"The 'pro-German' lobby in Britain failed to dislodge Grey or his policy." Like Clark says, the anti-Grey and anti-Entente backlash was ultimately unsuccessful, all they were able to accomplish was to muddy the waters and force Grey to work behind their backs.
I was not aware there was a pro-German lobby. As it happens the isolationists, non-interventionists and pacifists who made up the majority of British cabinet did not hold portfolio responsibility or oversight over the navy or foreign affairs. However, as previously stated, I understand in 1912 the British Cabinet put Grey on notice not to threaten Anglo-German relations with his French infatuations.
What exactly did Grey accomplish in the shadows? In the days before the war, even Grey acknowledged Britain had a free hand i.e. there was no British committment to France. In July 1914 there was no obvious path the British hawks could ahve pulled Britain into the war without the Germans being in
I think it's fair to judge power and influence by what happened and not popularity. Grey, Asquith, and Churchill and their shared interventionist policy was by no means popular within the Liberal Party (and perhaps not with the general public either), but at almost every turn, in particular during the July Crisis, they came out on top of the non-interventionists and were able to inch Britain to war.
From what I have read, I am not convinced Asquith was an intervenist, actually quite the contrary. From memory, I don't even think Asquith had appointed a War Minster (or similar) and there was actually uncertainty how Britiain was to go about the formality of going to war.
The only reason the hawks came out on top was because their position was premised on the correct prediction the Germans would violate Belgium neutrality. It is a well known fact that after spending the best part of a day harranging his fellow Cabinet members, Churchil didn't move the British Cabinet one inch towards war. It was the German invasion of Belgium that discredited the doves and won the day for the hawks.
Do you have some more information/sources for the Conservatives being torn about intervention if Germany didn't invade Belgium? It's not that I don't believe you rather I'd like to know more.
I suspect I first read it in Dreadnaught by Massie, where Grey would keep the leader of the opposition Bonar Law appraised of developments, and Bonar Law was on record as stating conservative support for war was uncertain without a German invaision of Belgium.
The problem was that there was simply no reason for the British to give everything up since they were hands down winning the naval race. Why trade something for nothing?
Yet the Germans insisted with demands - a legacy of Holstein's assumption an Anglo-German settlement was inevitable.
Yet they were entirely ineffective in keeping Britain out of the war, likely even before Germany invaded Belgium.
No, the hawks efforts had been futile until the German invaison of Belgium.
From their enthusiastic endorsement of military planning with France and entangling Britain in secret commitments to defend the French. They were more concerned with making sure that the French and Russians came out on top in a future war with Germany than preventing said war in the first place.
Enthusiastic? How so?