Liberal government, 1905–1915

Campbell-Bannerman ministries
1905–1906 1906–1908
Date formed	First: 5 December 1905 (1905-12-05) Second: 9 February 1906 (1906-02-09)
Date dissolved	First: 9 February 1906 (1906-02-09) Second: 5 April 1908 (1908-04-05)
People and organisations
Head of state	Edward VII
Head of government	Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman
Head of government's history	1905–1908
Member party	Liberal Party
Status in legislature	Majority
Opposition party	Conservative Party
Opposition leaders	Arthur Balfour (1905–1906) Joseph Chamberlain (1906) Arthur Balfour (1906–1908) in the House of Commons Lord Lansdowne in the House of Lords
History
Election(s)	1906 general election
Legislature term(s)	27th Parliament (UK) 28th Parliament (UK)
Predecessor	Balfour ministry
Successor	First Asquith ministry

Asquith ministries
1908–1910 January–December 1910 1910–1915
Asquith (1908)
Date formed	First: 5 April 1908 (1908-04-05) Second: 11 February 1910 (1910-02-11) Third: 20 December 1910 (1910-12-20)
Date dissolved	First: 11 February 1910 (1910-02-11) Second: 20 December 1910 (1910-12-20) Third: 25 May 1915 (1915-05-25)
People and organisations
Head of state	Edward VII (1908–1910) George V (1910–1915)
Head of government	H. H. Asquith
Head of government's history	1908–1916
Member party	Liberal Party
Status in legislature	Majority (1908–1910) Minority (1910–1915) dependent on IPP support
Opposition party	Conservative Party
Opposition leaders	Arthur Balfour (1908–1911) Bonar Law (1911–1915) in the House of Commons Lord Lansdowne in the House of Lords
History
Election(s)	January 1910 general election December 1910 general election
Legislature term(s)	28th Parliament (UK) 29th Parliament (UK) 30th Parliament (UK)
Budget(s)	People's Budget
Predecessor	Second C-Bannerman ministry
Successor	Fourth Asquith ministry

The Liberal government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland that began in 1905 and ended in 1915 consisted of five ministries: the first Campbell-Bannerman ministry, the second Campbell-Bannerman ministry, the first Asquith ministry, the second Asquith ministry, and then the third Asquith ministry.

With the fall of Arthur Balfour's Conservative government in the United Kingdom in December 1905, the Liberals under Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman were called in to form a government. In the subsequent election, the Liberals won an enormous majority. Campbell-Bannerman was succeeded by H. H. Asquith in 1908.

The Liberal government, supported by 29 Labour Party MPs, crafted the People's Budget and introduced a great deal of social legislation, such as old age pensions and unemployment insurance for a significant part of the working population. For many working people, for whom in old age the threat of the workhouse was very real, these represented a very significant change. Equally groundbreaking was the Parliament Act 1911 which:

Many of the members of Asquith's cabinet, however, opposed the social measures promulgated by leading figures such as Winston Churchill and David Lloyd George; arguably a reflection of the extent to which many Liberals still adhered to the Party's Gladstonian, classical liberal tradition in spite of the growth of the "New Liberalism". Morley was opposed to both old-age pensions and the provisions of the Trade Boards Act of 1909, while Runciman was against the eight-hour day for miners and compensation for workers. Burns, Bryce, Loreburn, and W.S. Robson were opposed to land reform, insurance, and the feeding of schoolchildren, while several cabinet members (such as Crewe, Fitzmaurice, Harcourt, and McKenna) were critical of Lloyd George's progressive "People's Budget." Nevertheless, according to Neil Smith, the majority of the members of the Edwardian Liberal Cabinets were supportive of social reform and social progress. As noted by one study,

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