Prologue
Prologue - The Liberal splinters and the coupon election of 1918
In its British form especially, political liberalism has never survived as a monolith force. A loose coalition of interests characterised by a fierce individualism, to lead it meant not just shepherding a flock as stopping every member running in ten directions at once. Its future always seemingly in the balance, it had never looked bleaker for those Liberals not aligned to David Lloyd George’s Coalition when the general election results were declared on the 28th December 1918.
Lloyd George had, in alliance with discontents in his own party and with Unionist backing, replaced H.H. Asquith as Prime Minister in the winter of 1916 in the hope of providing more robust leadership in the First World War. Although Asquith had become increasingly ineffective as a wartime leader, he remained as the official leader of the Liberals, meaning much of the party machine stayed under his control. Lloyd George was thus in the paradoxical position of being a Liberal who lead a government but not his own party.
Although many contrasted the two men, Asquith and Lloyd George were surprisingly similar. They were both proud, gifted, hardworking men, moved by powerful emotions. It really came down to a question of decisiveness, and Asquith fell fatally short. He clung on to the leadership out of spite, but as he steadily waned in influence he failed time and again to assert himself. The non-Lloyd George Liberals chafed under a reluctant figurehead, casting their hopes around for a saviour. The new Prime Minister appeared far more dynamic and energetic than his predecessor and soon became convinced that the old partisan divides were irrelevant in a world that had endured the slaughter of the Great War. The way forward was to unite those Liberals and Unionists who came under his banner into a new force.
The advantages of a Lloyd George-Conservative alliance were multiple: it meant giving the Prime Minister a solid political base, since there was no way back to the official Liberal Party for him. It also suited the Conservative and Unionist Party; they would permit a Liberal to continue in office but the power belonged to them. They could cash in on the Prime Minister's great prestige as the Man Who Won the War and cynically use him as a shield to defend Unionist policies when the time came. A divided opposition would only benefit them.
And yet, David Lloyd George could be surprisingly sincere when he wanted to be. He struck up an effective working relationship with his nonimal deputy, Andrew Bonar Law, the Conservative leader, and the man who had permitted Lloyd George to form a government in the first place. The two both hailed from relatively humble, provincial backgrounds, both were non-English, both had made their fortune rather than inherited it.
Going into the 1918 election together, in the heady atmosphere of victory, the two of them knew they had secured an enormous mandate. All Coalition Candidates had received a letter of personal endorsement from Lloyd George and Law, dismissively referred to by Asquith as a "coupon". The results were going to be declared on 28th December to account for soldiers still oversees, but for the non-Lloyd George Liberals, the doom and despair hung over them terribly. After a bitter and ill-tempered campaign, Asquith's certain defeat in East Fife symbolised to many the last rites of independent Liberalism as a great vacuum would emerg on the centre-left, to be filled by rampant socialism or by a Lloyd George Liberal Party when the Conservatives tired of him, when they rejected the hypocrite, the betrayer.
It was in this poisonous atmosphere that as he awaited his certain electoral doom, Asquith suffered a devastating stroke on Christmas Day. The last few years had brought personal ruin and although he was bitterly tempted to outlast Lloyd George, he knew he was finished. He was no Gladstone, a dominating leader who overcame division to lead his Party back to power. There would be no Liberal revival. The crushing defeat for the independent Liberals announced a few days later confirmed, and then worsened the deepest fears: only 29 non-couponed Liberals scraped through. Only 3 had any government experience in minor cabinet roles. All the great Liberal personalities that had not joined Lloyd George were defeated: Reginald McKenna, John Simon, Herbert Samuel, McKinnon Wood among them.
For the shattered and demoralised Independent Liberals it all seemed to be over. The abyss of irrelevance beckoned.
Or so it seemed.
OOC: This is my first timeline so I hope you forgive my prose, comment, and enjoy what I have planned! Any questions are welcome.
In its British form especially, political liberalism has never survived as a monolith force. A loose coalition of interests characterised by a fierce individualism, to lead it meant not just shepherding a flock as stopping every member running in ten directions at once. Its future always seemingly in the balance, it had never looked bleaker for those Liberals not aligned to David Lloyd George’s Coalition when the general election results were declared on the 28th December 1918.
Lloyd George had, in alliance with discontents in his own party and with Unionist backing, replaced H.H. Asquith as Prime Minister in the winter of 1916 in the hope of providing more robust leadership in the First World War. Although Asquith had become increasingly ineffective as a wartime leader, he remained as the official leader of the Liberals, meaning much of the party machine stayed under his control. Lloyd George was thus in the paradoxical position of being a Liberal who lead a government but not his own party.
Although many contrasted the two men, Asquith and Lloyd George were surprisingly similar. They were both proud, gifted, hardworking men, moved by powerful emotions. It really came down to a question of decisiveness, and Asquith fell fatally short. He clung on to the leadership out of spite, but as he steadily waned in influence he failed time and again to assert himself. The non-Lloyd George Liberals chafed under a reluctant figurehead, casting their hopes around for a saviour. The new Prime Minister appeared far more dynamic and energetic than his predecessor and soon became convinced that the old partisan divides were irrelevant in a world that had endured the slaughter of the Great War. The way forward was to unite those Liberals and Unionists who came under his banner into a new force.
The advantages of a Lloyd George-Conservative alliance were multiple: it meant giving the Prime Minister a solid political base, since there was no way back to the official Liberal Party for him. It also suited the Conservative and Unionist Party; they would permit a Liberal to continue in office but the power belonged to them. They could cash in on the Prime Minister's great prestige as the Man Who Won the War and cynically use him as a shield to defend Unionist policies when the time came. A divided opposition would only benefit them.
And yet, David Lloyd George could be surprisingly sincere when he wanted to be. He struck up an effective working relationship with his nonimal deputy, Andrew Bonar Law, the Conservative leader, and the man who had permitted Lloyd George to form a government in the first place. The two both hailed from relatively humble, provincial backgrounds, both were non-English, both had made their fortune rather than inherited it.
Going into the 1918 election together, in the heady atmosphere of victory, the two of them knew they had secured an enormous mandate. All Coalition Candidates had received a letter of personal endorsement from Lloyd George and Law, dismissively referred to by Asquith as a "coupon". The results were going to be declared on 28th December to account for soldiers still oversees, but for the non-Lloyd George Liberals, the doom and despair hung over them terribly. After a bitter and ill-tempered campaign, Asquith's certain defeat in East Fife symbolised to many the last rites of independent Liberalism as a great vacuum would emerg on the centre-left, to be filled by rampant socialism or by a Lloyd George Liberal Party when the Conservatives tired of him, when they rejected the hypocrite, the betrayer.
It was in this poisonous atmosphere that as he awaited his certain electoral doom, Asquith suffered a devastating stroke on Christmas Day. The last few years had brought personal ruin and although he was bitterly tempted to outlast Lloyd George, he knew he was finished. He was no Gladstone, a dominating leader who overcame division to lead his Party back to power. There would be no Liberal revival. The crushing defeat for the independent Liberals announced a few days later confirmed, and then worsened the deepest fears: only 29 non-couponed Liberals scraped through. Only 3 had any government experience in minor cabinet roles. All the great Liberal personalities that had not joined Lloyd George were defeated: Reginald McKenna, John Simon, Herbert Samuel, McKinnon Wood among them.
For the shattered and demoralised Independent Liberals it all seemed to be over. The abyss of irrelevance beckoned.
Or so it seemed.
OOC: This is my first timeline so I hope you forgive my prose, comment, and enjoy what I have planned! Any questions are welcome.
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