A. J. P. Taylor on H. H. Asquith

“Muddled and lethargic as usual, he bore the final responsibility for the killings after the Easter rising, just as he bore the main responsibility for the failure of Home Rule – one of the most disastrous prime ministers in British history.”

“He was not at all distressed at being the leader of an almost non-existent party. As long as he could conduct amorous correspondence with his lady friends, Asquith was content. He remained complacent to the end. This had always been his great fault and also his great virtue.”

“It has been argued by his admirers that he was driven from office. This is not so. The compromise with Lloyd George made him perfectly safe, and he deliberately went back on it. When battle was joined, he lost, but this is not proof that he did not try to fight at all. Rather it shows that the spirit had gone from him, whether for political warfare or for any other, and this is the justification for those such as Aitken who sought to bring him down.”