Bonar Law

Prime minister of the United Kingdom (1922-1923)

• Born: September 16, 1858
• Birthplace: Kingston, New Brunswick, Canada
• Died: October 30, 1923
• Place of death: London, England

As leader of the Conservative Party between 1911 and 1923, Law reorganized the party’s structure, thereby creating the modern Tory Party organization. He was a major force in the coalition government of David Lloyd George during and after World War I, and was British prime minister.

Early Life

Bonar Law (BOH-nahr law) was born in Canada. His father, the Reverend James Law, was a Presbyterian minister from Ulster, and his mother, Elizabeth, though from Nova Scotia, was the daughter of an iron merchant from Glasgow, Scotland. Law was the youngest of four brothers and a sister; his mother died when he was two years old. Life in Nova Scotia was spartan and isolated, and it was there that he developed his lifelong habits of hard work and simple tastes.

At the age of twelve, Law was brought to Scotland by his mother’s family. After four years of formal education at Glasgow High School, he began working at his cousins’ merchant banking firm, where he was an apprentice for ten years. In 1885, at the age of twenty-eight, he joined the iron merchant firm of William Jacks and Company as a junior partner. His keen business acumen, as well as his phenomenal ability to recall figures, resulted in a highly successful business career. A firm believer in self-improvement, he read voraciously and attended lectures at Glasgow University. In 1891, he married Annie Pitcairn Robley, and together they had six children. A teetotaler, he derived no pleasure from activities such as dancing or dining. His interests included chess and golf.

From an early age, Law was interested in politics. His cousins were staunch Conservatives, and they frequently hosted local and national Tory politicians. For many years after 1878, the young man was active in the Glasgow Parliamentary Debating Society, which was closely patterned after the British House of Commons. Despite this interest, financial independence was requisite for British politicians of that era. He therefore concentrated on developing a successful business as a base for his later political activities. Having accomplished this, in 1900, at the age of forty-two, he ran as a Conservative candidate and was elected to the British House of Commons.

Life’s Work

That Law would be a force in the Conservative Party is evidenced by his selection as parliamentary secretary to the Board of Trade after only eighteen months as a member of Parliament. His political and economic background led to his strong support for Joseph Chamberlain’s tariff reform program. With the Conservative Party divided over the issue, the Liberal Party won an overwhelming victory in the general election of 1906. When Chamberlain suffered a career-ending stroke in 1906, Law became a leading spokesperson for tariff reform. The magnitude of the 1906 Liberal victory, however, rendered the tariff reform issue moot.

For five years, under the patrician leadership of Arthur Balfour, the Conservative Party attempted to block Liberal legislation by using the House of Lords, a tactic that ultimately resulted in the Parliament Act of 1911. Conservative failures during the period left the party demoralized and disunited. Law had played only a minor role in the events between 1906 and 1911, but he was recognized as an excellent campaigner, debater, and party man. His tireless efforts on behalf of Conservatism made him acceptable to party rank and file. When Balfour resigned, Law was elected Conservative Party leader in the House of Commons. His immediate task was the revitalization of the party.

Law’s first action was the reorganization of the party and the implementation of strict party discipline. When the Liberal Party introduced an Irish home rule bill in 1912, the party was reunited as it had not been in a decade. Although Law was himself no religious bigot, he empathized with the fears of the Ulster Protestant minority. He also knew that home rule was anathema to all factions of Conservatism. For two years, he used every parliamentary and party tactic, including vituperative public attacks on the Liberal leadership, especially Prime MinisterH. H. Asquith, to weld the party together in an effort to defeat the Liberal Party. Unfortunately, the home rule campaign of 1912-1914 evinced party hatreds as well as Irish passions, and by 1914, Law had led his united party to the brink of civil war over Ulster. However, when general European war intervened in 1914 he quickly committed himself and his party to support of Great Britain.

Before World War I, the issues of tariff reform and Ulster had dominated Law’s political actions. When war came, he cast aside personal and party considerations and placed his country first. He supported the Liberal government war policy until Conservative dissatisfaction with the war effort compelled him to request a coalition government. Placing harmony during wartime ahead of personal ambition, he accepted the modest post of secretary for the colonies. This coalition, in which Conservatives played a relatively minor role, lasted until December, 1916. Again at the instigation of Law, the government was replaced by a coalition, this time headed by David Lloyd George.

The political marriage between the sober Law and the flamboyant Lloyd George resulted in one of the most successful war ministries in British history. While Lloyd George directed the war effort, Law directed the home front as Chancellor of the Exchequer and as leader of the House of Commons. At the treasury, he used the skills gained from years in business by revolutionizing the financing of the war. His six war budgets increased revenue through taxation, and his long-term, low-interest war loans effectively raised needed money at much reduced rates. In marked contrast to his prewar speeches, his wartime public appeals were measured calls for sacrifice by all Britons. His own losses (two of his four sons were killed during the war) made his appeals all the more convincing. He was also an outstanding leader of the Commons. His ability to manage, in addition to his integrity, allowed him always to know what was or was not acceptable in the Commons.

At the end of war in November, 1918, a general election was held. Law considered a continuation of the alliance with Lloyd George to be best for the country, and the so-called Coupon Election resulted in an overwhelming victory for the coalition. After the election, while Lloyd George concerned himself primarily with foreign and imperial affairs, Law served as the surrogate prime minister at home. This he preferred, although he did sign the Peace Treaty of Versailles. His primary concerns were the mobilizing of parliamentary approval for the peace treaty, the demobilizing of a state that had endured four years of total war, and the settling of the Irish question. For two years, he worked incessantly on these tasks. In March, 1921, wearied from years of overwork and from illness, he retired from public life.

Eighteen months later, his loyalty to the Conservative Party ended this premature retirement. Growing disenchantment with Lloyd George within the Conservative ranks had resulted in a plea for Law to return as party leader and to terminate the coalition. With the resignation of Lloyd George, on October 23, 1922, Law became prime minister of the United Kingdom. He immediately pronounced “tranquillity and stability” to be his major goals, but it was not to be. His brief tenure as prime minister was occupied with the problems of reparations and the Ruhr crisis, the British war debt, and economic depression at home. After only seven months as prime minister, he was again forced by illness to retire. He died in London, on October 30, 1923, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.

Significance

If greatness is measured by concrete achievements, then Law could not be regarded as great. He sponsored no bills of enduring significance. He was in opposition for most of his political career, holding cabinet-level office for only four years and the office of prime minister for only 209 days. At his funeral, Asquith, his longtime Liberal adversary, referred to him as “the Unknown prime minister.” This apparent lack of accomplishment, however, is deceiving. Law should best be described as a man of quiet ambition who never actively sought the limelight, preferring to serve only when called on. His contemporaries admired and respected him greatly, and a true picture of his significance must concentrate on the intangibles of leadership, courage, and integrity.

When Law first rose to political leadership, he was different from anyone who had been Conservative Party leader before. He was first and foremost a working politician. The party was his first loyalty, and, except for wartime, Conservatism came before all else. He had none of the aristocratic or school connections that had been requisite for Tory political leadership. His background as a businessman provided him with the managerial skills that the Conservative Party needed. He reorganized and unified the party, making it into a formidable political weapon. These reforms laid the foundations for the modern Conservative organization. Before him, the party was a gentleman’s club; after him, the party was a machine designed to reach the electorate.

Greatness can be achieved only by those who can transcend parochialism. When war erupted in 1914, Law’s attitude toward politics was profoundly altered. Tariff reform and home rule were set aside because of the greater need the preservation of his country. In the first coalition of 1915, he subordinated himself for the good of the whole. When he was finally offered high office in 1916, he became a great war leader, albeit one who preferred the background. The political alliance between Lloyd George and Law has been called “the most perfect partnership in political history.” After the war, Law continued to put Great Britain first. Indeed, he ended the Lloyd George coalition for that very reason, for Law always believed that Conservatives ruled Great Britain best. His place in history, then, is that of a great public servant who served his country and his party quietly and capably.

Bibliography

Beaverbrook, First Baronet. Politicians and the War, 1914-1916. 2 vols. London: Butterworth, 1928, 1932. Beaverbrook was Law’s closest friend, and the portrait of the Conservative leader during this period is very favorable. Beaverbrook’s later volume, Men and Power, 1917-1918, published in 1956 in London by Hutchinson, continues the narrative through the end of the war.

Blake, Robert. The Unknown Prime Minister: The Life and Times of Andrew Bonar Law, 1858-1923. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1955. This official biography combines excellent research with lucid writing. Despite its age, it remains the best single book on Law’s life.

Law, Andrew Bonar. The Fiscal Question. London: National Review Office, 1908. This collection of five speeches delivered by Law in 1907 and 1908 offers insight into one of the driving forces of his early political career. These speeches are also useful because they illustrate his forceful oratorical style.

Rowland, Peter. David Lloyd George. New York: Macmillan, 1976. As Lloyd George’s memoirs are too self-serving to be accurate, a good biography is preferred. Rowland’s biography is one of the best, and his analysis of the relationship between Lloyd George and Law is excellent.

Taylor, A. J. P. Beaverbrook. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1972. The closeness of Law and Beaverbrook throughout Law’s career warrants inclusion of this favorable biography of the press magnate. Taylor focuses on Beaverbrook’s character, which lends insight into Law’s own character.

Taylor, Andrew. Bonar Law. London: Haus, 2006. Concise overview of Law’s life and career. Part of a series of books about British prime ministers.

Taylor, H. A. The Strange Case of Andrew Bonar Law. London: Stanley Paul, 1932. This biography relies heavily on interviews with those who knew Law personally. The title refers to Law’s extraordinary achievements, most of which were behind the scenes. It is useful for contemporary information and observations.