The Lloyd George Coalition

The Lloyd George Coalition 1918-1922

The Coupon Election 1918

The Representation of the People Act 1918 provided the background to the 1918 election. All men over 21 could vote. A small number of women were also eligible to. These were the over 30’s and the wives of important British. men

• The Liberals were still split between old (Asquith) and new (Lloyd George)

• Labour had to decide whether to fight the election independently or continue under Lloyd George. (Mowat: 1966: 2-3, 6-7)

• The Conservatives had to decide the same.

Labour decided to fight independently and the Conservatives decided to carry on the coalition with the Liberals. The Conservatives decided to this as Lloyd George was a popular figure amongst the public.

An agreement was made with the Conservative leader Andrew Bonar Law. 150 Lloyd George candidates would not be opposed by Conservatives in the constituencies in which they were standing for election.

A letter explaining this position (the coupon) was sent to all candidates who were willing to support the coalition. Each letter was signed by both Bonar Law and Lloyd George. Asquith was furious with this and nicknamed the letters “coupons”. (Bentley:1967: 16)

The Outcome

The Lloyd George coalition was easily returned to power. However, the weakness of the Liberals effectively made the coalition, in effect, a Conservative government with a Liberal Prime Minister.

(Bentley: 1967: 16-17)

Note: The Conservatives were pleased with the outcome