Statue of David Lloyd George - Parliament Square, London, UK
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member Master Mariner
N 51° 30.051 W 000° 07.600
30U E 699423 N 5709438
This statue, representing David Lloyd George, stand close to the north east corner of Parliament Square. A charismatic figure that is reflected in this sculpture.
Waymark Code: WMPYV0
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 11/13/2015
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member bluesnote
Views: 7

The plinth is cut from a six tonne block of Penrhyn Heather Blue Grey slate and is inscribed, on the front, "David / Lloyd George". The statue, cast in bronze, was sculpted by Glyn Williams and was unveiled in October 2007 by the Prince of Wales.

The statue is around life-size and still has the orange tinge of bronze newness. It shows Lloyd George standing with his right foot planted slightly ahead of his left foot with the toes of his right foot hanging over the edge of the statue base. He is wearing a suit with the jacket unbuttoned revealing a waistcoat that is buttoned. He is also sporting his trade mark bow tie. His left arm is outstretched with fingers extended with the palm tilted at about 45 degrees. He is bare headed and he is hold a hat with the fingers of his right hand that is down by his side. Over his shoulders he has a cape that is billowing behind him as if caught by a gust of wind.

The BBC History website (visit link) carries a biography of Lloyd George. It reads:

Lloyd George was one of the great reforming British chancellors of the 20th century and prime minister from 1916 to 1922.

David Lloyd George was born in Manchester on 17 January 1863, son of a schoolmaster. His father died when he was young and his mother took him to Wales to be raised. He became a lifelong Welsh nationalist. He qualified as a solicitor and in 1890 was elected Liberal member of parliament for Caernarvon, a seat he held until 1945. He quickly became known for his radicalism and earned notoriety for his opposition to the Boer War.

In 1905, the prime minister, Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, appointed Lloyd George as president of the Board of Trade. In 1908, he was named chancellor of the exchequer in the government of HH Asquith. Lloyd George's 1909 budget has been called the 'people's budget' since it provided for social insurance that was to be partly financed by land and income taxes. The budget was rejected by the House of Lords. This, in turn, led directly to the Parliament Act of 1911 by which the Lords lost their power of veto.

Lloyd George remained chancellor of the exchequer through the early years of World War One. In 1915 he was appointed minister of munitions in Asquith's wartime coalition government. In July 1916 he became secretary of state for war, but was increasingly critical of Asquith. In December 1916, with the support of the Conservative and Labour leaders, he replaced Asquith as prime minister. Lloyd George's achievements in the last two years of the war included persuading the Royal Navy to introduce the convoy system and the unification of the Allied military command under the French general Ferdinand Foch.

At the successful conclusion of the war, Lloyd George was Britain's chief delegate to the Paris Peace Conference that drafted the Versailles Treaty. He remained prime minister, although now dependent on Conservative support. In 1921 he secured the settlement that established the Irish Free State. In the summer of 1922, Lloyd George was involved in a scandal involving the selling of knighthoods and peerages. In October, the Conservatives withdrew from the coalition over their opposition to Britain's foreign policy in Turkey. Lloyd George resigned as prime minister.

He remained in parliament, but was marginalised politically. In 1944 he was made Earl Lloyd George of Dwyfor. He died on 26 March 1945 at Ty Newydd, Llanystumdwy, Wales.

Website: [Web Link]

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