David Lloyd George
1916–22
From national insurance to suffrage, the Welsh leader’s programme of reforms laid the foundations for the modern state, suggests Laura Beers
Clement Attlee is normally credited with the creation of the welfare state, but had it not been for the groundwork laid by David Lloyd George – who served as leader of a coalition National government from December 1916 to October 1922 – the creation of both the National Health Service and the universal National Insurance scheme would have been inconceivable.
Prior to his ascension to the premiership, Lloyd George had spent seven years as chancellor of the Exchequer in HH Asquith’s Liberal government, before moving to the newly created Ministry of Munitions in May 1915, with a remit to streamline production, resolve disruptive labour disputes, and shore up Britain’s ability to fight the (irst 9orld 9ar #s chancellor, minister of munitions and prime minister, Lloyd George showed a commitment to strong central government in the national interest.
As chancellor, he was responsible for the creation of a graduated system of income tax, the introduction of old-age pensions, and the implementation of the country’s first national insurance scheme, which subsidised health care and guaranteed disability and unemployment benefits for organised industrial workers. During the war, he increased state control over industry, regulated food prices, and brought labour leaders into the governing fold.
As the war came to an end, Lloyd George’s government passed the 1918 Representation of the People Act, which granted the vote to nearly all men over the age of 21 and to a majority of women aged over 30. While his determination to put country before party split the Liberals, his reforms arguably created the modern state.