Throughout 1921 Lloyd George sought to rebuild his political position, to resolve Britain’s strategic difficulties and to cut service spending. It was politically difficult to do so. In spring 1921 three Conservative ministers resigned, Long, Milner and Bonar Law, which weakened Lloyd George’s hold over the Cabinet and necessitated its reorganisation. He made Churchill Colonial Secretary, Robert
... [Show full abstract] Home Chancellor, Laming Worthington Evans War Minister and Lord Lee the First Lord. Frederick Guest became Air Minister but as that was not a Cabinet post, Churchill represented the RAF’s interests there. Austen Chamberlain, the Conservative Party leader, became Lord Privy Seal while Balfour, the Lord President, became responsible for the CID. These appointments altered the politics of strategic policy. Churchill and Balfour gained influence over service policies as a whole, while the services’ power declined. Their new ministers fought ably but none of them was politically strong. Lloyd George had selected them precisely for that reason, to ease the cutting of their estimates. This indirectly strengthened the Treasury, although not enough for its purposes.
