Second Asquith ministry
Herbert Henry Asquith formed the Second Asquith Ministry, a wartime coalition government, in the aftermath of the Gallipoli disaster in 1915, by bringing in the Conservatives to shore up his government. The Conservatives were not terribly pleased with the offices they received in this new government and Tory leader Andrew Bonar Law became dissatisfied with Asquith and the Liberals' conduct of affairs. The government collapsed as a result of the resignation of the Conservatives, who refused to serve any longer under Asquith. Asquith and most of the Liberals then moved into opposition, while the Conservatives formed a new coalition with a minority of the Liberals, under the leadership of Liberal David Lloyd George in 1916.
List of Ministers
Members of the Cabinet are listed in bold.
Office | Name | Date | Party | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and Leader of the House of Commons | H. H. Asquith | 25 May 1915 – 5 December 1916 | Liberal | |
Chancellor of the Exchequer | Reginald McKenna | 25 May 1915 | Liberal | |
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury | John Gulland | 30 May 1915 – 5 December 1916 | Liberal | Joint Government Chief Whips in the House of Commons |
Lord Edmund Talbot | 30 May 1915 – 5 December 1916 | Conservative | ||
Financial Secretary to the Treasury | Edwin Samuel Montagu | 26 May 1915 | Liberal | entered cabinet 16 January 1916 |
Thomas McKinnon Wood | 9 July 1916 | Liberal | ||
Junior Lords of the Treasury | Geoffrey Howard | 30 May 1915 – 5 December 1916 | Liberal | |
George Henry Roberts | 30 May 1915 – 5 December 1916 | Labour | ||
William Bridgeman | 30 May 1915 – 5 December 1916 | Conservative | ||
Walter Rea | 30 May 1915 – 5 December 1916 | Liberal | ||
Lord Chancellor | The Lord Buckmaster | 25 May 1915 | Liberal | |
Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Lords | The Marquess of Crewe | 25 May 1915 | Liberal | |
Lord Privy Seal | The Earl Curzon of Kedleston | 25 May 1915 | Conservative | |
Secretary of State for the Home Department | Sir John Simon | 25 May 1915 | Liberal | |
Herbert Samuel | 10 January 1916 | Liberal | ||
Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department | William Brace | 30 May 1915 | Labour | |
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | Sir Edward Grey | 25 May 1915 | Liberal | created Viscount Grey of Fallodon 27 July 1916 |
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | Lord Robert Cecil | 30 May 1915 | Conservative | in cabinet 23 February 1916 |
Secretary of State for the Colonies | Andrew Bonar Law | 25 May 1915 | Conservative | |
Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies | Arthur Steel-Maitland | 30 May 1915 | Conservative | |
Secretary of State for War | The Earl Kitchener | 25 May 1915 | ||
David Lloyd George | 6 July 1916 | Liberal | ||
Under-Secretary of State for War | Harold Tennant | 30 May 1915 | Liberal | |
The Earl of Derby | 6 July 1916 | Conservative | ||
Financial Secretary to the War Office | Henry Forster | 30 May 1915 | Conservative | |
Secretary of State for India | Austen Chamberlain | 25 May 1915 | Conservative | |
Under-Secretary of State for India | The Lord Islington | 30 May 1915 | Liberal | |
First Lord of the Admiralty | Arthur Balfour | 25 May 1915 | Conservative | |
Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty | Thomas James Macnamara | 30 May 1915 | Liberal | |
Civil Lord of the Admiralty | The Duke of Devonshire | 9 June 1915 | Conservative | also Joint Government Chief Whip in the House of Lords |
The Earl of Lytton | 26 July 1916 | Conservative | ||
President of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries | The Earl of Selborne | 25 May 1915 | Conservative | |
The Earl of Crawford | 11 July 1916 | Conservative | ||
Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries | Francis Dyke Acland | 30 May 1915 | Liberal | |
Minister of Blockade | Lord Robert Cecil | 23 February 1916 | Conservative | |
President of the Board of Education | Arthur Henderson | 25 May 1915 | Labour | |
The Marquess of Crewe | 18 August 1916 | Liberal | also Leader of the House of Lords | |
Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education | Herbert Lewis | 30 May 1915 | Liberal | |
President of the Local Government Board | Walter Long | 25 May 1915 | Conservative | |
Parliamentary Secretary to the Local Government Board | William Fisher | 30 May 1915 | Conservative | |
Chief Secretary for Ireland | Augustine Birrell | 25 May 1915 – 3 May 1916 | Liberal | |
Henry Duke | 31 July 1916 | Conservative | ||
Vice President of the Department of Agriculture for Ireland | Thomas Russell | 30 May 1915 | Liberal | |
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | Winston Churchill | 25 May 1915 | Liberal | |
Herbert Samuel | 25 November 1915 | Liberal | ||
Edwin Samuel Montagu | 11 January 1916 | Liberal | ||
Thomas McKinnon Wood | 9 July 1916 | Liberal | ||
Minister of Munitions | David Lloyd George | 25 May 1915 | Liberal | |
Edwin Samuel Montagu | 9 July 1916 | Liberal | ||
Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Munitions | Christopher Addison | 30 May 1915 – 8 December 1916 | Liberal | |
Arthur Lee | 11 November 1915 – 9 July 1916 | Conservative | ||
Paymaster-General | The Lord Newton | 9 June 1915 | Conservative | |
Arthur Henderson | 18 August 1916 | Labour | ||
Minister without Portfolio | The Marquess of Lansdowne | 25 May 1915 | Conservative | |
Postmaster-General | Herbert Samuel | 26 May 1915 | Liberal | |
Joseph Pease | 18 January 1916 | Liberal | ||
Assistant Postmaster-General | Herbert Pease | 30 May 1915 | Conservative | |
Secretary for Scotland | Thomas McKinnon Wood | 25 May 1915 | Liberal | |
Harold Tennant | 9 July 1916 | Liberal | ||
President of the Board of Trade | Walter Runciman | 25 May 1915 | Liberal | |
Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade | E. G. Pretyman | 30 May 1915 | Conservative | |
First Commissioner of Works | Lewis Harcourt | 25 May 1915 | Liberal | |
Attorney-General | Sir Edward Carson | 25 May 1915 | Conservative | |
Sir F. E. Smith | 3 November 1915 | Conservative | ||
Solicitor-General | Sir F. E. Smith | 2 June 1915 | Conservative | |
Sir George Cave | 8 November 1915 | Conservative | ||
Lord Advocate | Robert Munro | 8 June 1915 | Liberal | |
Solicitor General for Scotland | Thomas Brash Morison | 8 June 1915 | Liberal | |
Attorney General for Ireland | John Gordon | 8 June 1915 | Conservative | |
James Campbell | 9 April 1916 | Conservative | ||
Solicitor General for Ireland | James O'Connor | 8 June 1915 | Irish Nationalist | |
Lord Steward of the Household | The Lord Farquhar | 9 June 1915 | Conservative | |
Lord Chamberlain of the Household | The Lord Sandhurst | 9 June 1915 | Liberal | |
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household | Cecil Beck | 30 May 1915 | Liberal | |
Master of the Horse | The Earl of Chesterfield | 9 June 1915 | Liberal | |
Treasurer of the Household | James Hope | 30 May 1915 | Conservative | |
Comptroller of the Household | Charles Henry Roberts | 30 May 1915 | Liberal | |
Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms | The Lord Colebrooke | 9 June 1915 | Liberal | also Joint Government Chief Whip in the House of Lords |
Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard | The Lord Suffield | 9 June 1915 | Conservative | |
Lords in Waiting | The Lord Herschell | 9 June 1915 | Liberal | |
The Viscount Allendale | 9 June 1915 | Liberal | ||
The Lord Stanmore | 9 June 1915 | Liberal | ||
The Lord Ranksborough | 9 June 1915 | Liberal | ||
The Viscount Valentia | 9 June 1915 | Conservative | ||
The Lord Hylton | 9 June 1915 | Conservative | Joint Government Chief Whip in the House of Lords from 26 July 1916 |
References
- Butler, David and Gareth Butler. Twentieth Century British Political Facts, 1900–2000. (St. Martin's, 2000)
Preceded by First Asquith Ministry |
Government of the United Kingdom 1915–1916 |
Succeeded by Lloyd George Ministry |