H. H. Asquith
British Liberal Prime Minister 1908-1916 (1852-1928)
Also known as: Asquith, H.H. Asquith, Herbert Asquith, Herbert Henry Asquith
Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith (1852-1928), was Liberal Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916 — the longest continuous Liberal premiership of the modern era. He led Britain into the First World War in August 1914 and was replaced by Lloyd George in December 1916. Quigley names him one of the four Liberal-imperialist leaders (with Rosebery, Edward Grey, and Haldane) 'close to the Milner Group politically, intellectually, and socially' (AAE 26).
Life and political rise
Born in Yorkshire in 1852 to a nonconformist family, Asquith was educated at the City of London School and Balliol College, Oxford (1870-1874). At Balliol he overlapped with future The Milner Group-and-Cecil-Bloc figures: 'Among his contemporaries at Balliol itself, we should list nine names, six of whom were later Fellows of All Souls: H. H. Asquith, St. John Brodrick, Charles Firth, W. P. Ker, Charles Lucas, Robert Mowbray, Rowland E. Prothero, A. L. Smith, and Charles A. Whitmore' (AAE 9). He became a barrister, then Home Secretary under Gladstone (1892-1895), Chancellor of the Exchequer under Campbell-Bannerman (1905-1908), and Prime Minister on Campbell-Bannerman's death in 1908.
The Liberal-imperialist alignment
Quigley locates Asquith in the inner ring of Liberal imperialism — the Liberal faction that supported the Boer War, the Triple Entente, and the Great War. 'The chief exceptions were the four leaders of the Liberal Party after Gladstone, who were strong imperialists: Rosebery, Asquith, Edward Grey, and Haldane. These four supported the Boer War, grew increasingly anti-German, supported the World War in 1914, and were close to the Milner Group politically, intellectually, and socially' (AAE 26). The intermarriage was extensive: Asquith's second wife Margot Tennant was the sister-in-law of Alfred Lyttelton (a Souls member and Salisbury connection), and Mrs. Asquith had 'three portraits over' the mantel: 'Rosebery, Balfour, and Milner' (T&H 488). Balfour, the Conservative leader, was a witness at her wedding in 1894.
Prime Minister, 1908-1916
Asquith's eight-year premiership produced the constitutional crisis over the People's Budget (1909) and Parliament Act (1911), the Anglo-French staff conversations that constituted Britain's effective continental commitment, and Britain's August 1914 entry into the First World War. Quigley records the early-war Cabinet politics: 'Lloyd George replaced Asquith in England; Clemenceau replaced a series of lesser leaders in France; Wilson strengthened his control on his own government in the United States; and, in a distinctly German way, Ludendorff came to dominate the government of his country. In each case a single man was chosen to coordinate' (T&H 275). The Asquith-to-Lloyd George transition in December 1916 was, in Quigley's reading, the event through which the The Milner Group took direct charge of the British war effort: 'he gave the Prime Minister, Lloyd George, a secretariat from the Round Table, consisting of Kerr (Lothian), Grigg (Lord Altrincham), W. G. S. Adams (Fellow of All Souls College), and Astor' (T&H 158).
Cited in
- anglo-american-establishment · p. 9 Quigley
Among his contemporaries at Balliol itself, we should list nine names, six of whom were later Fellows of All Souls: H. H. Asquith, St. John Brodrick, Charles Firth, W. P. Ker, Charles Lucas, Robert Mowbray, Rowland E. Prothero, A. L. Smith, and Charles A. Whitmore.
- anglo-american-establishment · p. 26 Quigley
The chief exceptions were the four leaders of the Liberal Party after Gladstone, who were strong imperialists: Rosebery, Asquith, Edward Grey, and Haldane. These four supported the Boer War, grew increasingly anti-German, supported the World War in 1914, and were close to the Milner Group politically, intellectually, and socially.
- tragedy-and-hope · p. 275 Quigley
Lloyd George replaced Asquith in England; Clemenceau replaced a series of lesser leaders in France; Wilson strengthened his control on his own government in the United States.
- tragedy-and-hope · p. 488 Quigley
according to W. T. Stead, Mrs. Asquith had three portraits over [the mantel]: those of Rosebery, Balfour, and Milner.
- tragedy-and-hope · p. 494 Quigley
Henry Campbell-Bannerman, 1905-1908; Herbert Henry Asquith, 1908-1915. The government of Balfour was really nothing but a continuation of the Salisbury government.