A LOST PRIME MINISTER?

13 T. E. Ellis to Sir Robert Hudson 41 Ibid. 53, Acland to Ellis, 14 August 49 NLW, D. R. Daniel Papers 616, (May 1892), cited in Neville 1898. Acland to Daniel, 29 December Masterman, The Forerunner: the 42 National Library of Scotland, Rose- 1905 (‘Private’). Dilemmas of Tom Ellis, 1859– bery Papers, box 76, Acland to 50 NLW, William George Papers 1899 (Llandybie, 1972), p. 179. Rosebery, undated [?1901]. 3,402, D. Lloyd George to Richard 14 The phrase is that used in NLW, 43 NLW, D. R. Daniel Papers 614, Lloyd, 15 June 1906. D. R. Daniel Papers 397, Ellis to Acland to Daniel, 19 August 51 NLW MS 20,463C, no. 2,393, Daniel, 23 May 1892. 1902. Acland to D. Lloyd George, 16 15 NLW, T. E. Ellis Papers 3,222, 44 A. H. D. Acland, Sir Thomas Dyke- September 1909 (‘Confidential’). Acland to Ellis, 17 May 1892. Acland: a Memoir and Letters 52 NLW MS 22,522C, f. 165, Acland 16 NLW MS 23,240E, p. 116, diary (Scarborough, 1902). to D. Lloyd George, 7 August 1910 entry for 2 April 1892. 45 NLW, D. R. Daniel Papers 615, (‘Private’). 17 Ibid., diary entry for 8 April 1892. Acland to Daniel, 15 January 53 See Ian Packer, Lloyd George, 18 See Kenneth O. Morgan, in 1903. Liberalism and the Land: the Land British Politics, 1868–1922, 4th 46 F. E. Hamer (ed.), The Personal Issue and Party Politics in England, edn. (Cardiff, 1991), pp. 121–22; Papers of Lord Rendel (London, 1906–1914 (London, 2001), p. NLW, Rendel Papers 992, Acland 1931), p. 286. 84. to Rendel, 21 August 1892: ‘I 47 NLW, D. R. Daniel Papers 623, 54 Parliamentary Archive, House of have received many kind letters Acland to Daniel, 13 March 1905. Lords Record Office, Lloyd George from Wales’. 48 Acland to Campbell-Bannerman, Papers C/2/1/6, C. Roden Buxton 19 John Morley, The Life of Glad- 30 November 1905, cited in John to D. Lloyd George, 11 August stone (London, 1908) vol. 3, pp. Wilson, C.B.: a Life of Sir Henry 1912. 494–95. Campbell-Bannerman (London, 55 NLW, George M. Ll. Davies Papers 20 See H. C. G. Matthew, Gladstone, 1973), p. 439. Reflecting on his 3,220, Acland to Davies, 17 Feb- 1875–1898 (Oxford, 1995), p. retirement from parliament seven ruary 1925 (‘Private’). 331. years earlier, he commented, ‘I 56 The Times, 11 October 1926, p. 21 NLW MS 21,818E, f. 391, Sir overstrained my brain when I was 21, col. c. John Herbert Lewis to Ivor Davies, about five and twenty … & there’s 57 Ibid., 13 October 1926, p. 7, col. e. 15 September 1933. not much left now’. 22 Cited in his obituary in the Man- chester Guardian, 11 October 1926, p. 6. 23 Cited ibid. 24 Morley, Recollections, vol. 1, p. 324. 25 Ibid., vol. 2, p. 15. 26 NLW, T. E. Ellis Papers 38, Acland to Ellis, 23 December 1893. REPORT 27 NLW, A. J. Williams Papers A3/4, Acland to Williams, 28 October 1894. 28 NLW, T. E. Ellis Papers 40, Acland – Liberal Party saviour? to Ellis, 18 April 1895. 29 Ibid. 3,374, John E. Ellis MP, Scar- Fringe meeting report, September 2003, Brighton, borough, to Ellis, 21 July 1895. 30 NLW MS 23,240E, p. 128, with Alun Wyburn-Powell, Dr David Roberts and Roger diary entry for Christmas 1895. See also NLW, T. E. Ellis Papers Williams MP. 3,226, Acland to Ellis, 7 Novem- ber 1895. Report by Graham Lippiatt 31 Ibid. 42, Acland to Ellis, 11 July 1896. 32 Ibid. 44, Acland to Ellis, 15 Octo- ber 1896 (‘Confidential’). hen I joined the Lib- If one of the purposes of 33 Ibid. eral Party in 1972, the Liberal Democrat History 34 See the analysis in D. A. Hamer, WClement Davies was Group is to help make visible Liberal Politics in the age of Glad- already a largely forgotten man aspects and personalities of Lib- stone and Rosebery: A Study in to the vast majority of party eral history that were previously Leadership and Policy (Oxford, 1972), pp. 238–39. members. Yet this was only ten ignored or marginalised, then 35 Ibid., pp. 245–46. years after his death and just six- the re-emergence of interest in 36 NLW, T. E. Ellis Papers 45, Acland teen since he had led the party Clement Davies is a particular to Ellis, 2 January 1897. – the equivalent to looking back achievement. In recent years 37 Ibid. 48, Acland to Ellis, 15 August today to the run-up to Paddy Davies has been rediscovered 1897. 38 NLW, William George Papers 552, Ashdown’s leadership of the and rehabilitated. It has been D. Lloyd George to William George, merged Liberal Democrats. It shown that the seeds of the Lib- 21 January 1898. was as if the contemporary Lib- eral Party’s revival, brought to 39 NLW, Sir John Herbert Lewis eral Party had been born again full bloom under , Papers A1/100, Frank Edwards, in the Grimond years, and what were firmly planted in the Dav- Bath, to Lewis, 11 July 1898. 40 NLW, T. E. Ellis Papers 52, Acland had gone before was consigned ies era. In addition, interest in to Ellis, 12 June 1898 (‘Private’). to dust and irrelevance. Davies’ other achievements, his

28 Journal of Liberal History 43 Summer 2004 Journal of Liberal History 43 Summer 2004 29 REPORT: CLEMENT DAVIES – LIBERAL PARTY SAVIOUR? role in helping to bring down went on to become one of the In recent at a by-election3 or at the next the Chamberlain government in most successful lawyers and busi- general election, so the Liberals May 1940 and the replacement nessmen of his generation, cul- years Dav- were only thinking in terms of a of Chamberlain as Prime Minis- minating in his being managing stopgap leader when they elected ter by Churchill, and his refusal director of Unilever for eleven ies has Davies, not only the oldest of of Churchill’s offer of a place in years. Politics was not his first their number but one who had government in 1951, thereby love and, indeed, he was a reluc- been redis- only returned to the party during preventing a terminal split in tant participant. Lloyd George covered the war. the Liberal Party, have been first asked Clement Davies to According to Wyburn-Powell explored in a series of articles in stand for Parliament in 1910 but and reha- the Liberal MPs returned in 1945 the Journal of Liberal History. it was not until the 1929 general were mostly either on the dis- Last year saw the publication election, aged forty-six, that he bilitated. tinct right or the distinct left of of the first biography of Clem- agreed to do so and was elected the party, making a compromise ent Davies.1 Before this book for Montgomeryshire. It has been candidate difficult to identify. the main source of information Even after he became an MP, shown that And once he was leader, Davies about Davies was an unpublished he was soon disillusioned with was obliged to try and balance MA thesis,2 and it was to hear politics and looked to business the seeds these opposing forces, including the authors of these two publica- rather than Parliament for career MPs such as Gwilym Lloyd- tions talking on the subject of advancement. Despite good of the Lib- George, who was nine-tenths Davies as Liberal Party saviour work in the House of Commons of the way to the Conservatives, that we gathered in Brighton for on the Coal Mines Bill, Davies eral Party’s and Tom Horabin who was sim- the History Group fringe meet- felt the party and its leadership revival, ilarly Labour-bound. As well as ing, chaired by Roger Williams, had gone back on its pledges on the four MPs new to the Com- MP for Brecon & Radnorshire. this piece of legislation, so when brought to mons, Davies had to manage Alun Wyburn-Powell spoke the opportunity arose to join the individuals such as the academic principally about Davies’ leader- board of Unilever, at an annual full bloom Professor Gruffydd, the MP for ship of the party, placed in the salary of £10,000, he decided to the University of Wales, whose context of his earlier career. He take it. The board insisted that under Jo seat was soon to be abolished, started by reminding us that this was not a post which was Grimond, and the charismatic and dynamic Davies was the forgotten leader. compatible with Davies’ being . There is little tangible evidence an MP, so he decided he would were firmly In addition to his politi- of his importance. On his birth not contest the next election and cal problems, Davies also faced place in mid-Wales there is a Montgomeryshire Liberals began planted in almost intolerable personal trag- home-made plaque, but one looking for another candidate. edy. Of his four children, three which contains slightly inac- As it turned out, Unilever did the Davies died in separate incidents, each curate information; and while allow him to stay on as an MP, era. at the age of twenty-four. On there were, of course, still people but he was never truly settled as top of this, it is now clear that who remembered him, their a Liberal over the coming years, he had an alcohol problem. He recollection was likely to be of seriously considering resignation was highly stressed and found it an old and old-fashioned man, in 1935, first joining then leaving hard to relax, so turned to seri- genial and slightly unwell, who the Liberal Nationals, and sitting ous drinking at times of crisis and talked a great deal. The bald at one time purely as an Inde- occasionally had to spend time in historical record will show that pendent. hospital as a result. under Davies’ leadership Liberal Wyburn-Powell character- Wyburn-Powell told us that parliamentary representation ised Davies’ years as an MP up Davies’ eleven-year leadership of fell from twelve to six, and on to 1945 as those of a ‘brilliant the party could be divided into that basis his leadership might loose cannon’ but then turned four phases: a roller-coaster ride not be judged very exciting. He to the period of his leadership of with great highs and dips. In the wrote no diary or memoirs and the party, when ‘greatness [was] first phase, the early years of the did not even leave a will. While thrust upon him’. Following the Attlee government, the Liberal he was offered ministerial posts, defeat at the 1945 election of the Party took a broadly left-wing he turned them down, so no Liberal leader Sir Archie Sinclair, stance, generally supportive of government archives exist for together with other leading fig- the government, and relations historians, although his personal ures such as Beveridge and Percy inside the party were in the main papers are available to researchers Harris, the party was down to harmonious, with Davies enjoy- in the National Library of Wales. twelve, fairly disparate, MPs ing a honeymoon and the party Davies was born in rural with no obvious or uncontro- anticipating the possible return Wales and educated locally versial candidate to take over to Parliament of Archie Sinclair. before attending Trinity Hall, from Sinclair. Although Sinclair However, between 1948 and Cambridge, where he got a was out, there was good reason 1951, the second phase of Dav- first-class degree in law. He then to believe he might be returned ies’ leadership, a series of things

28 Journal of Liberal History 43 Summer 2004 Journal of Liberal History 43 Summer 2004 29 REPORT: CLEMENT DAVIES – LIBERAL PARTY SAVIOUR?

which followed very quickly rest of his life, dying in 1962, just in October 1951, the Liberals a few days after the Orpington were in very poor shape organi- by-election victory. sationally and politically. At this In summing up Davies’ contest only 109 candidates were leadership, Wyburn-Powell put up, their vote collapsed to believed, strangely, that he had 2.5 per cent, and the party fell to been a weak leader yet effec- six MPs. Perversely this brought tive, with a style that was benign some respite for Davies as three and emollient, if rather vague. of his biggest problems, Megan He had held the party together, Lloyd George, keeping it in business and alive. and Edgar Granville, all lost their He made a personal sacrifice seats, leaving a smaller but more in rejecting Churchill’s offer cohesive parliamentary group- of coalition and a Cabinet seat. ing. This inaugurated the third Had he accepted that offer, the phase of Davies’ leadership, from party would surely have frac- 1951 until 1955. tured and would probably have Immediately after the general destroyed itself. In that sense, election, Churchill, back as Prime Wyburn-Powell concluded, Minister, offered Clement Davies Clement Davies had been the a coalition with the Conserva- saviour of the Liberal Party. tives, a Cabinet seat for Davies Intriguingly, Wyburn-Powell himself and a couple of junior entered a caveat to this proposi- ministries for other Liberals. Dav- tion. If Davies had accepted the ies was highly tempted by this. Cabinet post, Wyburn-Powell He knew he would never get thought it conceivable, though a another chance of office. Appre- very slim chance, that the party ciating the implications for party might have survived, led by unity, however, and after consult- Grimond, outside any coalition. ing with colleagues, he turned the He did not explore this idea but offer down. the thought runs counter to the Then followed a period first now accepted view, endorsed of consolidation and, later, by Wyburn-Powell in his talk revival. Wyburn-Powell identi- and his book, as well as by oth- fied 1953 as the true low point ers, that Davies saved the Liber- went wrong. With the approach Clement Davies: of Liberal Party fortunes, exactly als from extinction by turning of the 1950 general elec- pre-war and post- war fifty years before the Brent East down the arrangement offered tion, debate in the party about by-election triumph. From 1954 by Churchill. whether to fight on a broad or onwards, the Liberal vote in par- The next speaker was Dr narrow front began to intensify. liamentary by-elections began to David Roberts, the Registrar The left–right divide also re- improve, including good results of University College, Bangor. emerged around a debate over (although not victories) in Inver- Roberts had been granted access electoral pacts, mainly with the ness, Torquay and Hereford.4 to the papers of Clement Davies Conservatives. At this time, too, The general election of 1955 was by the family while a research Davies and his wife Jano were the first since 1929 at which the student at Aberystwyth in the both quite seriously ill, leading Liberals did not suffer a net loss 1970s and stumbled on a fasci- to speculation that a new leader of seats and the overall vote share nating, important and neglected might be needed. improved, if only slightly. Dav- history while working on them. The outcome of the 1950 ies himself, however, was now He was intrigued by Davies, the election could be read as rela- approaching seventy years old reluctant politician: someone tively comforting for the Liber- and his health was indifferent. whose first love was really the als in terms of vote share per The final phase of his leader- law and who could have attained candidate, with an overall share ship was therefore from 1955 to high legal office. He was inter- about the same as that in 1945 1956 when, in Wyburn-Powell’s ested, too, by Davies’ eccentric and with nine MPs elected. analysis, he was something of a political journey and his indi- But a blow for Davies was the lame duck. With the party wait- vidual approach to party. Dav- loss of Frank Byers, his Chief ing for Grimond, and reluctantly ies was a Lloyd Georgite in the Whip (and a potential successor acknowledging his position, 1920s and remained close to him as leader) who went down to Davies stood down at the 1956 even during the Second World defeat in Dorset North. In the party assembly. He remained the War when he actually sat for a approach to the next election, MP for Montgomeryshire for the time as an Independent. He also

30 Journal of Liberal History 43 Summer 2004 Journal of Liberal History 43 Summer 2004 31 REPORT: CLEMENT DAVIES – LIBERAL PARTY SAVIOUR? took the Liberal National whip Churchill. First, although Davies Among the pointed out, which was by no for a while and later described had been a supporter of the gov- means as inevitable as it seems himself as Liberal and Radical. ernment in the 1930s as a Liberal political today. He worked particularly Roberts was also attracted to National, after 1939 he became hard to overcome the emerg- Davies’ campaigns against poverty a critic of government policy elite it was ing consensus that Lord Halifax and depopulation in rural Wales. and action in the prosecution of should succeed Chamberlain. Whereas much was known in the war. He became chairman, well known Among the political elite it the 1930s about the social and in 1939, of an all-party group that Davies was well known that Davies had economic problems of the Welsh of parliamentarians called the been the chief protagonist in the industrial areas such as the South Vigilantes, opposed to Chamber- had been coup to topple Chamberlain; Wales coalfields, less attention lain’s handling of the war. When many, including Amery, Jowitt, was paid to the countryside. it was founded, in September the chief Boothby and Beaverbrook, Montgomeryshire was the only 1939, there were about twenty acknowledged and recorded this county in England and Wales members of this group, with protagonist in letters, diaries or the press. which had a lower population in the dissident Tory MP Robert in the coup Odd, then, that it has taken his- the 1930s than it had had in 1801. Boothby as its secretary, and its torians around sixty years fully to Davies campaigned on rural membership grew to about sixty to topple catch up. issues with a force which struck by the spring of 1940. A lively question and answer a chord even with non-Liberals Opposition to Chamberlain Chamber- and discussion followed around such as the Labour MP Jim Grif- reached its peak in May 1940, aspects of Davies’ contribution fiths, who was to become the after the humiliating withdrawal lain. to political and Liberal history, first Secretary of State for Wales. of British troops from Norway. his oratorical ability, his interna- Roberts believed that Davies’ Even as late as 2 May, Conserva- tionalism, his wide experience of chairmanship in 1938 of a Com- tive MPs had received Cham- foreign travel, his proto-Europe- mittee of Inquiry into the Anti- berlain cordially in the House of anism, his support for devolution Tuberculosis Service in Wales Commons, but, by 10 May, he and racial and sexual equality, and Monmouthshire, and the was out, replaced by Church- and above all his determination eventual outcome of the commit- ill. Davies’ role was to work to show that the Liberal Party tee’s work, was a major achieve- behind the scenes during the he led was a key component of ment. The remit of the inquiry crucial two-day debate on 7 and a modern and flourishing band allowed Davies to report on a 8 May to persuade enough MPs of international Liberal organisa- wide area of social and economic to abstain or vote against the tions, not simply the dying and deprivation and the impact of the Government and to maximise irrelevant remnant of its Victo- inquiry would have been much the impact of anti-government rian and Edwardian glories. greater if war had not broken out speeches. He also encouraged soon after. key individuals to take part in Graham Lippiatt is Secretary of the For Roberts, however, the debate, in particular persuad- Liberal Democrat History Group. the most fascinating aspect of ing Lloyd George to make what Alun Wyburn-Powell’s Clement researching Davies’ political turned out to be a vital and dev- Davies: Liberal Leader is reviewed career was the discovery of the astating intervention. Davies also later in this Journal (see page 39). central role he played in bringing ensured a large audience of MPs down the government of Nev- were present in the chamber to 1 Alun Wyburn-Powell, Clement ille Chamberlain in May 1940 hear the Tory MP Leo Amery Davies, Liberal Leader (Politico’s Publishing, 2003). and the installation of Winston make a powerful and telling 2 David Roberts, ‘Clement Davies Churchill as Prime Minister – a assault on the Prime Minister. and the Liberal Party, 1929– critical episode in British political At the vote the Government’s 1956’, MA thesis (University of history. Here was a stark contrast majority, nominally over 200, Wales, 1975). with what was actually remem- was reduced to 81. 3 The successful Tory candidate who beat Sinclair in Caithness & bered about Davies, the unwill- Davies was the one person Sutherland, E. L. Gandar Dower, ing and slightly eccentric party who was in touch with all the had promised to stand down once politician, a man with legal and different opponents of Neville the war against Japan was won. In business ambitions rather than Chamberlain. He now switched the event he reneged on this com- political ones, concerned mainly his approach and began applying mitment. 4 This point was reinforced from the with local or Welsh issues, who pressure to the Labour leader- floor by Michael Steed who indi- presided over the Liberal Party ship, Attlee and Greenwood, cated that local election results when it appeared to be heading with whom he was on good showed a similar upward trend for for oblivion. How could histori- terms, not to join a coalition the Liberals from a low point in ans have missed the real story? government led by Chamber- 1951–53, the revival clearly start- ing during the last years of Davies’ Roberts outlined the com- lain. He also lobbied hard for leadership and providing a legacy ponents of Davies’ role in the Churchill to become Prime for further significant progress replacement of Chamberlain by Minister – something, as Roberts under Grimond.

30 Journal of Liberal History 43 Summer 2004 Journal of Liberal History 43 Summer 2004 31