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Asquith coalition ministry
1915–1916
Date formed	25 May 1915 (1915-05-25)
Date dissolved	5 December 1916 (1916-12-05)
People and organisations
Monarch	George V
Prime Minister	H. H. Asquith (pictured)
Prime Minister's history	1908–1916
Total no. of members	85 appointments
Member parties	Conservative Party Labour Party Liberal Party
Status in legislature	Majority (coalition)
Opposition party	Opposition Conservative Party (1915–1916)
Opposition leader	Sir Edward Carson (1915–1916)
History
Legislature terms	30th UK Parliament
Predecessor	Third Asquith ministry
Successor	Lloyd George war ministry

The Asquith coalition ministry was the Government of the United Kingdom under the Liberal prime minister H. H. Asquith from May 1915 to December 1916. It was formed as a multi-party war-time coalition nine months after the beginning of the First World War but collapsed when the Conservative Party withdrew.

History

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The new Cabinet included nine Conservatives and one Labour minister, but the Liberals continued to hold most of the important posts; the Conservatives had demanded Cabinet seats, but they only received lesser positions. Not at all satisfied, Conservative Party leader Bonar Law continued the verbal attacks.

The ministry collapsed on 5 December 1916 as a result of Conservative resignations, who refused to serve under Asquith's leadership. Asquith and most of the Liberals then moved into opposition, while the Conservatives formed a new coalition with a minority of Liberals, under the leadership of Liberal David Lloyd George, the next day.

Cabinet

List of ministers

Cabinet members are listed in bold face.

See also

• History of the United Kingdom during the First World War § Government

Notes

1. The move resulted from intense attacks on his government claiming it had badly mishandled the war effort, especially regarding the Gallipoli campaign (against Constantinople) and the Shell Crisis (regarding shortage of ammunition on the Western Front).
2. Montagu entered the cabinet on 16 January 1916.
3. Grey was created the 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon on 27 July 1916.
4. Cecil joined the Cabinet on 23 February 1916.
5. Devonshire also served as Joint Government Chief Whip in the House of Lords.
6. Crewe also served as Leader of the House of Lords.
7. Hylton served as Joint Government Chief Whip in the House of Lords from 26 July 1916.

References

• Adams, R. J. Q. (July 1986). "Asquith's Choice: The May Coalition and the Coming of Conscription, 1915–1916". Journal of British Studies. 25 (3): 243–263. doi:10.1086/385864. JSTOR 175463.
• Adams, R. J. Q. (1997). "Andrew Bonar Law and the fall of the Asquith Coalition: The December 1916 cabinet crisis". Canadian Journal of History. 32 (2): 185–200. doi:10.3138/cjh.32.2.185.
• Butler, David and Gareth Butler (2010). British Political Facts (tenth ed.). Palgrave Macmillan UK. ISBN 978-0-230-29318-2.
• Cawood, Ian (10 May 2013). "Liberal–Conservative Coalitions – 'a farce and a fraud'?". History & Policy. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
• Gollin, Alfred; S. W. Whitehall; D. Lloyd George; and J. L. Garvin (1976). "Freedom or Control in the First World War: (The Great Crisis of May 1915)". Historical Reflections. 2 (2): 135–155. JSTOR 41298664.
• Grieves, Keith (1988). The Politics of Manpower, 1914–18. Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0-7190-2253-1.
• McEwen, J. M. (1978). "The Struggle for Mastery in Britain: Lloyd George versus Asquith, December 1916". Journal of British Studies. 18 (1): 131–156. doi:10.1086/385732.
• McGill, Barry (1967). "Asquith's Predicament, 1914–1918". The Journal of Modern History. 39 (3): 283–303. doi:10.1086/240083. JSTOR 1876582.
• Martin, Ged (1985). "Asquith, the Maurice Debate and the Historians". Australian Journal of Politics and History. 31 (3): 435–444. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8497.1985.tb00128.x.
• Morgan, Kenneth O. The Age of Lloyd George: The Liberal Party and British Politics, 1890-1929 (1971)
• Pugh, Martin D. (December 1974). "Asquith, Bonar Law and the First Coalition". The Historical Journal. 17 (4): 813–836. doi:10.1017/S0018246X00007925. JSTOR 2638558.
• Rothwell, Victor (1971). British War Aims and Peace Diplomacy, 1914–1918. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
• Rubinstein, William D. (2003). Twentieth-Century Britain: A Political History. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 78–79. ISBN 0-230-62913-X.
• Searle, G. R. (1992). "Liberalism and the Great War". The Liberal Party. Macmillan Education UK. pp. 121–140.
• Smith, Larry Joseph. "Last chance for liberalism: Factionalism and financial chaos in the British Liberal Party, 1916–1926" (PhD dissertation, Texas A&M University, 2003; ProQuest Dissertations Publishing,  2003. 3102506) online.

v t e British governments
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Current ministry

• British ministries
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• United Kingdom in World War I
• 1915 establishments in the United Kingdom
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• 1910s in the United Kingdom
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• H. H. Asquith