WI General Kitchener rides his popularity into politics and becomes the Conservative prime minister of the UK during or after World War I?( a la Duke of Wellington). What's the latest possible POD, and how will this affect the Empire?
Not boarding a ship bound for Russia’s probably a good start.
Had he survived, the shell crisis of 1915, and the decisions he took regarding the Dardanelles Campaign would have severely hindered a political career, as would his personality. As it was, his death meant that the official Dardanelles Commission’s findings could not criticize Kitchener; the government had already invested too much in raising him up as a national hero struck down for the cause.
Mind you, he seldom had difficulty blaming rivals and subordinates for his mistakes so there may have been no stopping him.