David Lloyd George Speech 1930s

Excerpt from a pre election Lloyd George speech from the early 1930’s showing his oratory skills at their best.

He was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and led a Wartime Coalition Government between 1916 and 1922 and was the Leader of the Liberal Party from 1926 to 1931.

Lloyd George was a powerful orator and highly effective leader. As Chancellor of the Exchequer he introduced major social reforms that improved the lives of millions. As Prime Minister he steered Britain and the Empire towards victory in the First World War.

The liberal governments of the early 20th Century laid the foundations of what became the ‘Welfare State’. As Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lloyd George introduced the Old Age Pension and National Insurance as he sought to tackle vast social and economic inequalities.

To pay for these reforms, he increased taxes for the better off, earning him the contempt of Tories, including Rudyard Kipling, who described Lloyd George as “the Welsh thief”. He retaliated by curtailing the powers of the Tory-dominated House of Lords.

Despite his initial opposition to the War with Germany, Lloyd George’s organisational skills were required as Minister of Munitions. As the losses on the Western front mounted, the toppling of Asquith’s government opened the way for him to become Prime Minister in 1916.

He was the last Liberal to serve as Prime Minister, his coalition premiership being supported more by Conservatives than by his own Liberals, and the subsequent split was a key factor in the decline of the Liberal Party as a serious political force thereafter.

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