Failures in both the East and the West began a tide of events that was to overwhelm Asquith's Liberal Government. Strategic setbacks combined with a shattering personal blow when, on 12 May 1915, Venetia Stanley announced her engagement to Edwin Montagu. Asquith's reply was immediate and brief, "As you know well, this breaks my heart. I couldn't bear to come and see you. I can only pray God to bless you—and help me." Venetia's importance to him is illustrated by a letter written in mid-1914; "Keep close to me beloved in this most critical time of my life. I know you will not fail." Her engagement; "a very treacherous return after all the joy you've given me", left him devastated.
Other events
H. H. Asquith
H. H. Asquith | Other events
Sorry. I cannot find the answer based on the context. December 1916 Sorry. I cannot find the answer based on the context. 3 April 1908.
at the beginning of world war i great britain
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Great Britain was a leading Allied Power during the First World War
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who was the prime minister of u.k. then?
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H. H. Asquith
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which political party did he represent?
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Liberal Party
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where was he born?
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Morley, in the West Riding of Yorkshire
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who all were there in his family?
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Joseph Dixon Asquith his father,  Emily his mother. The couple also had three daughters, of whom only one survived infancy.
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what did he start his career as?
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After his graduation in 1874, Asquith spent several months coaching Viscount Lymington, the 18-year-old son and heir of the Earl of Portsmouth. He found the experience of aristocratic country-house life agreeable.
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were women able to cast their votes then?
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Asquith had opposed votes for women as early as 1882, and he remained well known as an adversary throughout his time as prime minister.
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what were his leisure time activities?
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Reading the classics, poetry and a vast range of English literature consumed much of his time. Travelling, often to country houses owned by members of Margot's family, was almost constant, Asquith being a devoted "weekender".
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had he been a part of any notable events?
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Failures in both the East and the West began a tide of events that was to overwhelm Asquith's Liberal Government.  By the resignation of Admiral Fisher after continuing disagreements with Churchill and in frustration at the disappointing developments in Gallipoli.
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when did he resign?
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Asquith also saw Law, who confirmed that he would resign if Asquith failed to implement the War Council agreement as discussed only the day before. In the evening, and having declined two requests for meetings, Asquith threw down the gauntlet to Lloyd George by rejecting the War Council proposal.
H. H. Asquith | Monday 4 December
Asquith at first assumed him to be trying to ingratiate himself with the churches and Labour, but then (20 May) sent him a public letter rebuking him for not attending the meeting to discuss his opinions with colleagues in private.
H. H. Asquith | Resignation
Significant though the loss was personally, its impact on Asquith politically can be overstated. The historian Stephen Koss notes that Asquith "was always able to divide his public and private lives into separate compartments (and) soon found new confidantes to whom he was writing with no less frequency, ardour and indiscretion." This personal loss was immediately followed, on 15 May, by the resignation of Admiral Fisher after continuing disagreements with Churchill and in frustration at the disappointing developments in Gallipoli. Aged 74, Fisher's behaviour had grown increasingly erratic and, in frequent letters to Lloyd George, he gave vent to his frustrations with the First Lord of the Admiralty; "Fisher writes to me every day or two to let me know how things are going.
H. H. Asquith | Other events
The end was near, and a further letter from Balfour declining to reconsider his earlier decision brought it about. The Home Secretary, Herbert Samuel, recorded in a contemporaneous note: "We were all strongly of opinion, from which [Asquith] did not dissent, that there was no alternative [to resignation]. We could not carry on without LlG and the Unionists and ought not to give the appearance of wishing to do so." At 7.00 pm, having been Prime Minister for eight years and 241 days, Asquith went to Buckingham Palace and tendered his resignation. Describing the event to a friend sometime later, Asquith wrote; "When I fully realised what a position had been created, I saw that I could not go on without dishonour or impotence, or both." That evening, he dined at Downing Street with family and friends, his daughter-in-law Cynthia describing the scene: "I sat next to the P.M.—he was too darling—rubicund, serene, puffing a guinea cigar and talking of going to Honolulu." Cynthia believed that he would be back "in the saddle" within a fortnight with his position strengthened.
H. H. Asquith | Tuesday 5 December
On 11 November, Asquith asked King George to dissolve Parliament for another general election in December, and on the 14th met again with the King and demanded assurances the monarch would create an adequate number of Liberal peers to carry the Parliament Bill. The King was slow to agree, and Asquith and his cabinet informed him they would resign if he did not make the commitment. Balfour had told King Edward that he would form a Conservative government if the Liberals left office but the new King did not know this. The King reluctantly gave in to Asquith's demand, writing in his diary that, "I disliked having to do this very much, but agreed that this was the only alternative to the Cabinet resigning, which at this moment would be disastrous".
H. H. Asquith | 1910–1911: second election and Parliament Act
The Asquiths finally vacated 10 Downing Street on 9 December. Asquith, not normally given to displays of emotion, confided to his wife that he felt he had been stabbed. He likened himself (10 December) to the Biblical character Job, although he also commented that Aristide Briand's government was also under strain in France. Lord Newton wrote in his diary of meeting Asquith at dinner a few days after the fall; "It became painfully evident that he was suffering from an incipient nervous breakdown and before leaving the poor man completely collapsed." Asquith was particularly appalled at Balfour's behaviour, especially as he had argued against Lloyd George to retain Balfour at the Admiralty.
H. H. Asquith | Wartime Opposition Leader: 1916–1918
Asquith then asked Esher to convey to French in person the news that he must resign, but that he was being offered a peerage and the newly created job of Commander-in-Chief Home Forces. However, French insisted on seeing Asquith again (29 November) at which meeting Asquith told him that he must take the first step and that he was not being "recalled" (sacked). French's official critique of Haig's performance at Loos finally reached the War Office on 1 December. He wrote to Asquith (2 December) suggesting that Kitchener be removed to be replaced by a civilian Secretary of State to avoid friction with the new job of Commander-in-Chief Home Forces, and writing that he would await Asquith's decision on this point.
John French, 1st Earl of Ypres | Resignation
He returned to France (3 December), but Asquith had been exchanging further letters with Stamfordham and they agreed that French must now be pressed to quit. Walter Long telephoned French (4 December) passing on the Prime Minister's message that he "must" resign.
John French, 1st Earl of Ypres | Resignation
In December 1916, Asquith was replaced as Prime Minister by Lloyd George. Lloyd George asked Samuel to continue as Home Secretary, but Samuel chose to resign instead. He attempted to strike a balance between giving support to the new government while remaining loyal to Asquith. At the end of the war he sought election at the general election of 1918 as a Liberal in support of the Coalition government. However, the government's endorsement was given to his Unionist opponent, and he was defeated.
Herbert Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel | Early political career
He formed a coalition government with other parties, but failed to satisfy critics. As a result, he was forced to resign in December 1916, and he never regained power. After attending Balliol College, Oxford, he became a successful barrister. In 1886 he was the Liberal candidate for East Fife, a seat he held for over thirty years. In 1892 he was appointed as Home Secretary in Gladstone's fourth ministry, remaining in the post until the Liberals lost the 1895 election. In the decade of opposition that followed Asquith became a major figure in the party, and when the Liberals regained power under Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman in 1905 Asquith was named Chancellor of the Exchequer.
H. H. Asquith | Introduction
Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. He was the last prime minister to lead a majority Liberal government, and he played a central role in the design and passage of major liberal legislation and a reduction of the power of the House of Lords. In August 1914, Asquith took Great Britain and the British Empire into the First World War. In 1915, his government was vigorously attacked for a shortage of munitions and the failure of the Gallipoli Campaign.
H. H. Asquith | Introduction
James discounts this argument. On 15 May Fisher resigned as First Sea Lord. He presented the Cabinet with a list of demands; if these were satisfied he would return to office. The first of these was that Churchill would be dismissed from Cabinet altogether. Fisher's demands were extreme, the King saying that Fisher should be hung from the yardarm, but his resignation precipitated a Cabinet crisis. Prime Minister Asquith formed an all-party coalition government. The Conservatives demanded Churchill's demotion as the price for entry. He had little support in Cabinet or in the Liberal Party as a whole. Many thought the same as Lloyd George: that Churchill's ambition had led him to override his professional advisers and his record was a succession of grisly failures.
Winston Churchill in politics, 1900–1939 | The Asquith Coalition, the Dardanelles Committee
Herbert Samuel told Lloyd George that he could not serve in the new government and that he did not like the way it had come about. Herbert Samuel did not resign and sat on the Opposition front bench with Asquith until the end of the War. Against this background it seems possible that Stuart Samuel felt it was time leave politics particularly as in July 1917 he was elected president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews and may have been aware his name was being considered for this position.
1916 Whitechapel by-election | Vacancy
He wrote that he "gloated" over the senior Coalition Liberals—Churchill, Hamar Greenwood, Freddie Guest and Edwin Montagu—who lost their seats.
H. H. Asquith | Leader of the Opposition: 1922
Difficulties continued with Lloyd George, who had been chairman of the Liberal MPs since 1924, over the party leadership and over party funds. In the autumn of 1925 Hobhouse, Runciman and the industrialist Sir Alfred Mond protested to Asquith at Lloyd George organising his own campaign for reform of land ownership. Asquith was "not enthusiastic" but Lloyd George ignored him and arranged for Asquith to be sent reports and calculations ("Lord Oxford likes sums" he wrote). At a meeting on 25 November 1925 Grey, Maclean, Simon, Gladstone and Runciman urged Asquith to have a showdown with Lloyd George over money.
H. H. Asquith | Resignation
After a brief attempt to set up a joint committee with the Coalition Liberal MPs to explore reunion, the "Wee Frees" resigned the government whip on 4 April, although some Liberal MPs still remained of uncertain allegiance. The Liberals won by-elections in March and April 1919, but thereafter Labour performed better than the Liberals in by-elections. In April 1919 Asquith gave a weak speech to Liberal candidates, his first public speech since the election. In Newcastle (15 May) he gave a slightly stronger speech, encouraged by his audience to "Hit Out!" Asquith was also disappointed by the "terms and spirit" of the Treaty of Versailles in May, but did not oppose it very strongly in public.
H. H. Asquith | 1919: out of Parliament
A Parliamentary seat was essential if Asquith was again to play any serious part in future events. By the autumn of 1919 J.M. Hogge was openly critical of Asquith's leadership, and by January 1920 it was rumoured that he had given Asquith an ultimatum that unless he returned to Parliament in a by-election the Independent Liberal MPs would repudiate him as their leader (had he lost a by-election, his position would have been untenable anyway, as he well knew). In January 1920, an opportunity arose at Paisley, in Scotland like his previous seat, after the death of the Liberal MP.
H. H. Asquith | Paisley
Margot later claimed (in the 1920s, when they were short of money) that he could have made £50,000 per annum had he remained at the bar. The Liberal Party, with a leadership—Harcourt in the Commons and Rosebery in the Lords—who detested each other, once again suffered factional divisions. Rosebery resigned in October 1896 and Harcourt followed him in December 1898. Asquith came under strong pressure to accept the nomination to take over as Liberal leader, but the post of Leader of the Opposition, though full-time, was then unpaid, and he could not afford to give up his income as a barrister.
H. H. Asquith | Out of office, 1895–1905
He has a great deal of trouble with his chief, who is always wanting to do something big and striking." Adverse events, press hostility, Conservative opposition and personal sorrows assailed Asquith, and his position was further weakened by his Liberal colleagues. Cassar considers that Lloyd George displayed a distinct lack of loyalty, and Koss writes of the contemporary rumours that Churchill had "been up to his old game of intriguing all round" and reports a claim that Churchill "unquestionably inspired" the Repington Letter, in collusion with Sir John French. Lacking cohesion internally, and attacked from without, Asquith determined that his government could not continue and he wrote to the King, "I have come decidedly to the conclusion that the [Government] must be reconstituted on a broad and non-party basis."
H. H. Asquith | Other events
He maintained contact with Nathan by telegraph and answered questions in Parliament on Tuesday and Wednesday, then travelled by destroyer to Dublin, arriving in the early hours of Thursday morning. From there he wrote to the Prime Minister, giving him his assessment of the situation. In one of his letters he wrote that he 'couldn't go on'. On 1 May, the day after the Rising ended, Asquith accepted his resignation 'with infinite regret'. This regret was also felt by both Nationalist and Unionist politicians in Patliament. While some, such as Laurence Ginnell celebrated his departure, both John Redmond and Sir Edward Carson praised the work Birrell completed during his time as chief secretary.
Augustine Birrell | Easter Rising
When H.H. Asquith (Prime Minister) learned of this he demanded that Gough return the document, which he refused to do. Asquith publicly repudiated the "peccant paragraphs" (25 March). French and Seely both had to resign.
Hubert Gough | The "Peccant paragraphs"
Salisbury's Conservative successor as Prime Minister, Arthur Balfour, resigned in December 1905, but did not seek a dissolution of Parliament and a general election. King Edward VII invited Campbell-Bannerman to form a minority government. Asquith and his close political allies Haldane and Sir Edward Grey tried to pressure him into taking a peerage to become a figurehead Prime Minister in the House of Lords, giving the pro-empire wing of the party greater dominance in the House of Commons. Campbell-Bannerman called their bluff and refused to move. Asquith was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer. He held the post for over two years, and introduced three budgets.
H. H. Asquith | Chancellor of the Exchequer, 1905–1908
The general election of July 1895 was disastrous for the Liberals, and the Conservatives under Lord Salisbury won a majority of 152. With no government post, Asquith divided his time between politics and the bar. Jenkins comments that in this period Asquith earned a substantial, though not stellar, income and was never worse off and often much higher-paid than when in office. Matthew writes that his income as a QC in the following years was around £5,000 to £10,000 per annum (around £500,000–£1,000,000 at 2015 prices). According to Haldane, on returning to government in 1905 Asquith had to give up a £10,000 brief to act for the Khedive of Egypt.
H. H. Asquith | Out of office, 1895–1905
The 1924 election was Asquith's last Parliamentary campaign, and there was no realistic chance of a return to the Commons. He told Charles Masterman "I'd sooner go to hell than to Wales," the only part of the country where Liberal support remained strong. The King offered him a peerage (4 November 1924). Asquith felt he was not rich enough to accept, and would have preferred to die a commoner like Pitt or Gladstone. He accepted in January 1925 after a holiday in Egypt with his son Arthur. He deliberately chose the title "Earl of Oxford", saying it had a splendid history as the title chosen by Robert Harley, a Conservative statesman of Queen Anne's reign.
H. H. Asquith | Elevation
However, a recurrence of his earlier illness forced him to resign the following year, marking the end of his political career. Following Asquith's ascension to the premiership, Fitzmaurice was critical of what he saw as "the Liberals' aimless drift in domestic politics," although following his resignation he was (according to one study) "anxious to dispel rumours that his resignation was caused by a rift with Asquith or misgivings over Lloyd George's controversial 'People's Budget.'"
Edmond Fitzmaurice, 1st Baron Fitzmaurice | Political career
Asquith wanted to think it over, and at the December 1925 Federation executive he left the meeting before the topic came up. To the horror of his followers Asquith reached an agreement in principle with Lloyd George over land reform on 2 December, then together they presented plans to the National Liberal Federation on 26 February 1926. But, wrote Maclean, "in private Asquith's language about Lloyd George was lurid." In January 1926 Mond withdrew his financial support from the Liberal Party. The loss of wealthy donors and the failure of the Million Fund Appeal further weakened Asquith's position, and there is some evidence that his frequent requests for money irritated donors like Sir Robert Perks who had given a good deal to the Party over the years, and that outside his inner circle of devotees he was bad at keeping on good terms with potential donors.
H. H. Asquith | Resignation
This was followed by a near final breach with Lloyd George over the General Strike. The Liberal Shadow Cabinet unequivocally backed Baldwin's handling of the strike on 3 May. Asquith viewed the strike as "criminal folly" and condemned it in the House of Lords, whilst in the Commons Sir John Simon declared it to be illegal. But whereas Asquith and Grey both contributed to the "British Gazette", Churchill's pro-government newssheet, Lloyd George, who had not previously expressed a contrary opinion at Shadow Cabinet, wrote an article for the American press more sympathetic to the strikers, and did not attend the Shadow Cabinet on 10 May, sending his apologies on "policy grounds".
H. H. Asquith | Resignation
Following the failure of the Dardanelles expedition, Sir Ian Hamilton, commander of the MEF, was recalled to London in October 1915, ending his military career. Churchill was demoted from First Lord of the Admiralty as a condition of Conservative entry to the coalition but remained in the Cabinet in the sinecure of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Churchill resigned in November 1915 and left London for the Western Front, where he commanded an infantry battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers early in 1916. Asquith was partly blamed for Gallipoli and other disasters and was overthrown in December 1916, when David Lloyd George proposed a war council under his authority, with the Conservatives in the coalition threatening to resign unless the plan was implemented.
Gallipoli campaign | Political effects
Asquith remained leader of the Liberal Party, despite McKenna vainly urging him, almost immediately after the election, to offer his resignation to the National Liberal Federation and help with building an alliance with Labour. At first Asquith was extremely unpopular, and there is no evidence that he was invited to address any Liberal Association anywhere in the country for the first six months of 1919. He continued to be calumnied in the press and Parliament over the supposed presence of Germans in Downing Street during the war. Although accounts differ as to the exact numbers, around 29 uncouponed Liberals had been elected, only three with any junior ministerial experience, not all of them opponents of the coalition.
H. H. Asquith | 1919: out of Parliament
Continued Allied failure and heavy losses at the Battle of Loos between September and October 1915 ended any remaining confidence in the British commander, Sir John French and in the judgement of Lord Kitchener. Asquith resorted to a favoured stratagem and, persuading Kitchener to undertake a tour of the Gallipoli battlefield in the hope that he could be persuaded to remain in the Mediterranean as Commander-in-Chief, took temporary charge of the War Office himself. He then replaced French with Sir Douglas Haig; the latter recording in his diary for 10 December 1915; "About 7 pm I received a letter from the Prime Minister marked 'Secret' and enclosed in "three" envelopes.
H. H. Asquith | Progress of the war
He was weakened by his own indecision over strategy, conscription, and financing. Lloyd George replaced him as prime minister in December 1916. They became bitter enemies and fought for control of the fast-declining Liberal Party. His role in creating the modern British welfare state (1906–1911) has been celebrated, but his weaknesses as a war leader and as a party leader after 1914 have been highlighted by historians.
H. H. Asquith | Introduction
Instead of resigning MacDonald requested, and was granted, a General Election. The 1924 election was intended by MacDonald to cripple the Liberals, and it did. Lloyd George refused to hand over money from his fund until he had more say over the Liberal whips office, Liberal Party Headquarters at Arlington Street and an election there was a chance of winning. Meetings at Paisley were tumultuous and Asquith was barracked by hecklers singing "The Red Flag". Asquith was widely expected to lose his seat and did so by 2,228. He received 46.5 per cent of the vote in his final parliamentary election, a straight fight against Labour.
H. H. Asquith | 1924 election
In March 1923 a petition for reunion among Liberal backbenchers received 73 signatures, backed by the Lloyd Georgeite "Daily Chronicle" and the Asquithian "Liberal Magazine". But reunion was opposed by senior Asquithian Liberals like Sir John Simon, Viscount Gladstone and Charles Masterman, and as late as 30 June by journalists such as H. W. Massingham and Gardiner of "The Nation". Viscount Gladstone felt that "it was generally recognised that Asquith was no longer effective as an active leader" but that Lloyd George must not succeed him. By July Asquith was superficially friendly to Lloyd George and consulted him, but he did not include him in the Shadow Cabinet.
H. H. Asquith | Liberal reunion
Campbell-Bannerman resigned as Prime Minister in April 1908 due to ill health and was replaced by his Chancellor, H. H. Asquith. He died only weeks later.
Henry Campbell-Bannerman | Introduction
Asquith at first wanted French to stay on as he had been "so loyal and well-behaved", but then changed his mind despite French drawing up two statements with Haldane, claiming that he had been acting in accordance with Haldane's statement in the House of Lords on 23 March. Seely also had to resign. French resigned on 6 April 1914.
John French, 1st Earl of Ypres | Peccant paragraphs
On Asquith's return from Biarritz, his leadership of the Liberals was affirmed by a party meeting (the first time this had been done for a prime minister). He initiated a cabinet reshuffle. Lloyd George was promoted to be Asquith's replacement as chancellor. Winston Churchill succeeded Lloyd George as President of the Board of Trade, entering the Cabinet despite his youth (aged 33) and the fact that he had crossed the floor to become a Liberal only four years previously. Asquith demoted or dismissed a number of Campbell-Bannerman's cabinet ministers. Lord Tweedmouth, the First Lord of the Admiralty, was relegated to the nominal post of Lord President of the Council.
H. H. Asquith | Appointments and cabinet
Asquith was blamed for the poor British performance in the first year. Since the Liberals ran the war without consulting the Conservatives, there were heavy partisan attacks. However, even Liberal commentators were dismayed by the lack of energy at the top. At the time, public opinion was intensely hostile, both in the media and in the street, against any young man in civilian garb and labeled as a slacker. The leading Liberal newspaper, the "Manchester Guardian" complained: Asquith's Liberal government was brought down in , due in particular to a crisis in inadequate artillery shell production and the protest resignation of Admiral Fisher over the disastrous Gallipoli Campaign against Turkey.
Liberal Party (UK) | Decline
Additionally, there were on-going difficulties with Margot's inheritance. In 1920, as an economy measure, 20 Cavendish Square was sold to Viscountess Cowdray and Asquith and Margot moved to 44, Bedford Square. Criticism of Asquith's weak leadership continued. Lloyd George's mistress Frances Stevenson wrote (18 March) that he was "finished … no fight left in him"; the press baron Lord Rothermere, who had supported him at Paisley, wrote on 1 April of his "obvious incapacity for the position he is expected to fill". In fact Asquith spoke in the House of Commons far more frequently than he had ever previously done when not a minister.
H. H. Asquith | Leader of the Opposition: 1920–1921
On 31 July 1919, after a lunch in honour of former Supreme Allied Commander Ferdinand Foch, Asquith wrote "he talked a lot of nonsense about Germany sinking never to rise again."
H. H. Asquith | 1919: out of Parliament
In March 1914 Haldane's successor at the War Office, Jack Seely, resigned following the Curragh incident. Rather than appoint a successor, Asquith decided to take over responsibility for the War Office directly himself. Asquith relied heavily on Haldane as the previous War Secretary and empowered him to carry out tasks at the War Office on his behalf. As the situation in Europe worsened, Asquith kept Haldane abreast of developments with Sir Edward Grey at the Foreign Office. Haldane was one of the first members of the Cabinet to recognise that war with Germany was inevitable and persuaded Asquith to mobilise by assembly of the Army Council on 3 August.
Richard Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane | First World War
Grey had been irritated by Asquith's failure to congratulate him on his Washington appointment, but they reestablished relations in November 1920. Asquith reached an agreement with Grey on 29 June 1921, suggesting that he could be Leader in the Lords and Lord President of the Council in any future Liberal Government, as his eyesight was no longer good enough to cope with the paperwork of running a major department. Grey wanted British troops simply pulled out of Ireland and the Irish left to sort themselves out, a solution likened by Roy Jenkins to the British withdrawal from India in 1947.
Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon | Later career
But Asquith's peacetime strengths ill-equipped him for what was to become perhaps the first total war and, before its end, he would be out of office forever and his party would never again form a majority government. Beyond the replacement of Morley and Burns, Asquith made one other significant change to his cabinet. He relinquished the War Office and appointed the non-partisan but Conservative-inclined Lord Kitchener of Khartoum. Kitchener was a figure of national renown and his participation strengthened the reputation of the government. Whether it increased its effectiveness is less certain. Overall, it was a government of considerable talent with Lloyd George remaining as Chancellor, Grey as Foreign Secretary, and Churchill at the Admiralty.
H. H. Asquith | Asquith's wartime government
Esher, who had written of French (22 March 1914) that he was "too much in the hands of the politicians", approved of his resignation, as did H.A. Gwynne, who throughout the crisis had pressed French to tell the Cabinet that the Army would not coerce Ulster, and Godfrey Locker-Lampson MP. While sorting out some papers for his successor Charles Douglas French told Wilson (3 April) that Asquith had promised him command of the BEF in the event of war, although nobody realised how quickly this would come. Margot Asquith wrote that he would soon be "coming back", suggesting that Asquith may have promised to appoint French Inspector-General.
John French, 1st Earl of Ypres | Results
After the troops finally left in December 1919, the club was closed for a year for renovations (partly necessitated by the damage done by the troops), and did not re-open until 19 December 1920. As H. H. Asquith was deposed as Prime Minister by David Lloyd George, he spent his last full evening as Prime Minister on 8 December 1916 reporting to a full meeting of the Liberal Party at the club. It provided an overwhelming vote of confidence in his leadership.
National Liberal Club | World War I
Following his departure from the government Haldane went to the front to meet his old friend General Haig, and his cousin, General Aylmer Haldane; but he was exhausted on being ejected from Cabinet. Having been awarded the Order of Merit in 1915, in the personal gift of George V, he wrote a Memorandum of Events, 1906–15, to defend his reputation. It was published in April 1916. Haldane thought Lloyd George's new government, formed in December 1916, "very low class". Haldane told Lord Buckmaster at this time, "Asquith is a first-class head of a deliberative council. He is versed in precedents, acts on principle, and knows how and when to compromise.
Richard Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane | Dismissal from office
With the Conservative government of Arthur Balfour divided and unpopular, there was some speculation that H. H. Asquith and his allies Grey and Richard Haldane would refuse to serve in the next Liberal government unless the Liberal leader Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman accepted a peerage, which would have left Asquith as the real leader in the House of Commons. The plot (called the "Relugas Compact" after the Scottish lodge where the men met) collapsed when Asquith agreed to serve as Chancellor of the Exchequer under Campbell-Bannerman. When Campbell-Bannerman formed a government in December 1905 Grey was appointed Foreign Secretary—the first Foreign Secretary to sit in the Commons since 1868.
Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon | Foreign Secretary 1905–1916
French's friends in London reported that Asquith still wanted French to remain in office but Bonar Law was opposed; Wilson claimed that "cordial relations with the French" were Sir John's trump card and lobbied Carson in his favour. Walter Long reported that French's dismissal had never been openly discussed by the War Council, but Charles Callwell recorded that Asquith, Grey and Lloyd George were overheard by the waiters discussing it in a railway restaurant car. French himself believed that Kitchener's departure on a tour of the Mediterranean would save him. GHQ suggested that according to Haking's own report the reserves had been held up by "avoidable delay" and pointed out the futility of "pushing reserves through a narrow gap".
John French, 1st Earl of Ypres | Resignation
On 29 January 1925, at a two-day London convention, Asquith launched a Million Fund Appeal in an unsuccessful attempt to raise Liberal Party funds independent of Lloyd George. One more disappointment remained. In 1925 he stood for the Chancellorship of Oxford University, vacant on the death of Lord Curzon. He was eminently suited and was described by Lord Birkenhead, one of his many Conservative supporters, as "the greatest living Oxonian." Asquith suspected he might lose because of country clergy's hostility to Welsh Disestablishment, blaming "Zadok the Priest and Abiathar the Priest—with their half-literate followers in the rural parsonages". The election was also seen as a settling of party scores and a mockery of his title.
H. H. Asquith | Elevation
H. Asquith became Prime Minister in April 1908, and then served as Under-Secretary of State for India between 1909 and 1910. The latter year he was made Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Chief Government Whip). In 1911 he was sworn of the Privy Council. However, he was forced to resign in August 1912 after being accused of insider trading in the Marconi scandal. Later the same month he was raised to the peerage as Baron Murray of Elibank, of Elibank in the County of Selkirk.
Alexander Murray, 1st Baron Murray of Elibank | Political career
When the First World War broke out in the summer of 1914, Asquith resigned from Franklin & Herrera and joined the Royal Navy, explaining that he could not "sit quietly by reading the papers" during the conflict. His elder brothers also joined up, Raymond Asquith was commissioned in the London Regiment and was killed in action in 1916 while Herbert Asquith joined the Royal Artillery. As the Royal Navy had too many recruits in the early months of the war, they formed a separate division to deploy on land known as the Royal Naval Division. This force was rapidly deployed to Belgium with Asquith as a junior officer.
Arthur Asquith | Military career
During the First World War, lengthy cabinet discussions came to be seen as a source of vacillation in Britain's war effort. In December 1916 it was proposed that the Prime Minister H. H. Asquith should delegate decision-making to a small, three-man committee chaired by the Secretary of State for War, David Lloyd George. Asquith initially agreed (provided he retained the right to chair the committee if he chose) before changing his mind after being infuriated by "a news story" in The Times which portrayed the proposed change as a defeat for him. The political crisis grew from this point until Asquith was forced to resign as Prime Minister; he was succeeded by David Lloyd George who thereupon formed a small war cabinet.
War cabinet | The British War Cabinet
He lost to the Conservative candidate, Lord Cave, by 987 votes to 441 on 20 March. He claimed to be "more disappointed than surprised", but his friend Desmond MacCarthy wrote that it affected him "more than any disappointment, save one, in his life after he ceased to be Prime Minister."
H. H. Asquith | Elevation
During the General Election in January and February 1874 he spoke against Lord Randolph Churchill, who was not yet a prominent politician, at nearby Woodstock. He eventually became President of the Union in Trinity Term 1874, his last term as an undergraduate. Asquith was "proxime accessit" (runner-up) for the Hertford Prize in 1872, again "proxime accessit" for the Ireland Prize in 1873, and again for the Ireland in 1874, on that occasion coming so close that the examiners awarded him a special prize of books. However, he won the Craven Scholarship and graduated with what his biographers describe as an "easy" double first in Mods and Greats.
H. H. Asquith | Oxford
There was widespread discontent at Asquith's leadership, and Sir T. A. Bramsdon, who said that he had been elected at Portsmouth only by promising "not" to support Asquith, protested openly at his remaining leader from outside the Commons. At first Lloyd George extended the government whip to "all" Liberal MPs. On 3 February 23 non-coalition Liberals formed themselves into a "Free Liberal" group (soon known as the "Wee Frees" after a Scottish religious sect of that name); they accepted Asquith's appointment of Sir Donald Maclean as chairman in his absence but insisted that George Rennie Thorne, whom Asquith had appointed Chief Whip, hold that job jointly with James Hogge, of whom Asquith and Maclean had a low opinion.
H. H. Asquith | 1919: out of Parliament
The Royal Naval Division suffered heavy casualties in the Siege of Antwerp, and was withdrawn shortly before the city fell, but in 1915 it was redeployed to the Mediterranean for use in the Gallipoli Campaign. Shortly after arrival, Asquith's friend and colleague Rupert Brooke died from an infected mosquito bite. During the Gallipoli Campaign, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for his actions but was also wounded, resulting in his withdrawal to staff work. In 1916, The Royal Naval Division, now designated the 63rd Division, was sent to the Western Front. Asquith remained as a staff officer until April 1917, when heavy casualties forced him to replace Bernard Freyberg in command of the 189th Brigade.
Arthur Asquith | Military career
After failure to reach agreement, Lloyd George and then Asquith resigned, followed by Lloyd George becoming Prime Minister. Lloyd George formed a new government, from which Churchill, active again in the House of Commons from June 1916, was excluded because of Conservative opposition. In the summer of 1917, Churchill was eventually appointed to the cabinet-level post of Minister of Munitions but not to the War Cabinet. The final report of the Commission was issued in 1919, concluding that with the forces available, success was dependent on the government giving priority to the expedition and leaving the British Expeditionary Force in France to make do.
Gallipoli campaign | Political effects
H. H. Asquith (1852–1928) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. Asquith may also refer to:
Asquith (disambiguation) | Introduction
Sunday 3 December saw the Conservative leadership meet at Law's house, Pembroke Lodge. They gathered against a backdrop of ever-growing press involvement, in part fermented by Max Aitken. That morning's "Reynold's News", owned and edited by Lloyd George's close associate Henry Dalziel, had published an article setting out Lloyd George's demands to Asquith and claiming that he intended to resign and take his case to the country if they were not met. At Law's house, the Conservatives present drew up a resolution which they demanded Law present to Asquith. This document, subsequently the source of much debate, stated that "the Government cannot continue as it is; the Prime Minister (should) tender the resignation of the Government" and, if Asquith was unwilling to do that, the Conservative members of the Government would "tender (their) resignations." The meaning of this resolution is unclear, and even those who contributed to it took away differing interpretations.
H. H. Asquith | Sunday 3 December
Derby dissuaded him from resigning the next day, but instead he wrote a long letter to Lloyd George (11 October) complaining that Lloyd George was offering strategic advice contrary to his own and seeking the advice of a foreign general, and threatening to resign if his advice was not followed. That same day Northcliffe stormed into Lloyd George's office to threaten him (he was unavailable) and the Secretary of State also received a warning letter from Gwynne, who had earlier been highly critical of his interview with Foch. Lloyd George had to give his "word of honour" to Asquith that he had complete confidence in Haig and Robertson and thought them irreplaceable.
Sir William Robertson, 1st Baronet | Clash with Lloyd George
Asquith had a friendly meeting with Lloyd George a few days after the Armistice (the exact date is unclear), which Lloyd George began by saying "I understand you don't wish to join the government." Asquith was instead keen to go to the Peace Conference, where he considered his expertise at finance and international law would have been an asset. As he refused to accept public subordination, Lloyd George, despite lobbying from the King and Churchill, refused to invite him. Asquith led the Liberal Party into the election, but with a singular lack of enthusiasm, writing on 25 November: "I doubt whether there is much interest.
H. H. Asquith | Coupon election
At a decisive meeting on 4 December 1916 McKenna tried to persuade Asquith to sack Lloyd George to save the government. McKenna retired into opposition upon the fall of Asquith at the end of 1916.
Reginald McKenna | Conscription
The declaration of war on 4 August 1914 saw Asquith as the head of an almost united Liberal Party. Having persuaded Sir John Simon and Lord Beauchamp to remain, Asquith suffered only two resignations from his cabinet, those of John Morley and John Burns. With other parties promising to co-operate, Asquith's government declared war on behalf of a united nation, Asquith bringing "the country into war without civil disturbance or political schism". The first months of the War saw a revival in Asquith's popularity. Bitterness from earlier struggles temporarily receded and the nation looked to Asquith, "steady, massive, self-reliant and unswerving", to lead them to victory.
H. H. Asquith | Asquith's wartime government
In September 1891 Helen Asquith died of typhoid fever following a few days' illness while the family were on holiday in Scotland. Asquith bought a house in Surrey, and hired nannies and other domestic staff. He sold the Hampstead property and took a flat in Mount Street, Mayfair, where he lived during the working week. The general election of July 1892 returned Gladstone and the Liberals to office, with intermittent support from the Irish Nationalist MPs. Asquith, who was then only 39 and had never served as a junior minister, accepted the post of Home Secretary, a senior Cabinet position.
H. H. Asquith | Widower and cabinet minister
On the following Monday, Trenchard was summoned to Buckingham Palace where King George listened to his account of the events which caused him to resign. Trenchard then wrote to the Prime Minister stating the facts of his case and pointing out that in the course of the affair, Rothermere had stated his intention to resign also. Trenchard's letter was circulated among the Cabinet, with a vindictive response written by Rothermere. Around the same time, the question of Rothermere's general competence as Air Minister was brought to the attention of Lloyd George. Rothermere, realising his situation, offered his resignation, which was made public on 25 April 1918.
Hugh Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard | Disputes and resignation
Lord Elgin was sacked from the Colonial Office and the Earl of Portsmouth (whom Asquith had tutored) was too, as undersecretary at the War Office. The abruptness of their dismissals caused hard feelings; Elgin wrote to Tweedmouth, "I venture to think that even a prime minister may have some regard for the usages common among gentlemen … I feel that even a housemaid gets a better warning." Historian Cameron Hazlehurst wrote that "the new men, with the old, made a powerful team". The cabinet choices balanced the competing factions in the party; the appointments of Lloyd George and Churchill satisfied the radicals, while the whiggish element favoured Reginald McKenna's appointment as First Lord.
H. H. Asquith | Appointments and cabinet
Asquith did not put any pressure on Liberals to eschew joining the coalition government; in fact, though, few Liberals did join it. Most Liberal parliamentarians remained intensely loyal to him, and felt that he alone should not be left to face the criticism. On 8 December a gathering of Liberal MPs gave Asquith a vote of confidence as Leader of the Liberal Party, followed unanimously a few days later by the executive of the National Liberal Federation. There was much hostility to Lloyd George at these gatherings.
H. H. Asquith | Wartime Opposition Leader: 1916–1918
Lloyd George accepted the challenge by return of post, writing: "As all delay is fatal in war, I place my office without further parley at your disposal." Asquith had anticipated this response, but was surprised by a letter from Arthur Balfour, who until that point had been removed from the crisis by illness. On its face, this letter merely offered confirmation that Balfour believed that Lloyd George's scheme for a smaller War Council deserved a chance and that he had no wish to remain at the Admiralty if Lloyd George wished him out. Jenkins argues that Asquith should have recognised it as a shift of allegiance.
H. H. Asquith | Tuesday 5 December
Maurice never explained why he declined the offer, although he recorded (15 April) that officers at Haig’s staff were dissatisfied with Lloyd George’s speech of 9 April. Maurice later claimed not to have read Lloyd George’s speech of 9 April until "his attention was drawn to it" whilst in France, 13-16 April. Lloyd George’s speech of 9 April had been widely reported in the press and was being discussed by officers at Haig’s headquarters, so it seems unlikely, in Grigg’s view, that he could have been unaware of it.
Frederick Maurice (British Army officer) | Resignation
The 1916 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours were awards announced on 22 December 1916 to mark the exit of Prime Minister H. H. Asquith, who resigned . The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and arranged by honour, with classes (Knight, Knight Grand Cross, etc.) and then divisions (Military, Civil, etc.) as appropriate.
1916 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours | Introduction
In 1979, it was announced that he would become Assistant Chief of the General Staff. However, during his move back to the United Kingdom he was investigated by the Military police for suspicion that he had avoided tax on port that he had intended to bring back to Britain. While no charges were ultimately filed, the Army Board asked him to resign his commission due both to the adverse publicity and also to the revelation that he had significant debts.
Henry Dalzell-Payne | Resignation
The by-election was caused by the resignation of the sitting Liberal MP, Sir Stuart Samuel. Samuel had been MP for Whitechapel since 1900 when he took over representation of the seat from his uncle Samuel Montagu. It is not clear why Samuel resigned at this time. He was aged 59 years but does not seem to have been in ill-health. The resignation took place in the aftermath of change of prime minister on 7 December 1916 when Lloyd George replaced H H Asquith as head of a new wartime coalition. Samuel was the brother of Herbert Samuel who had been a close associate and supporter of Asquith and who had been Home Secretary in Asquith’s coalition.
1916 Whitechapel by-election | Vacancy
Asquith's reputation will always be heavily influenced by his downfall at the height of the First World War. In 1930, Basil Liddell Hart summed up opinion as to the reasons for his fall; "Lloyd George (came to) power as the spokesman for a widespread demand for a more vigorous as well as a more efficient prosecution of the war." Asquith's collegiate approach; his tendency to "wait and see;" his stance as the chairman of the cabinet, rather than leader of a government—"content to preside without directing;" his "contempt for the press, regard(ing) journalists as ignorant, spiteful and unpatriotic;" and his weakness for alcohol—"I had occasion to speak to the P.M.
H. H. Asquith | Assessment
In a four-day crisis Asquith was unaware how fast he was losing support. Lloyd George now had growing Unionist support, the backing of Labour and (thanks to the efforts of Christopher Addison) a majority of Liberal MPs. Asquith fell and Lloyd George answered the loud demands for a much more decisive government. He energetically set up a new small war cabinet, a cabinet secretariat under Hankey, and a secretariat of private advisors in the 'Garden Suburb'; and moved towards prime ministerial control.
H. H. Asquith | Last four days: Sunday 3 December to Wednesday 6 December
Asquith was left politically discredited by the Maurice Debate and by the clear turn of the war in the Allies' favour from the summer of 1918. He devoted far more effort to his Romanes Lecture "Some Aspects of the Victorian Age" at Oxford in June 1918 than to any political speech. However, Lady Ottoline Morrell thought it "a dull address". A letter of July 1918 describes a typical couple of days. "Nothing much is happening here. I dined with the usual crowd at Mrs. Astor's last night. The Duke of Connaught lunches here on Friday: don't you wish you were coming!" The beginning of the end of the war began where it had begun, with the last German offensive on the Western Front, the Second Battle of the Marne.
H. H. Asquith | End of the war
He exercised little control over debate, seemed rather bored, but good humoured throughout." Lloyd George was less tolerant, George Riddell recording in his diary; "(He) says the P.M. should lead not follow and (Asquith) never moves until he is forced, and then it is usually too late." And crises, as well as criticism, continued to assail the Prime Minister, "envenomed by intra-party as well as inter-party rancour".
H. H. Asquith | War re-organisation
Roy Jenkins in his biography of Asquith describes the charges as "absolute nonsense” and Max Egremont describes Balfour as "knowing the injustice behind the charges,” and, “being privately indignant." To the permanent detriment of his previously close relationship with Haldane, Asquith compounded his mistake by not expressing directly to Haldane his feelings on the latter's dismissal and the value of his previous service to the government and country. Jenkins describes this omission as “the most uncharacteristic fault of Asquiths whole career” attributing it to Asquith suffering the "indescribable blow" of the surprise announcement of the engagement of the woman he loved, Venetia Stanley, to one of his government ministers, Edwin Montagu.
Richard Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane | Dismissal from office
Asquith was increasingly attracted by the thought of making money from writing, with Churchill doing very well from his "The World Crisis" and Lloyd George rumoured to be being paid handsomely for his memoirs (which in the event did not appear until the mid-1930s). Asquith's books "The Genesis of the War" finally appeared in September 1923 and "Studies and Sketches" in 1924. His second son Herbert recorded; "A large part of my father's later years was occupied with authorship and it was during this period that he wrote most of his longer books." Asquith played no part in Lloyd George's fall from power in October 1922, which happened because the rank-and-file majority of his Conservative coalition partners, led by Stanley Baldwin and Lloyd George's former colleague Law, deserted him.
H. H. Asquith | Leader of the Opposition: 1922
By the summer of 1922 Asquith's interest in politics was at a very low ebb. He was observed to be "very heavily loaded" and was helped up the stairs by Lloyd George at a party of Sir Philip Sassoon's on 16 July 1922, whilst his reputation was further damaged by his portrayal in Aldous Huxley's novel "Crome Yellow" and by the publication of the first volume of Margot's memoirs, which sold well in the UK and the USA, but were thought an undignified way for a former Prime Minister to make money. On 13 September 1922 Sir Donald Maclean told Harold Laski that Asquith was devoted to bridge and small talk and did not do enough real work.
H. H. Asquith | Leader of the Opposition: 1922
Asquith was to be retained as prime minister, and given honorific oversight of the War Council, but day to day operations would be directed by Lloyd George. This scheme, although often reworked, remained the basis of all proposals to reform the government until Asquith's fall on 6 December. Until almost the end, both Law, and Lloyd George, wished to retain Asquith as premier, but Aitken, Carson and Lord Northcliffe emphatically did not.
H. H. Asquith | Triumvirate gathers
Writing years later, Margot's spleen was still evident; "between you and me, this is what hurt my husband more than anything else. That Lloyd George (a Welshman!) should betray him, he dimly did understand, but that Arthur should join his enemy and help to ruin him, he never understood." Asquith's fall was met with rejoicing in much of the British and Allied press and sterling rallied against the German mark on the New York markets. Press attacks on Asquith continued and indeed increased after the publication of the Dardanelles Report. Like Sir Robert Peel after 1846, Asquith after 1916 still controlled the party machinery and resented those who had ousted him, but showed no real interest in reuniting his party.
H. H. Asquith | Wartime Opposition Leader: 1916–1918
Haldane's dismissal from office in May 1915 is widely regarded by historians as unfair. Following the shell crisis and the resignation of Lord Fisher the Liberals were obliged to form a coalition government with the Conservatives who, under the leadership of Bonar Law, insisted on the removal of Winston Churchill as First Lord of the Admiralty and the dismissal of Haldane. Haldane's removal was on account of the popularity of the press's campaign relating to Haldane's alleged pro-German sympathies. Neither the former prime minister Arthur Balfour, Haldane's closest friend amongst the Conservatives, nor Asquith, the Liberal prime minister of the day and Haldane's closest political ally and friend for over 30 years, did anything to resist Bonar Law's demands.
Richard Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane | Dismissal from office
It ran 'Sir J. French has placed in my hands his resignation … Subject to the King's approval, I have the pleasure of proposing to you that you should be his successor. Asquith also appointed Sir William Robertson as Chief of the Imperial General Staff with increased powers, reporting directly to the Cabinet and with the sole right to give them military advice, relegating the Secretary of State for War to the tasks of recruiting and supplying the army. Lastly, he instituted a smaller Dardanelles Committee, re-christened the War Committee, with himself, Balfour, Law, Lloyd George and Reginald McKenna as members although, as this soon increased, the Committee continued the failings of its predecessor, being "too large and lack(ing) executive authority".
H. H. Asquith | Progress of the war
Sir John was unable to get away during the Battle of Ypres to attend the Dunkirk conference (1 November) between Kitchener and Joffre, Foch and Millerand. There Kitchener offered to replace French with Ian Hamilton, but Joffre declined, saying this would be bad for BEF morale and he worked "well and cordially" with Sir John. Foch told Wilson of this (5 November). French sent Captain Freddy Guest to complain to the Prime Minister, who refused to believe it, and both Asquith and Churchill wrote French reassuring letters. French went to see Foch (6 November) to thank him for his "comradeship and loyalty".
John French, 1st Earl of Ypres | Possible dismissal
On 25 November 1915, Churchill resigned from the government, although he remained an MP. Asquith rejected his request to be appointed Governor-General of British East Africa. Churchill decided to join the Army and was attached to the 2nd Grenadier Guards, on the Western Front. In January 1916, he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel and given command of the 6th Royal Scots Fusiliers. After a period of training, the battalion was moved to a sector of the Belgian Front near Ploegsteert. For over three months, they faced continual shelling although no German offensive. Churchill narrowly escaped death when, during a visit by his staff officer cousin the 9th Duke of Marlborough, a large piece of shrapnel fell between them.
Winston Churchill | Military service, 1915–1916
When David Lloyd George replaced H. H. Asquith as Liberal Party Leader, the Liberal MP, William Wedgwood Benn decided to resign from the Liberal party and to join the Labour Party. Benn believed that his change of party allegiances warranted him resigning his seat and seeking re-election.
1927 Leith by-election | Previous MP
The leading Liberal newspaper, the "Manchester Guardian" complained: Asquith's Liberal government was brought down in , due in particular to a crisis in inadequate artillery shell production and the protest resignation of Admiral Fisher over the disastrous Gallipoli Campaign against Turkey. Reluctant to face doom in an election, Asquith formed a new coalition government on , with the majority of the new cabinet coming from his own Liberal party and the Unionist (Conservative) party, along with a token Labour representation. The new government lasted a year and a half, and was the last time Liberals controlled the government. The analysis of historian A.
History of the United Kingdom during the First World War | Crisis of Liberal leadership
He offered his resignation (not mentioned in the minutes) but his colleagues refused to accept it, and was later deeply hurt when Lord Hinchingbrooke, a member of the Suez group (a group of Conservative backbenchers who had opposed Britain's original agreement to withdraw from Egypt in 1954), said that he should have resigned. Lloyd's impending divorce was given as the ostensible reason for his offer of resignation.
Selwyn Lloyd | Suez: withdrawal
He responded to a taunt, "Why did you murder the miners at Featherstone in '92?" by saying, "It was not '92, it was '93." When Gladstone retired in March 1894, Queen Victoria chose the Foreign Secretary, Lord Rosebery, as the new prime minister. Asquith thought Rosebery preferable to the other possible candidate, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir William Harcourt, whom he deemed too anti-imperialist—one of the so-called "Little Englanders"—and too abrasive. Asquith remained at the Home Office until the government fell in 1895.
H. H. Asquith | Widower and cabinet minister
Asquith eventually stated that the correspondence was "a purely personal and private communication, conceived in an entirely friendly spirit" and no action was taken. However, when Asquith succeeded Campbell-Bannerman as Prime Minister in April 1908 Tweedmouth was removed as head of the Admiralty and became Lord President of the Council. He suffered a nervous breakdown in June 1908, a condition which was said to partly explain his indiscretion in communicating with the German Emperor on naval matters. Although his health later recovered, he resigned in October 1908. He was made a Knight of the Thistle in 1908.
Edward Marjoribanks, 2nd Baron Tweedmouth | Political career
Senior naval officers and the press made appeals to the now elderly (74) First Sea Lord to remain in his position. Fisher responded with an eccentric letter to Asquith setting out six demands that would "guarantee the successful termination of the war". These would have given him unprecedented sole authority over the fleet, including all promotions and construction. After commenting that Fisher's behaviour indicated signs of mental aberration, Asquith responded with a brusque acceptance of Fisher's original resignation.
John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher | First Sea Lord (1914–1915)
On 25 May 1915, Asquith appointed Carson Attorney-General when the Coalition Government was formed after the Liberal government was brought down by the Shell Crisis and the resignation of Admiral Fisher. He resigned on 19 October, however, citing his opposition to Government policy on war in the Balkans. During Asquith's coalition government of 1915–1916, there was no formal opposition in either the Commons or the Lords. The only party not in Asquith's Liberal, Conservative, Labour Coalition was the Irish Nationalist Party led by John Redmond. However, this party supported the government and did not function as an Opposition. After Carson, the leading figure among the Irish Unionist allies of the Conservative Party, resigned from the coalition ministry on 19 October 1915, he then became the de facto leader of those Unionists who were not members of the government, effectively Leader of the Opposition in the Commons.
Edward Carson | Cabinet member
According to Matthew, "Asquith's decision for war with Germany was the most important taken by a British prime minister in the twentieth century, and was more important than any prime ministerial decision of the nineteenth century. It not only dictated the involvement of the United Kingdom in war but affected much of the pattern of imperial, foreign, and economic history for the rest of the century." Matthew deemed the decision Asquith's, in that without prime ministerial support, it was not likely Britain would have entered the war. Given the deep divisions in the Liberal Party, Pearce and Goodlad noted, "it was a measure of (Asquith's) skill that he took Britain into the war with only two relatively minor Cabinet ministers … choosing to resign".
H. H. Asquith | Assessment
When Churchill left government for the first time in 1915, Marsh became Assistant Private Secretary to Prime Minister H. H. Asquith, in which position he served until the fall of Asquith's government in December 1916. When Churchill returned to government as Minister of Munitions in 1916, Marsh joined him there as Private Secretary and worked in that position, through successive departments, until the fall of David Lloyd George's Coalition Government in 1922. When Churchill became Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1924, Marsh joined him there as Private Secretary and remained at the Treasury until the fall of Stanley Baldwin's second government in 1929, when Marsh was returned to work at the Colonial Office.
Edward Marsh (polymath) | Career as a civil servant
Thomson certainly made a hasty trip down to London immediately after the election for political meetings but he denied he had been asked to stand aside and no such by-election ever took place. Asquith was made a peer in 1925.
Trevelyan Thomson | The 1924 general election
Thompson, Northcliffe's most recent biographer, concludes; "From the evidence, it appears that Northcliffe and his newspapers should be given more credit than they have generally received for the demise of the Asquith government in December 1916."
H. H. Asquith | Power without responsibility
H. Asquith had lost his seat in the House of Commons. For those two years he also served as Leader of the Opposition, while Labour had no official leader and Sinn Féin refused to participate in parliamentary government.
Donald Maclean (British politician) | Life and career
Asquith would have been free to choose the judges, but he thought the proposal insulting to the independence of Parliament and declined the offer on the evening of 7 May. Instead Asquith demanded a Select committee to inquire into the allegations and pressed for a Parliamentary debate. On 8 May 1918 Howell Arthur Gwynne, editor of "The Morning Post", wrote to Asquith admitting that he was a long-standing political enemy of his, but that it was in the national interest that he be restored as Prime Minister in Lloyd George's place.
Maurice Debate | Reaction to the letter
However, he did not openly reject the King's actions and kept his opinions private. On 16 May 1532, More resigned from his role as Chancellor but remained in Henry's favour despite his refusal. His decision to resign was caused by the decision of the convocation of the English Church, which was under intense royal threat, on the day before.
Thomas More | Resignation
In Matthew's view, "Asquith's forensic skills quickly exposed deficiencies and self-contradictions in Chamberlain's arguments." The question divided the Conservatives, while the Liberals were united under the banner of "free fooders" against those in the government who countenanced a tax on imported essentials.
H. H. Asquith | Out of office, 1895–1905
In November 1915 Churchill resigned from the government and went to the Western Front on active service as a battalion commander. In December 1916 David Lloyd George, Churchill’s former close colleague in Asquith’s radical reforming administration between 1908-1914, became prime minister. By July 1917, now secure in his position vis-a-vis his Conservative coalition partners, Lloyd George was ready to recall Churchill to the Cabinet, perhaps to strengthen its Liberal composition even further. A report into the Dardanelles disaster published in March 1917 had concluded that Churchill was neither solely nor principally responsible and Churchill was beginning to re-establish himself as an effective Westminster performer.
1917 Dundee by-election | Churchill’s return to government