Born on the 17th January 1863, a man that would dedicate post of his life to politics and helping to bring about change for the poor. In 1905 David Lloyd George became the President of the Born of Trade, a position he will hold until 1908. From here, he became Chancellor of the Exchequer on the 12th April and this was were he made one of the biggest changes that we can still see today. From an early age, David had opposed the Poor Law and believed the government should guarantee an income to those who were too old to work. The Poor Law amongst other things stated that no able-bodied person was to receive money or other help from the Poor Law authorities except in the workhouse. This was all about to change as David Lloyd George started his new role.
As Chancellor of the Exchequer, David introduced the Old Age Pensions Act, its aim to provide from 1s - 5s, a week to people over seventy years old. To qualify, the person had to earn less than 12s a week, so only those who really needed it would benefit. This money needed to be raised from somewhere and so he also introduced the People's Budget, where tax was increased depending on how much you earned, with a Supertax being given to those who earned over £5,000 a year. The rich also had to pay more in death duties, as well as on the profits made through business. Several months later, he also introduced National Insurance to help pay for workers healthcare. These changes meant that for thousands of people living in poverty, they had a change to survive. It wouldn't make them rich, but it would certainly help ease the pressure of everyday life.
On the 25th May 1915, David Lloyd George left his position as Chancellor of the Exchequer and become the Minister of Munitions as part of the first coalition ministry. Although very little is said about it, David started this position at the time of the 1915 Shell Scandal and so very quickly had to get more people making the shells and transporting them to the front line than ever before. On the 6th of June 1916, David also became Secretary of State For War, taking over from Lord Kitchener upon his sudden death and just one month later on the 9th July, left his position as Minister of Munitions. David Lloyd George as Secretary of State For War did not last long and on the 5th December, he resigned. This was largely due to him being denied permission to chair a small committee that would manage the war.
Despite resigning as Secretary of State For War, by the end of 1916, David Lloyd George had made it to the top. He was now the British Prime Minister, a position he would hold until 1922. During the latter years of the war, David managed to persuade the navy to use a convoy system, explaining that this would be the best and safest way to ship supplies and troops to their various destinations. I believe this to be one of his biggest achievements, not just for the First World War as it was used for many years to come.
Post war, David Lloyd George attended the Paris Peace Conference on behalf of Britain to help draft the Versailles Treaty. He made he views well known that whilst Germany needed to be punished for what it had done, they also needed to remain strong due to the rising of Communism in Russia. Once the war was won, David was also able to look to the future and tried to set about reforms on education, health, housing and transport but was unfortunately met with huge criticism by other politicians.
When the Second World War began in 1939, David Lloyd George was asked to help form a war cabinet but he declined with old age and ill health being his reasons. On the 26th March 1945, David Lloyd George died aged 82 years old, yet his strong belief's lived on and post second world war, was partly what inspired the changes brought about that we know today.
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