Liberal David Lloyd George formed a coalition government in the United Kingdom in December 1916, and was appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom by King George V. It replaced the earlier wartime coalition under H. H. Asquith, which had been held responsible for losses during the Great War. Those Liberals who continued to support Asquith served as the Official Opposition. The government continued in power after the end of the war in 1918, though Lloyd George was increasingly reliant on the Conservatives for support. After several scandals including allegations of the sale of honours, the Conservatives withdrew their support after a meeting at the Carlton Club in 1922, and Bonar Law formed a government.
War Cabinet, December 1916 – January 1919
George Curzon, 1st Earl Curzon of Kedleston – Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Lords
Bonar Law – Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of the House of Commons
Arthur Henderson – Minister without Portfolio
Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner – Minister without Portfolio
May – August 1917 – In temporary absence of Arthur Henderson, George Barnes, Minister of Pensions acts as a member of the War Cabinet.
June 1917 – Jan Smuts enters the War Cabinet as a Minister without Portfolio
July 1917 – Sir Edward Carson enters the War Cabinet as a Minister without Portfolio
August 1917 – George Barnes succeeds Arthur Henderson (resigned) as Minister without Portfolio and Labour Party member of the War Cabinet.
January 1918 – Carson resigns and is not replaced
April 1918 – Austen Chamberlain succeeds Lord Milner as Minister without Portfolio.
January 1919 – Law becomes Lord Privy Seal, remaining Leader of the House of Commons, and is succeeded as Chancellor of the Exchequer by Chamberlain; both remaining in the War Cabinet. Smuts is succeeded by Sir Eric Geddes as Minister without Portfolio.
Peacetime Cabinet, January 1919 – October 1922
Note: The War Cabinet was formally maintained for much of 1919, but as Lloyd George was out of the country for many months this made little difference; in October 1919 a formal Cabinet was reinstated.
David Lloyd George – Prime Minister
F.E Smith, 1st Baron Birkenhead – Lord Chancellor
George Curzon, 1st Earl Curzon of Kedleston – Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Lords