Coalition Liberal

Coalition Liberal
Leader	David Lloyd George
Founded	6 December 1916 (1916-12-06)
Dissolved	19 January 1922 (1922-01-19)
Split from	Liberal
Merged into	National Liberal
Ideology	British nationalism New liberalism Free trade
Political position	Centre
Politics of United Kingdom Political parties Elections

Coalition Liberals sometimes referred to as the Coalition Liberal Party was a political group that split from the Liberal Party following the replacement of H. H. Asquith as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom by David Lloyd George in December 1916.

History

The Liberal Split

After leading a Liberal Minority government since January 1910 general election, by May 1915, with his conduct of the First World War facing heavy criticism (particularly the ongoing Gallipoli campaign and the Shell Crisis), Liberal leader H. H. Asquith felt forced to form a coalition government with the Conservatives and Labour.

Despite retaining the most important roles in the government, many Liberals were dismayed with the situation, with Charles Hobhouse writing, "The disintegration of the Liberal Party is complete. Ll.G. and his Tory friends will soon get rid of Asquith." While historian John Grigg would describe this coalition as a "notable victory for (Asquith), if not for the allied cause", nevertheless Asquith's attitude towards Tory leader Bonar Law would contribute to his eventual downfall.

By November 1916, relations between Asquith and the Conservative ministers had become strained so that after negotiations with Law, Opposition Leader Edward Carson and Secretary of State for War David Lloyd George to form a smaller "War Council" failed to reach an agreement and with Law and Lloyd George threatening to resign, Asquith tendered his resignation to the King on 5 December. The following day, with Law lacking any Liberal support, Lloyd George was invited to form a Government.

Asquith still controlled the party machinery and 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, Most Liberal parliamentarians remained loyal to him, and as such most senior Liberals left the government to sit on the opposition benches.

While those supporting Lloyd George were still technically members of the Liberal Party, as the time progressed they began to be increasingly referred to as Coalition Liberals to distinguish them from the opposition Liberals led by Asquith.

1918 election

Main article: 1918 United Kingdom general election

In the dying days of the War, Lloyd George and Law decided to continue the coalition after the end of the war. Confidential negotiations between Coalition Liberal Chief Whip, Freddie Guest, and George Younger, Chairman of the Conservative Party, over the summer of 1918, led to 150 Liberals being offered the support of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Conservative Party at the next general election. The two leaders agreed to issue a letter to a single government supporter in most constituencies for the 1918 general election, which thus became known as the 'coupon election'. Not all loyal MPs got the coupon and some who were offered it rejected the support.

Three days after the Armistice of 11 November 1918 ended hostilities, it was announced that Parliament, which had been sitting since December 1910, would dissolve on 25 November, with a general election set for 14 December.

The coalition would win the general election in a landside, winning 521 out of the 707 seats, however the Conservatives won more than double the number won by the Coalition Liberals. The non coalition Liberals (who had used the label "Independent Liberal" at the election) suffered a catastrophic defeat, with only 36 MPs elected and Asquith himself losing his seat.

National Liberals

Main article: National Liberal Party (UK, 1922)

With any reconciliation with the main Liberal Party growing increasingly less likely as time went on and needing a party infrastructure to fight future elections, Lloyd George came to believe he need to formalize the Coalition Liberals into a new party. A meeting was held in London on 18–19 January 1922 and a new National Liberal Party was formed, with Lloyd George as leader and Secretary of State for the Colonies Winston Churchill as deputy.

Electoral performance

Parliament of the United Kingdom

Election	Leader	Votes			Seats			Government
		No.	%	Position	No.	±	Position
1918	David Lloyd George	1,396,590	12.6	4th	128 / 707	28	2nd	Coalition Liberals–Conservative

Leadership history

Leaders of the Coalition Liberals

Name (Birth–Death)		Portrait	Constituency	Entered office	Left office
	David Lloyd George (1863–1945)		Carnarvon Boroughs	6 December 1916	19 January 1922

Chief Whip of the Coalition Liberals

Name (Birth–Death)		Portrait	Constituency	Entered office	Left office
	Neil Primrose (1882–1917)		Wisbech	14 December 1916	2 March 1917
	Freddie Guest (1875–1937)		East Dorset	2 March 1917	1 April 1921
	Charles McCurdy (1870–1941)		Northampton	1 April 1921	19 January 1922

Bibliography

• The History of the Liberal Party 1895–1970, by Roy Douglas (Sidgwick & Jackson 1971)
• A Short History of the Liberal Party 1900–92, by Chris Cook (Macmillan Press 1993)
• Hobhouse, Charles (1977). David, Edward (ed.). Inside Asquith's Cabinet: From the Diaries of Charles Hobhouse. London: John Murray. ISBN 978-0-7195-3387-7.
• Grigg, John (1985). Lloyd George: From Peace to War 1912–1916. London: Methuen. ISBN 978-0-413-46660-0.
• Koss, Stephen (1985). Asquith. London: Hamish Hamilton. ISBN 978-0-231-06155-1.
• Leonard, Dick (2005). A Century of Premiers: Salisbury to Blair. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-4039-3990-6.
• Mowat, Charles Loch (1955). Britain between the wars, 1918–1940. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 2–9.