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LIBERAL GOVERNMENT 1905-1915

With the fall of Arthur Balfour's Conservative government in the United Kingdom in December 1905, the Liberals under Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman were called in to form a government. In the subsequent election, the Liberals won an enormous majority. Campbell-Bannerman was succeeded by Herbert Henry Asquith in 1908.
This Liberal government, supported also by 29 Labour Members of Parliament, is best known for having introduced social legislation such as Old Age Pensions and Unemployment Insurance for a part of the working population. For many working people, for whom in old age the threate of the workhouse was very real, these represented a very significant change.
Although the government lost a great deal of support by the two general elections of 1911, they managed to hold on by dint of support from the Irish Nationalists. After early mismanagement during the First World War, particularly the failure of the Dardanelles Campaign, Asquith was forced to bring the Unionists into the government in a coalition.
OfficeNameDateNotes
Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury'Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman'5 December 1905 
'Herbert Henry Asquith'5 April 1908 – 25 May 1915 
Chancellor of the Exchequer'Herbert Henry Asquith'10 December 1905 
'David Lloyd George'12 April 1908 
Parliamentary Secretary to the TreasuryGeorge Whiteley12 December 1905 
Joseph Pease3 June 1908 
Master of Elibank14 February 1910 
Percy Holden Illingworth7 August 1912 
John William Gulland24 January 1915 
Financial Secretary to the TreasuryReginald McKenna12 December 1905 
Walter Runciman29 January 1907 
Charles Hobhouse12 April 1908 
Thomas McKinnon Wood23 October 1911 
Charles Masterman13 February 1912 
Edwin Montagu11 February 1914 
Francis Dyke Acland3 February 1915 
Junior Lords of the TreasuryHerbert Lewis18 December 1905 – 7 July 1909 
Joseph Pease18 December 1905 – 3 June 1908 
Freeman Freeman-Thomas21 December 1905 – 2 February 1906 
Cecil Norton21 December 1905 – 7 July 1909 
John Fuller2 February 1906 – 27 February 1907 
John Henry Whitley27 February 1907 – 20 February 1910 
Oswald Partington7 July 1909 – 19 January 1911 
John William Gulland7 July 1909 – 24 January 1915 
William Benn20 February 1910 – 25 May 1915 
Ernest Joseph Soares20 February 1910 – 16 April 1911 
Percy Holden Illingworth28 February 1910 – 7 August 1912 
William Jones19 January 1911 – 25 May 1915 
Frederick Guest16 April 1911 – 21 February 1912 
Sir Arthur Haworth23 February 1912 – 16 April 1912 
Henry Webb16 April 1912 – 25 May 1915 
Cecil Beck3 February 1915 – 25 May 1915 
Walter Rea3 February 1915 – 25 May 1915 
Lord Chancellor'The Lord Loreburn'10 December 1905created Earl of Loreburn 4 July 1911
'The Viscount Haldane'10 June 1912 
Lord President of the Council'The Earl of Crewe'10 December 1905 
'The Lord Tweedmouth'12 April 1908 
'The Viscount Wolverhampton'13 October 1908 
'The Earl Beauchamp'16 June 1910 
'Viscount Morley of Blackburn'3 November 1910 
'The Earl Beauchamp'5 August 1915 
Lord Privy Seal'The Marquess of Ripon'10 December 1905 
'The Earl of Crewe'9 October 1908created Marquess of Crewe 3 July 1911
'The Earl Carrington'23 October 1911 
'The Marquess of Crewe'13 February 1912 
Secretary of State for the Home Department'Herbert Gladstone'10 December 1905 
'Winston Churchill'14 February 1910 
'Reginald McKenna'23 October 1911 
Under-Secretary of State for the Home DepartmentHerbert Samuel12 December 1905 
Charles Masterman7 July 1909 
Ellis Griffith19 February 1912 
Cecil Harmsworth4 February 1915 
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs'Sir Edward Grey'10 December 1905 
Under-Secretary of State for Foreign AffairsLord Edmond Fitzmaurice18 December 1905created Baron Fitzmaurice 9 January 1906
Thomas McKinnon Wood19 October 1908 
Francis Dyke Acland23 October 1911 
Neil Primrose4 February 1915 
Secretary of State for the Colonies'The Earl of Elgin'10 December 1905 
'The Earl of Crewe'12 April 1908 
'Lewis Harcourt'3 November 1910 
Under-Secretary of State for the ColoniesWinston Churchill12 December 1905 
Jack Seely12 April 1908 
The Lord Lucas of Crudwell23 March 1911 
The Lord Emmott23 October 1911 
The Lord Islington10 August 1915 
Secretary of State for War'Richard Burdon Haldane'10 December 1905created Viscount Haldane 27 March 1911
'Jack Seely'12 June 1912 
'Herbert Henry Asquith'30 March 1914also Prime Minister
'The Earl Kitchener'5 August 1914 
Under-Secretary of State for WarThe Earl of Portsmouth12 December 1905 
The Lord Lucas of Crudwell12 April 1908 
Jack Seely23 March 1911 
Henry Tennant14 June 1912 
Financial Secretary to the War OfficeThomas Buchanan14 December 1905 
Francis Dyke Acland12 April 1908 
Charles Mallet4 March 1910 
Francis Dyke Acland31 January 1911 
Henry Tennant25 October 1911 
Harold Trevor Baker14 June 1912 
Secretary of State for India'John Morley'10 December 1905created Viscount Morley of Blackburn 2 May 1908
'The Earl of Crewe'3 November 1910 
'The Viscount Morley of Blackburn'7 March 1911 
'The Earl of Crewe'25 May 1911created Marquess of Crewe 3 July 1911
Under-Secretary of State for IndiaJohn Edward Ellis12 December 1905 
Charles Hobhouse29 January 1907 
Thomas Buchanan12 April 1908 
Master of Elibank5 June 1909 
Edwin Montagu20 February 1910 
Charles Henry Roberts17 February 1914 
First Lord of the Admiralty'The Lord Tweedmouth'10 December 1905 
'Reginald McKenna'12 April 1908 
'Winston Churchill'23 October 1911 
Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the AdmiraltyEdmund Robertson12 December 1905 
Thomas James Macnamara13 April 1908 
Civil Lord of the AdmiraltyGeorge Lambert18 December 1905 
President of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries'The Earl Carrington'10 December 1905 
'Walter Runciman'23 October 1911 
'The Lord Lucas of Crudwell'6 August 1914 
Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture and FisheriesSir Edward Strachey20 December 1909 
The Lord Lucas of Crudwell23 October 1911 
Sir Harry Verney, Bt10 August 1914 
President of the Board of Education'Augustine Birrell'10 December 1905 
'Reginald McKenna'23 January 1907 
'Walter Runciman'12 April 1908 
'Joseph Pease'23 October 1911 
Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of EducationThomas Lough18 December 1905 
Thomas McKinnon Wood13 April 1908 
Sir Charles Trevelyan, 3rd Baronet19 October 1908 
Christopher Addison10 August 1914 
Chief Secretary for Ireland'James Bryce'10 December 1905 
'Augustine Birrell'23 January 1907 
Vice President of the Department of Agriculture for IrelandSir Horace Plunkett12 December 1905 
Thomas Russell21 May 1907 
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster'Sir Henry Fowler'10 December 1905created Viscount Wolverhampton 4 May 1908
'The Lord Fitzmaurice'13 October 1908 
'Herbert Samuel'25 June 1909 
'Joseph Pease'14 February 1910 
'Charles Hobhouse'23 October 1911 
'Charles Masterman'11 February 1914 
'Edwin Montagu'3 February 1915 
President of the Local Government Board'John Burns'10 December 1905 
'Herbert Samuel'11 February 1914 
Parliamentary Secretary to the Local Government BoardWalter Runciman18 December 1905 
Thomas Macnamara29 January 1907 
Charles Masterman12 April 1908 
Herbert Lewis7 July 1909 
Paymaster-GeneralRichard Causton12 December 1905 
Ivor Guest23 February 1910created Lord Ashby St Ledgers 15 March 1910
The Lord Strachie23 May 1912 
Postmaster-General'Sydney Buxton'10 December 1905 
'Herbert Samuel'14 February 1910 
'Charles Hobhouse'11 February 1914 
Assistant Postmaster-GeneralSir Henry Norman3 January 1910 
Cecil Norton20 February 1910 
Secretary for Scotland'John Sinclair'12 April 1908created Lord Pentland 15 February 1909
'Thomas McKinnon Wood'13 February 1912 
President of the Board of Trade'David Lloyd George'10 December 1905 
'Winston Churchill'12 April 1908 
'Sydney Buxton'14 February 1910 
'John Burns'11 February 1914 
'Walter Runciman'5 August 1914 
Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of TradeHudson Kearley18 December 1905created a Baronet 22 July 1908
Henry Tennant10 January 1909 
John Mackinnon Robertson25 October 1911 
First Commissioner of WorksLewis Harcourt10 December 1905entered cabinet 27 March 1907
'The Earl Beauchamp'3 November 1910 
'The Lord Emmott'6 August 1914 
Attorney GeneralSir John Walton12 December 1905 
Sir William Robson28 January 1908 
Sir Rufus Isaacs7 October 1910entered cabinet 4 June 1912
'Sir John Simon'19 October 1913 
Solicitor GeneralSir William Robson12 December 1905 
Sir Samuel Evans28 January 1908 
Sir Rufus Isaacs6 March 1910 
Sir John Simon7 October 1910 
Sir Stanley Buckmaster19 October 1913 
Lord AdvocateThomas Shaw12 December 1905 
Alexander Ure14 February 1909 
Robert Munro30 October 1913 
Solicitor General for ScotlandAlexander Ure18 December 1905 
Arthur Dewar18 February 1909 
William Hunter18 April 1910 
Andrew Anderson3 December 1911 
Thomas Brash Morison30 October 1913 
Attorney General for IrelandRichard Robert Cherry20 December 1905 
Redmond John Barry2 December 1909 
Charles Andrew O'Connor26 September 1911 
Ignatius O'Brien24 June 1912 
Thomas Molony10 April 1913 
John Francis Moriarty20 June 1913 
Jonathan Pim1 July 1914 
Solicitor General for IrelandRedmond John Barry20 December 1905 
Charles Andrew O'Connor2 December 1909 
Ignatius O'Brien19 October 1911 
Thomas Molony24 June 1912 
John Francis Moriarty25 April 1913 
Jonathan Pim20 June 1913 
James O'Connor1 July 1914 
Lord Steward of the HouseholdThe Lord Hawkesbury18 December 1905created Earl of Liverpool 22 December 1905
The Earl Beauchamp31 July 1907 
The Earl of Chesterfield22 June 1910 
Lord Chamberlain of the HouseholdViscount Althorp18 December 1905succeeded as 6th Earl Spencer 13 August 1910
The Lord Sandhurst14 February 1912 
Vice-Chamberlain of the HouseholdWentworth Beaumont18 December 1905succeeded as 2nd Lord Allendale 13 February 1907
John Fuller27 February 1907created a Baronet 7 July 1910
Geoffrey Howard6 February 1911 
Master of the HorseThe Earl of Sefton18 December 1905 
The Earl of Granard6 September 1907 
Treasurer of the HouseholdSir Edward Strachey18 December 1905 
William Dudley Ward20 December 1909 
Frederick Edward Guest21 February 1912 
Comptroller of the HouseholdMaster of Elibank18 December 1905 
The Earl of Liverpool (2nd)12 July 1909 
The Lord Saye and Sele1 November 1912 
Captain of the Gentlemen-at-ArmsThe Earl Beauchamp18 December 1905 
The Lord Denman31 July 1907 
The Lord Colebrooke26 June 1911 
Captain of the Yeomen of the GuardThe Duke of Manchester18 December 1905 
The Lord Allendale29 April 1907 
The Earl of Craven2 October 1911 
Lords in WaitingThe Lord Denman18 December 1905 – 31 July 1907 
The Earl of Granard18 December 1905 – 21 August 1907 
The Lord Acton18 December 1905 – 25 May 1915 
The Earl Granville18 December 1905 – 25 May 1915 
The Lord Hamilton of Dalzell18 December 1905 – 2 October 1911 
The Lord Colebrooke21 February 1906 – 26 June 1911 
The Lord Herschell31 July 1907 – 25 May 1915 
The Lord O'Hagan1 November 1907 – 15 April 1910 
The Lord Tweedmouth15 April 1910 – 4 December 1911 
The Lord Willingdon19 July 1911 – 31 January 1913 
The Viscount Allendale2 October 1911 – 25 May 1915 
The Lord Ashby St Ledgers31 January 1913 – 8 February 1915succeeded as 2nd Lord Wimborne 22 February 1914
The Lord Stanmore1 May 1914 – 25 May 1915 
The Lord Ranksborough8 February 1915 – 25 May 1915 

Source: Butler, David and Gareth Butler. ''Twentieth Century British Political Facts, 1900–2000''. (St. Martin's, 2000)

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