwin Samuel Montagu | 20 February 1910 | ||
Charles Henry Roberts | 17 February 1914 | ||
First Lord of the Admiralty | The Lord Tweedmouth | 10 December 1905 | |
Reginald McKenna | 12 April 1908 | ||
Winston Churchill | 23 October 1911 | ||
Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty | Edmund Robertson | 12 December 1905 | |
Thomas James Macnamara | 13 April 1908 | ||
Civil Lord of the Admiralty | George Lambert | 18 December 1905 | |
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 | ||
Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries | Sir Edward Strachey, Bt | 20 December 1909 | |
The Lord Lucas | 23 October 1911 | ||
Sir Harry Verney, Bt | 10 August 1914 | ||
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 | ||
Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education | Thomas Lough | 18 December 1905 | |
Thomas McKinnon Wood | 13 April 1908 | ||
Sir Charles Trevelyan, Bt | 19 October 1908 | ||
Christopher Addison | 10 August 1914 | ||
Chief Secretary for Ireland | James Bryce | 10 December 1905 | |
Augustine Birrell | 23 January 1907 | ||
Vice President of the Department of Agriculture for Ireland | Sir Horace Plunkett | 12 December 1905 | |
Thomas Russell | 21 May 1907 | ||
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | Sir Henry Fowler | 10 December 1905 | created Viscount Wolverhampton 4 May 1908 |
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 Samuel Montagu | 3 February 1915 | ||
President of the Local Government Board | John Burns | 10 December 1905 | |
Herbert Samuel | 11 February 1914 | ||
Parliamentary Secretary to the Local Government Board | Walter Runciman | 18 December 1905 | |
Thomas James Macnamara | 29 January 1907 | ||
Charles Masterman | 12 April 1908 | ||
Herbert Lewis | 7 July 1909 | ||
Paymaster-General | Richard Causton | 12 December 1905 | |
Ivor Guest | 23 February 1910 | created Lord Ashby St Ledgers 15 March 1910 | |
The Lord Strachie | 23 May 1912 | ||
Postmaster-General | Sydney Buxton | 10 December 1905 | |
Herbert Samuel | 14 February 1910 | ||
Charles Hobhouse | 11 February 1914 | ||
Assistant Postmaster-General | Sir Henry Norman | 3 January 1910 | |
Cecil Norton | 20 February 1910 | ||
Secretary for Scotland | John Sinclair | 12 April 1908 | created Lord Pentland 15 February 1909 |
Thomas McKinnon Wood | 13 February 1912 | ||
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 | ||
Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade | Hudson Kearley | 18 December 1905 | created a Baronet 22 July 1908 |
Harold Tennant | 10 January 1909 | ||
J. M. Robertson | 25 October 1911 | ||
First Commissioner of Works | Lewis Harcourt | 10 December 1905 | entered cabinet 27 March 1907 |
The Earl Beauchamp | 3 November 1910 | ||
The Lord Emmott | 6 August 1914 | ||
Attorney General | Sir John Lawson Walton | 12 December 1905 | |
Sir William Robson | 28 January 1908 | ||
Sir Rufus Isaacs | 7 October 1910 | entered cabinet 4 June 1912 | |
Sir John Simon | 19 October 1913 | ||
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 | ||
Lord Advocate | Thomas Shaw | 12 December 1905 | |
Alexander Ure | 14 February 1909 | ||
Robert Munro | 30 October 1913 | ||
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 Brash Morison | 30 October 1913 | ||
Attorney General for Ireland | Richard Robert Cherry | 20 December 1905 | |
Redmond John Barry | 2 December 1909 | ||
Charles Andrew O'Connor | 26 September 1911 | ||
Ignatius O'Brien | 24 June 1912 | ||
Thomas Molony | 10 April 1913 | ||
John Francis Moriarty | 20 June 1913 | ||
Jonathan Pim | 1 July 1914 | ||
Solicitor General for Ireland | Redmond John Barry | 20 December 1905 | |
Charles Andrew O'Connor | 2 December 1909 | ||
Ignatius O'Brien | 19 October 1911 | ||
Thomas Molony | 24 June 1912 | ||
John Francis Moriarty | 25 April 1913 | ||
Jonathan Pim | 20 June 1913 | ||
James O'Connor | 1 July 1914 | ||
Lord Steward of the Household | The Lord Hawkesbury | 18 December 1905 | created Earl of Liverpool 22 December 1905 |
The Earl Beauchamp | 31 July 1907 | ||
The Earl of Chesterfield | 22 June 1910 | ||
Lord Chamberlain of the Household | The Viscount Althorp | 18 December 1905 | succeeded as 6th Earl Spencer 13 August 1910 |
The Lord Sandhurst | 14 February 1912 | ||
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household | Wentworth Beaumont | 18 December 1905 | succeeded as 2nd Lord Allendale 13 February 1907 |
John Fuller | 27 February 1907 | created a Baronet 7 July 1910 | |
Geoffrey Howard | 6 February 1911 | ||
Master of the Horse | The Earl of Sefton | 18 December 1905 | |
The Earl of Granard | 6 September 1907 | ||
Treasurer of the Household | Sir Edward Strachey, Bt | 18 December 1905 | |
William Dudley Ward | 20 December 1909 | ||
Frederick Edward Guest | 21 February 1912 | ||
Comptroller of the Household | The Master of Elibank | 18 December 1905 | |
The Earl of Liverpool (2nd) | 12 July 1909 | ||
The Lord Saye and Sele | 1 November 1912 | ||
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 | ||
Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms | The Earl Beauchamp | 18 December 1905 | |
The Lord Denman | 31 July 1907 | ||
The Lord Colebrooke | 26 June 1911 | ||
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 | ||
Lords in Waiting | The Lord Denman | 18 December 1905 – 31 July 1907 | |
The Earl of Granard | 18 December 1905 – 21 August 1907 | ||
The Lord Acton | 18 December 1905 – 25 May 1915 | ||
The Earl Granville | 18 December 1905 – 25 May 1915 | ||
The Lord Hamilton of Dalzell | 18 December 1905 – 2 October 1911 | ||
The Lord Colebrooke | 21 February 1906 – 26 June 1911 | ||
The Lord Herschell | 31 July 1907 – 25 May 1915 | ||
The Lord O'Hagan | 1 November 1907 – 15 April 1910 | ||
The Lord Tweedmouth | 15 April 1910 – 4 December 1911 | ||
The Lord Willingdon | 19 July 1911 – 31 January 1913 | ||
The Viscount Allendale | 2 October 1911 – 25 May 1915 | ||
The Lord Ashby St Ledgers | 31 January 1913 – 8 February 1915 | succeeded as 2nd Lord Wimborne 22 February 1914 | |
The Lord Stanmore | 1 May 1914 – 25 May 1915 | ||
The Lord Ranksborough | 8 February 1915 – 25 May 1915 |
See also
References
Source: Butler, David and Gareth Butler. Twentieth Century British Political Facts, 1900–2000. (St. Martin's, 2000)
Preceded by Balfour Ministry |
Government of the United Kingdom 1905–1915 |
Succeeded by Second Asquith Ministry |