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27 Jones Churchill, Clement Davies Clement Davies J. Graham Jones examines the offer of a Cabinet position to the Liberal leader Clement Davies in October 1951. Churchill,Churchill, ClementClement DaviesDavies andand thethe MinistryMinistry ofof EducationEducation dward Clement Davies (–), leader of abandoned a promising, well remunerated career as a Ethe Liberal Party from until , has been top ranking barrister in order to become a variously described as ‘an underestimated Welshman backbench politician, Davies was already beginning and politician’, and as ‘one of the unknown great to rue his decision: ‘Losing briefs and wasting my men of modern times’. Davies, it is true, remains one time here [in the House of Commons] – it is really of the most enigmatic and puzzling of twentieth-cen- appalling. Sometimes I wish I had stuck to my tury front-line British politicians. proper job, but ambition is a terrible thing’. Small Born at Llanfyllin in mid-Wales in February wonder, therefore, that in his ever increasing disillu- , Davies achieved brilliant academic success as sionment with political life and with pressing finan- an undergraduate in law at Trinity College, Cam- cial problems, Davies decided to accept a prestigious, bridge, and was called to the Bar by Lincoln’s Inn in well remunerated position as legal director of Lever . Soon afterwards, he established a highly suc- Brothers, at the enormous annual salary of cessful and lucrative legal practice at London. He £,. It was widely assumed at the time that this held a number of prestigious official positions after new departure would lead to his retirement from ac- the outbreak of the First World War, and took silk at tive politics, but a last minute change of heart by his a relatively young age in . Although Davies had new employers allowed Davies to stand for re-elec- taken a passionate interest in political life ever since tion to parliament in October , when he was boyhood, and had indeed been approached to stand returned unopposed as a National Liberal follower as a Liberal parliamentary candidate as early as , of Sir John Simon, as again happened in November he did not stand for parliament until the ‘We Can . Conquer Unemployment’ general election of Throughout the s, however, Clement Davies, May when he was elected MP for his native a National Liberal, rarely participated in Commons’ Montgomeryshire. Thereafter he was to hold the debates, displayed but scant enthusiasm for the cut- seat continuously until his death in March . and-thrust of political life, and devoted much of his Initially Clement Davies was a warm supporter of time and energy to his duties for Lever Brothers. He David Lloyd George and his ambitious, radical poli- has rightly been described as, in that period, ‘almost cies for tackling unemployment and the array of so- the archetypal semi-detached politician’, one who cial and economic ills facing a troubled nation in the did not occupy the centre-ground of political life late s – bold Keynesian initiatives which were until – when he became chairman of the crystallised in the famous ‘Yellow Book’ Britain’s In- ‘Vigilantes Group’, a cross-party group of MPs who dustrial Future published in . Soon afterwards, urged the abandonment of Neville Chamberlain’s however, the Liberal leader’s dramatic volte face over appeasement policies in the face of the ever more the second Labour Government’s Coal Mines Bill in menacing threat of the dictators Hitler and Musso- heralded the parting of the ways. Only fifteen lini. The Vigilante Group’s influence increased rap- short months after he had somewhat reluctantly idly after the outbreak of war in September , 6 Journal of Liberal Democrat History 27: Summer 2000 with Davies himself emerging as one of Only days later, Clement Davies had, the most vocal and effective critics of perhaps unexpectedly, been chosen the ailing National Government. ‘chairman’ (if not leader) of the twelve Clement Davies eventually resigned Liberal MPs who had survived their from the Government in December, party’s near decimation at the polls in and played an important role in the re- . They had selected their new moval from office of prime minister ‘chairman’ by the bizarre expedient of Neville Chamberlain in May and requesting each Liberal MP to leave the his replacement by Churchill. It would room in turn while the rest discussed seem that Davies shared some rapport his leadership potential. Davies faced with Churchill who may have offered an agonisingly difficult political and him minor governmental office and a personal challenge. Already years of viscountcy during . In March age (and thus the oldest Liberal leader he resigned as a director of Unilever, re- since Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman entered political life energetically, now in ), he was totally unprepared and veering sharply leftwards in the politi- untrained for the experience of leader- cal spectrum as he joined the ‘Radical ship, now thrust upon him by the shock Action’ group within his party and defeat of his predecessor as leader, Sir zealously endorsed the left-wing pro- Archibald Sinclair, at Caithness and posals of the famous Beveridge Report Sutherland. His eleven followers were Edward Clement Davies: signed photo published in . indeed ‘a motley group’, most of them The policies which Clement Davies re-elected by only a hair’s breadth in re- Liberals as the route to their political now advocated in his political speeches mote rural constituencies in the Celtic recovery and salvation. Some floated were increasingly socialistic, including fringe (Wales, Scotland and the west the notion of an anti-Socialist centre even partial nationalisation of the land. country) and totally lacking cohesion party (potently reminiscent of the The Beveridge initiative was, he in- and a common political philosophy. – Coalition Government) as the sisted, a development of traditional Three of them – Professor W. J. means of excluding Labour from office. Lloyd George policies to reduce unem- Gruffydd (the University of Wales), Churchill was himself an avid propo- ployment and improve living stand- Major Gwilym Lloyd-George (Pem- nent of Liberal-Conservative collabo- ards. At a pre-election meeting con- brokeshire) and T. L. Horabin (North ration, and had displayed heartfelt re- vened within his Montgomeryshire Cornwall) – were already displaying gret at the departure of his Liberal col- constituency in June , his position signs of potential disloyalty, although leagues from the Coalition Govern- was unequivocal: the last named still became the party’s ment in the spring of (Gwilym I stand on the side of the progressive. If chief whip in the difficult political cir- Lloyd-George alone had remained). two parties such as Labour and Con- cumstances of . Clement Davies’ During the election campaign he had servative were equally balanced then I loyalty to the Simonite Liberal camp broadcast to the nation: would vote Labour. Members of the throughout the s, and some of the Between us and the orthodox Socialists Labour Party and myself can walk side there is a great doctrinal gulf which by side for a long way. There are many idiosyncratic sentiments which he had yawns and gapes … There is no such things on which we agree. expressed during the war years, led to tension and unease, even dissension, gulf between the Conservative and Na- He consequently faced only a Con- tional Government I have formed and servative opponent in Montgomery- among his colleagues. It had been the Liberals. There is scarcely a Liberal shire in July , and was even en- thought likely that he would resign his sentiment which animated the great dorsed by the local Transport and Gen- seat in order to pursue his professional Liberal leaders of the past which we do not inherit and defend. eral Workers’ Union, as ‘the only pro- and business interests full-time, and it gressive candidate’ standing in the divi- was widely known that psychological Some younger, progressive, more radi- sion. In the event, Davies was re- problems had already compelled him to cal Conservative MPs such as Harold elected with a majority of more than spend short periods in a nursing home. Macmillan and Quintin Hogg, mem- , votes as Attlee’s Labour Party In his first speech to the House of bers of a group of ‘Tory Reformers’, swept to power with a huge landslide Commons as Liberal Party ‘Chairman’, went further, the latter asserting that majority at the polls. He remained true Davies remained positive: ‘We can all there was ‘no striking difference’ on do- to the line which he had taken during rejoice at the end of the Tory regime, at mestic policies between themselves and the election campaign: the end of reaction and chaos… We the Liberals. He issued an invitation to wish this Government well’. While he the Liberal MPs: ‘If Liberals would only I pledge myself – as long as the Labour Government works for a permanent himself seemed to stand firmly on the come over into Macedonia and help us peace throughout the world, and left, prepared to support the new La- (or come over somewhere and help works for the ordinary common man, bour Government, Churchill and his somebody) the policy we both believe I pledge myself to work alongside that fellow Tory leaders, shocked at the scale in might get somewhere. There is no Government. of their defeat at the polls, looked to the doubt that we would, together, capture Journal of Liberal Democrat History 27: Summer 2000 7 re-organise the Liberals in Montgom- of Parliamentary extinction – Or do you eryshire soon’. think this an exaggerated fear? … What can By it did indeed appear as if a party of do? Containing at most Davies’s unequivocal stand and tireless “effectives”?? (& even these not always assiduity were yielding positive divi- agreed on major issues?)’.
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