ABSTRACT
The first major political crisis of the war erupted suddenly in May 1915 and ended with the collapse of the last Liberal government in British history. Sympathetic historians argue that during the first eighteen months of the war Asquith's record was 'decidedly impressive', not least because 'among the potential leaders he was the one who, when he did not unite the country, divided it least'. British entry to war in August 1914 was fraught with potential difficulties for the Cabinet and the Liberal party. Although Asquith initially rejoiced that European war had averted the imminent explosion of civil war in Ulster, the Irish problem could not be entirely ignored any more than the recent record of industrial militancy allowed the authorities to dismiss the threat of a general strike to prevent a capitalist war. In the event, however, these apprehensions proved groundless as patriotism and national unity prevailed.
