David Lloyd George

The National Insurance Law was proposed during his tenure as Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1911 and was recognized as the forerunner of the British welfare state. During the First World War, he served as Minister of Quartermaster and Minister of War. He became prime minister on December 7, 1916, and internally expanded the government's control over the economy. After the war, Lloyd George remained Prime Minister in the coalition government of the British Conservative Party and the British Liberal Party. In 1918, Parliament passed the Electoral Reform Law to expand the scope of voters, promulgated the National Education Reform Law, and introduced compulsory education for children under the age of 14. In 1919, he attended and manipulated the Paris Peace Conference. He was one of the "Big Three" of the Paris Peace Conference and signed the Treaty of Versailles. Ireland was granted dominion status in 1921.

When Lloyd George was 14 years old, his uncle trained him to become a lawyer. He emerged by holding successful arguments in court that won non-believers the right to be buried in the church cemetery in his parish. Young Lloyd George was handsome, romantic and debauchery. He married M. Owen in 1888, but his love was not exclusive, and many romantic affairs made it difficult for his tolerant wife to endure.

In 1890, Lloyd George won the Carnarvon Borough by-election and entered the Parliament, a seat he held for 55 years. He soon became famous in the House of Commons for his boldness, charisma, wit and ability to master debate. After the 1895 election, the Liberal Party remained in opposition for 10 years, during which time he became the leader of the radical wing of the Liberal Party. He strongly opposed the Second Boer War, openly accusing it of being an "unjust war" and was narrowly lynched in Birmingham, the stronghold of Joseph Chamberlain and the Conservative imperialists in 1901. After peace came, he opposed the use of taxes to fund religious schools under Balfour's Education Act (1902).

After the fall of the Conservative government in December 1905, Campbell Bannerman of the Liberal Party formed a government. In 1906, Lloyd George was invited to join the cabinet and presided over the Ministry of Foreign Trade. During his tenure, he proposed some important legislation, such as the Merchant Shipping Act and the Patents Act of 1906, which slightly improved the living conditions of seafarers and protected the rights of British inventions and creations. The Port of London Act, passed in 1908, established the Port of London Authority, providing a unified coordinating body for foreign exports. In the autumn of 1907, railway workers planned to strike, and Lloyd George intervened and was resolved. This greatly enhanced his political reputation.

In April 1908, Herbert Henry Asquith, Chancellor of the Exchequer, succeeded Campbell Bannerman as Prime Minister, and the position of Chancellor was assumed by Lloyd George. At that time, the international situation was becoming increasingly tense, and Germany tried to dominate the world and vigorously expanded its navy. In order to maintain maritime hegemony, Britain is also actively building dreadnought ships, and naval funding has increased unprecedentedly. At home, due to the development of capitalism, small farmers are on the verge of bankruptcy, the working class is impoverished and unemployment problems are becoming increasingly serious, and the economic situation needs to be improved to ease class conflicts. At that time, local taxes had exceeded the burden, and the former Chancellor of the Exchequer left a fiscal deficit of £ 16 million. Lloyd George believes that in order to liberate fiscal revenue and expenditure and increase treasury revenue, we must use social reform to find a way out.

In 1909, Lloyd George proposed a budget to Congress, using huge military expenditures to develop the navy, while using low amounts of expenses to provide unemployment, sickness and disability insurance benefits. In order to solve the source of funds, he proposed to increase the property surcharge, stipulating that for those with an annual income of more than £ 3000, the tax will be increased from the original 1 shilling to 1 shilling and 2pence; for those with an annual income of more than £ 5000, an excess income tax will be levied on the part exceeding £ 3000. In addition, inheritance tax, liquor vendor license tax, tobacco and alcohol tax will be increased, and land tax will be introduced later.

Lloyd George's budget was strongly opposed by the landlord bourgeoisie. After a fierce battle of words, the budget was passed in the House of Commons. However, when it was submitted to the upper house for discussion, it was shelved due to quarrels between the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party. Due to the mediation of King Edward VII of England, the Act of Parliament was passed on August 10, 1911. This enabled the legal relationship between the two houses of Parliament for the first time to be governed by written law. This decree states that the Finance Bill is "a public relations bill." After each Finance Law is certified by the Speaker of the House of Commons, the House of Lords cannot be amended or vetoed. It will become law immediately upon approval by the British King, thus depriving the House of Lords of the power to discuss the Finance Bill. Other general bills can only be vetoed twice by the House of Commons. If they are passed three times in a row and approved by the British King, they can become law. In this way, Lloyd George won.

At the beginning of the 20th century, class conflicts intensified in Britain. Workers strike one after another, and labor relations are very tense. During Lloyd George's tenure as Chancellor of the Exchequer, in order to ease domestic class conflicts and safeguard the rule of the bourgeoisie, some reforms were implemented, such as abolishing the right of business owners to force trade unions to compensate for "strike losses"; miners worked eight-hour days; stipulating that older workers over the age of 70 can receive "pensions"; and recommending the establishment of a national labor office and industry committee as a body to mediate labor relations. In particular, the National Insurance Law was promulgated in 1911, stipulating that "insurance premiums" should be divided into two parts: one part would be used for workers 'illnesses and disabilities, and the other part would be used for workers' unemployment "subsidies." The bill stipulates that "insurance benefits" will be shared by the state, employers and employees in different proportions. Although these reform measures could not fundamentally solve the class contradiction in Britain, they temporarily eased the contradiction between labor and capital. Just as Lloyd George was fully engaged in social reforms, his political career suffered a bad luck in 1912. This is the "Marconi Incident". In 1911, the Reichstag recommended the establishment of a state-owned radio link within the Reichstag. The Imperial Government agreed to comply. In 1912, the Postmaster Secretary accepted Marconi's application to build a radio station. In the process of signing specific terms of the contract, Lord Isaac, the chief prosecutor, persuaded Lloyd George to buy £ 2000 of shares in the American company. The newspaper exposed this fact. Parliament established a special committee to conduct an investigation. The investigation report considered the accusation "absurd." Because the two companies are completely separated legally. Lloyd George and others were acquitted. However, the "Marconi Incident" undoubtedly cast a shadow on Lloyd George's political career.

Soon, the issue of Irish self-government came to the fore again. In the past two general elections, the Liberal Party reached an agreement with Irish autonomy in order to obtain a majority in Parliament to support it for autonomy. But autonomy has never been achieved. Sir Edward Carson formed the Northern Ireland Army in an attempt to impose self-government by force. Britain faces the threat of civil war. Lloyd George had been ordered to negotiate with the Irish Liberalists.