Henry Campbell-Bannerman led thegovernment from 1905 to 1908 and was succeeded byH. H. Asquith.

Asquith led the government from 1908. He formeda coalition in 1915 during theFirst World War.

TheLiberal government of theUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland that began in 1905 and ended in 1915 consisted of two ministries: the first led byHenry Campbell-Bannerman (from 1905 to 1908) and the final three byH. H. Asquith (from 1908 onwards).

With the fall ofArthur Balfour'sConservative government in theUnited Kingdom in December 1905, theLiberals under SirHenry Campbell-Bannerman were called in to form a government. In the subsequentelection, the Liberals won an enormous majority.^[1] Campbell-Bannerman was succeeded as prime minister byH. H. Asquith in 1908.^[2]

The Liberal government was supported by 29Labour PartyMPs. ChancellorDavid Lloyd George crafted thePeople's Budget and introduced a great deal of social legislation,^[3] such as old age pensions and unemployment insurance for a significant part of the working population. For many working people, for whom in old age the threat of theworkhouse was very real, these represented a very significant change. Equally groundbreaking was theParliament Act 1911 which:

• Removed the law-making veto from theHouse of Lords thus rendering it constitutionally most expedient to run any future government from theHouse of Commons
• Enshrined into law the previous convention, which the Lords had broken in 1909, that the Lords may not rejectMoney Bills
• Cut the length of parliaments from seven years to five

Many of the members of Asquith's cabinet, however, opposed the social measures promulgated by leading figures such asWinston Churchill andDavid Lloyd George. This resistance was arguably a reflection of the extent to which many Liberals still adhered to the Party'sGladstonian, classical liberal tradition in spite of the growth of the "New Liberalism".John Morley was opposed to both old-age pensions and the provisions of theTrade Boards Act 1909, whileWalter Runciman was against the eight-hour day for miners and compensation for workers.John Burns,James Bryce,Lord Loreburn, andW. S. Robson were opposed to land reform, insurance, and the feeding of schoolchildren,^[4] while several cabinet members^[5] (such as Crewe,^[6] Fitzmaurice,^[7] Harcourt,^[8] and McKenna^[9]) were critical of Lloyd George's progressive "People's Budget." Nevertheless, according to Neil Smith, the majority of the members of the Edwardian Liberal Cabinets were supportive of social reform and social progress.^[10] As noted by one study,

They (the Liberal Cabinet members) sought to respond to the discontent of the electorate by using the existing structure of government to correct the ills of society through innovative legislation. Two-thirds of the Liberal candidates, includingEdwin Montagu, had pledged support for such measures during the campaign. While their support was often expressed in general terms, their intent was clear: Social and economic reform must be the first order of the new government.^[11]

Although the government lost a great deal of support by thetwo generalelections of 1910, they managed to hold on by dint of support from theIrish Parliamentary Party. After early mismanagement during theFirst World War, particularly the failure of theDardanelles Campaign, Asquith was forced to bring theUnionists into the government in acoalition.^[12]

Campbell-Bannerman ministry
1905–1908
Campbell-Bannerman
Date formed	5 December 1905 (1905-12-05)
Date dissolved	5 April 1908 (1908-04-05)
People and organisations
Monarch	Edward VII
Prime Minister	SirHenry Campbell-Bannerman
Member party	Liberal Party
Status in legislature	Minority (1905–1906) Majority (1906–1908)
Opposition party	Conservative Party
Opposition leaders	Arthur Balfour (1905–1906) Joseph Chamberlain (1906) Arthur Balfour (1906–1908) in theHouse of Commons Lord Lansdowne in theHouse of Lords
History
Election	1906 general election
Legislature terms	27th UK Parliament 28th UK Parliament
Predecessor	Balfour ministry
Successor	First Asquith ministry

• SirHenry Campbell-Bannerman –Prime Minister,First Lord of the Treasury andLeader of the House of Commons^[13]
• Robert Reid, 1st Baron Loreburn –Lord Chancellor
• Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Earl of Crewe –Lord President of the Council
• George Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon –Lord Privy Seal andLeader of the House of Lords
• H. H. Asquith –Chancellor of the Exchequer
• Herbert Gladstone –Secretary of State for the Home Department
• Sir Edward Grey, 3rd Baronet –Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
• Victor Bruce, 9th Earl of Elgin –Secretary of State for the Colonies
• Richard Haldane –Secretary of State for War
• John Morley –Secretary of State for India
• Edward Marjoribanks, 2nd Baron Tweedmouth –First Lord of the Admiralty
• David Lloyd George –President of the Board of Trade
• SirHenry Fowler –Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
• SirJohn Sinclair –Secretary for Scotland
• James Bryce –Chief Secretary for Ireland
• John Burns –President of the Local Government Board
• Charles Wyn-Carrington, 1st Earl Carrington –President of the Board of Agriculture
• Augustine Birrell –President of the Board of Education
• Sydney Buxton –Postmaster-General

• January 1907 – Augustine Birrell succeeds Bryce as Irish Secretary.Reginald McKenna succeeds Birrell at the Board of Education.^[14]
• March 1907 –Lewis Harcourt, theFirst Commissioner of Works, enters the cabinet.^[15]

Asquith ministries
1908–1910[16] Jan–Dec 1910[16] 1910–1915[16]
Asquith (1908)
Date formed	First: 5 April 1908 (1908-04-05) Second: 9 February 1910 (1910-02-09) Third: 19 December 1910 (1910-12-19)
Date dissolved	First: 9 February 1910 (1910-02-09) Second: 19 December 1910 (1910-12-19) Third: 25 May 1915 (1915-05-25)
People and organisations
Monarch	Edward VII (1908–1910) George V (1910–1915)
Prime Minister	H. H. Asquith
Prime Minister's history	1908–1916
Member party	Liberal Party
Status in legislature	Majority (1908–1910) Minority (1910) dependent onIPP support
Opposition party	Conservative Party
Opposition leaders	Arthur Balfour (1908–1911) Bonar Law (1911–1915) in theHouse of Commons Lord Lansdowne in theHouse of Lords
History
Elections	Jan 1910 general election Dec 1910 general election
Legislature terms	28th UK Parliament 29th UK Parliament 30th UK Parliament
Budget	People's Budget
Predecessor	C-Bannerman ministry
Successor	Asquith coalition ministry

• September 1908 –Lord Wolverhampton succeedsLord Tweedmouth as Lord President.Lord FitzMaurice succeeds Lord Wolverhampton as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
• October 1908 –Lord Crewe succeedsLord Ripon as Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords, while remaining also Colonial Secretary.
• June 1909 –Herbert Samuel succeeds Lord FitzMaurice at the Duchy of Lancaster.
• February 1910 –Winston Churchill succeeds Herbert Gladstone as Home Secretary.Sydney Buxton succeeds Churchill at the Board of Trade. Herbert Samuel succeeds Buxton as Postmaster-General.Joseph Pease succeeds Samuel as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
• June 1910 –Lord Beauchamp succeeds Lord Wolverhampton as Lord President.
• November 1910 – Lord Beauchamp succeedsLewis Vernon Harcourt as First Commissioner of Public Works.Lord Morley of Blackburn succeeds Beauchamp as Lord President. Lord Crewe succeeds Morley as India Secretary, remaining also Lord Privy Seal. Lewis Harcourt succeeds Crewe as Colonial Secretary.
• October 1911 – Winston Churchill andReginald McKenna switch offices, Churchill taking the Admiralty and McKenna the Home Office.Lord Carrington succeeds Lord Crewe as Lord Privy Seal. Crewe remains India Secretary.Walter Runciman succeeds Lord Carrington at the Board of Agriculture. Joseph Pease succeeds Runciman at the Board of Education.Charles Hobhouse succeeds Pease at the Duchy of Lancaster.
• February 1912 – Lord Crewe succeeds Lord Carrington as Lord Privy Seal, remaining also India Secretary.Thomas McKinnon Wood succeedsLord Pentland as Secretary for Scotland.
• June 1912 – TheAttorney-General, SirRufus Isaacs, enters the cabinet. Lord Haldane succeedsLord Loreburn as Lord Chancellor.Jack Seely succeeds Haldane as Secretary for War.
• October 1913 – SirJohn Simon succeeds Sir Rufus Isaacs as Attorney-General.
• February 1914 –John Burns succeeds Sydney Buxton as President of the Board of Trade. Herbert Samuel succeeds Burns at the Local Government Board. Sir Charles Hobhouse succeeds Samuel as Postmaster-General.Charles Masterman succeeds Hobhouse at the Duchy of Lancaster.
• March 1914 – Asquith temporarily succeeds Jack Seely as Secretary for War.
• August 1914 – Lord Beauchamp succeeds Lord Morley as Lord President. Lord Emmott succeeds Beauchamp as First Commissioner of Public Works. Walter Runciman succeeds John Burns as President of the Board of Trade.Lord Lucas succeeds Runciman at the Board of Agriculture.Lord Kitchener succeeds Asquith as Secretary for War.
• January 1915 –Edwin Montagu succeedsCharles Frederick Gurney Masterman as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

Members of the cabinet are inbold face.

Notes

• Edwardian era
• List of British governments

• Blewett, Neal (1972).The Peers, the Parties and the People: The British General Elections of 1910. Toronto and Buffalo: University of Toronto Press.ISBN 0-8020-1838-6.
• Brooks, David.The Age of Upheaval: Edwardian Politics, 1899-1914 (1995)online
• Butler, David and Gareth Butler.Twentieth Century British Political Facts, 1900–2000. (St. Martin's, 2000)
• Byrne, Mike.Britain 1895–1918 (Access to History, 2005), textbook.
• Cross, Colin.The Liberals in Power, 1905–1914 (1963)online
• Dangerfield, George.The Strange Death of Liberal England (1935), a famous classic focused on the Irish crisis (the rebellion in Ulster), the suffragette movement and the labour movement, 1910–1914.online
• Daglish, N. D. "A 'difficult and somewhat thankless task': politics, religion and the Education Bill of 1908."Journal of educational administration and history 31.1 (1999): 19–35.
• Douglas, Roy.The history of the Liberal Party, 1895–1970 (1971)online
• Emy, H.V.Liberals, Radicals and Social Politics 1892–1914 (Cambridge UP, 1973)online
• Ensor, R.C.K.England: 1900–1939 (Oxford UP, 1936)online
• Glaser, John F. "English Nonconformity and the Decline of Liberalism"American Historical Review 63#2 (1958), pp. 352–363JSTOR 1849549
• Halévy, Elie.The Rule of Democracy, 1905–1914 (vol 6 of "History of the English People, 1905–1914") (1934);online
• Hay, James Roy.Origins of the Liberal Welfare Reforms, 1906–14 (1975) 78pponline
• Jenkins, Roy.Mr. Balfour's poodle: an account of the struggle between the House of Lords and the government of Mr. Asquith (1954)online
• Quinault, Roland. "Asquith's Liberalism."History 77.249 (1992): 33–49.
• Russell, A. K.Liberal landslide : the general election of 1906 (1973).
• Searle, G. R.A New England?: peace and war, 1886–1918 (Oxford UP, 2004), wide-ranging scholarly survey, 952 pp.
• Wrigley, Chris. ed.A Companion to Early Twentieth-Century Britain (Blackwell, 2003); 32 essays by experts, on 1900–1939, with emphasis on historiography.online

• Cregier, Don M.Bounder from Wales: Lloyd George's Career Before the First World War (U of Missouri Press, 1976).
• Gilbert, Bentley Brinkerhoff.David Lloyd George: The Architect of Change, 1863–1912 (1987)online
• Gilbert, Bentley Brinkerhoff.David Lloyd George: a political life: Organizer of Victory: 1912–1916 (1987)online
• Gilbert, Bentley Brinkerhoff. "David Lloyd George: Land, The Budget, and Social Reform."American Historical Review 81.5 (1976): 1058–1066.online
• Gilbert, Bentley B. "David Lloyd George: the reform of British landholding and the budget of 1914."Historical Journal 21.1 (1978): 117–141.
• Grigg, John.Lloyd George: The People's Champion, 1902–1911 (1978). biographyonline
• Grigg, John.Lloyd George: from peace to war, 1912–1916 (1985)online
• Jenkins, Roy.Asquith: portrait of a man and an era (1964)online
• Levine, Naomi.Politics, Religion, and Love: The Story of H.H. Asquith, Venetia Stanley, and Edwin Montagu, Based on the Life and Letters of Edwin Samuel Montagu (NYU Press, 1991).
• Murray, Bruce K.The People's Budget, 1909–1910: Lloyd George and Liberal Politics (1980).
• Packer, Ian.Lloyd George, liberalism and the land: The land issue and party politics in England, 1906–1914 (Boydell & Brewer, 2001).
• Pelling, Henry.Winston Churchill (1974) pp. 110–146online
• Quinault, Roland. "Asquith's Liberalism."History 77.249 (1992): 33–49.online
• Stephenson, Charles.Churchill as Home Secretary: Suffragettes, Strikes, and Social Reform 1910–11 (2023)

• The Liberal year book: 1906 (1906);online
• The Liberal year book: 1907 (1907);online
• The Liberal Year Book: 1908 (1908);online
• Annual Register 1906
• Annual Register 1907
• Statistical Abstract of the United Kingdomannual 1901–1909, online

• British ministries
• Liberal Party (UK)
• 1900s in British politics
• 1905 establishments in the United Kingdom
• 1910s in British politics
• 1915 disestablishments in the United Kingdom
• Ministries of Edward VII
• Ministries of George V
• Cabinets established in 1905
• Cabinets disestablished in 1915
• H. H. Asquith
• Henry Campbell-Bannerman

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from June 2021
• Pages using multiple image with auto scaled images
• Pages using infobox government cabinet with government head history