Top 10 Interesting Facts about David Lloyd George


 

Lloyd-George

Lloyd George by Bain News Service from Wikimedia Commons

One of the most well-known radicals of the twentieth century was David Lloyd George. He was the first and only Welshman to serve as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Despite being born in Manchester, Lloyd George grew up in Caernarvonshire, where he was raised by his uncle, a cobbler. He excelled in his studies in the village school, learning Latin and French to qualify for legal training. He was mostly self-taught. He is regarded as a man with boundless energy and an unorthodox temperament and political outlook. At the age of 27, he was elected Liberal MP for Caernarvon in 1890. His savage wit made him a feared – but respected – House debating opponent.

1. One and Only 

Despite Wales being a part of the United Kingdom since the Middle Ages, Lloyd George is the only Welshman to be the country’s Prime Minister. 

2. Welsh was his first language 

David Lloyd George was born in Manchester on 17th January 1863 to William & Elizabeth George – who were ethnic Welshmen. His father, a Schoolmaster, died a year after he was born and his mother took her two children to live with her brother in Llanystumdwy, Caernarvonshire.

3. Education 

David Lloyd George

David Lloyd George by National Library of Wales from Wikimedia Commons

Lloyd George was educated at Llanystumdwy National School, a local Anglican school, and then by tutors. Lloyd George’s uncle influenced him greatly, encouraging him to pursue a career in law and enter politics; his uncle remained influential until his death in February 1917, at the age of 83, by which time his nephew had become Prime Minister. To become “Lloyd George,” he added his uncle’s surname.

Lloyd George was a sharp-witted and intelligent student ultimately performing very well at school. He became a solicitor in January 1897 after successfully sitting for the Law Society examination and subsequently establishing his own law practice in Criccieth, North Wales.

4. His secretary was his mistress

Frances Stevenson

Frances Stevenson by Illustrated London News from Wikimedia Commons

Frances Lloyd George, Countess Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, CBE (née Stevenson; 7 October 1888 – 5 December 1972) was British Prime Minister David Lloyd George’s mistress, personal secretary, confidante, and second wife.

Stevenson, Frances Louise, was born in London. Her father was a Lowland Scotsman, and her mother was of mixed French and Italian ancestry. She attended Clapham High School, where she met Mair, Lloyd George’s oldest daughter, in the fifth form, and then Royal Holloway College, where she studied Classics. 

Stevenson was employed as a governess for Lloyd George’s youngest daughter Megan in July 1911, when he was the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Lloyd George and Stevenson were attracted to each other almost immediately. Although Stevenson was hesitant to become the mistress of a married man because she desired a traditional marriage and many children, she consented to become Lloyd George’s personal secretary on his terms, which included a sexual relationship, in 1913.

Despite the displeasure of Lloyd George’s children from his first marriage, Stevenson married Lloyd George on October 23, 1943, two years after his wife Margaret died.

5. Early days 

Off the bat, Lloyd George was an active member of the Liberal Party and was selected as the Liberal candidate for Caernarvon in 1890. He later went on to win by landslide becoming the youngest member of the House of Commons at just 27 years of age. 

6. Political Career

From 1916 until 1922, the English statesman David Lloyd George 1st Earl Lloyd George of Dwyfor (1863-1945) served as Prime Minister. Despite being one of Britain’s most successful wartime leaders, he played a significant role in the Liberal Party’s collapse.

David Lloyd George has been described as “the first son of the people to acquire supreme power.” His life exemplifies the shift in leadership from the 19th century’s landed nobility to the 20th century’s mass democracy. But his career is practically exceptional in the way he ascended to and maintained power—through a disregard for convention and precedent, reliance on instinct rather than reason, and the sheer force of his will and determination.

Before becoming Prime Minister, Lloyd George held a number of significant government dockets. He served as President of the Board of Trade, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the Secretary for the State for War in 1916.

7. Notable Contributions

Lloyd George boosted the country’s finances during the war and established deals with trade unions to keep production going. Asquith formed a wartime coalition with the Conservatives and Labour in 1915, led by the Liberals. When Lloyd George was appointed Minister of Munitions, he quickly increased output.

The National Insurance Act of 1911, which is widely seen as the forebearer of nationalized health insurance, was the brainchild of Lloyd George. 

8. Liberal welfare reforms 

The Liberal reforms were financed through David Lloyd George’s Finance Bill (dubbed “the People’s Budget”), which levied taxes on the “wealthy” to help “working” citizens and the sick and injured. Lloyd George claimed that his budget will solve poverty and praised it by saying, “This is a war Budget.”

Between 1906 & 1914 Lloyd George through the Liberal Party was the key protagonist of reforms that included: raising the minimum wage for farmers, licensing pubs, guaranteed lunches for school children, and pensions for the elderly. 

9. PM Lloyd George

In  December 1916, Lloyd George assented to an invitation to form a government. He was highly regarded and many believed his spirited pragmatism is just what Britain needed in the ongoing war. He was acclaimed as the man who had won the war, and in 1918 the coalition he formed won a huge majority in this historical election in which women were allowed to vote for the first time. 

10. Legacy

In 1919 Lloyd George signed the Treaty of Versailles, which established the League of Nations and the war reparations settlement. However, growing dissent at home led to the Conservatives breaking up the coalition in 1922 following which he resigned as Prime Minister.

Lloyd George remained a very controversial figure; with his own party constantly at its wits end on whether to support or abandon him. He is seen to have often turned a blind eye to the party issues in favour of his self-serving pursuits – ultimately leading to the demise of the party. 

David Lloyd George died of cancer on March 26, 1945, at the age of eighty-two and was buried in Llanystumdwy, Wales.

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