People’s Budget

The People’s Budget was David Lloyd George’s 1909 British budget proposing higher taxes on land and wealth to fund social reforms. Its rejection by the House of Lords triggered a constitutional crisis.

Parliament Act 1911: A British statute that restricted the House of Lords’ veto over legislation and ended its power to block money bills. The budget’s rejection helped prompt this law, which curtailed the Lords’ financial veto.
Land value tax: A tax on the unimproved value of land, excluding buildings and other improvements. The budget proposed taxing increases in land value as part of its revenue program.
David Lloyd George: A Welsh Liberal politician who served as British chancellor of the exchequer and later prime minister. As chancellor, he introduced the budget and defended its social and fiscal program.
Tariff Reform: A British political campaign for protective tariffs associated with Joseph Chamberlain in the early twentieth century. Its trade-based revenue proposal offered a rival to the budget’s direct taxation.
House of Lords: The upper chamber of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, historically containing hereditary peers and other appointed members. Its rejection of the budget brought the constitutional conflict to a head.
Super-tax: A British income tax surcharge introduced in 1909 on incomes above a specified threshold. This new levy placed a higher burden on the wealthiest income earners.
Liberal welfare reforms: A series of British social reforms enacted by Liberal governments between 1906 and 1914. The budget was designed to raise revenue for this wider reform program.
Walter Long: A British Conservative politician who opposed the People’s Budget in the House of Commons. He articulated opposition to the budget’s tax increases and challenged its constitutional implications.
House of Commons: The elected lower chamber of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Commons passed the budget and asserted its authority over the Lords.
National Insurance Act 1911: A British law that established contributory health and unemployment insurance for eligible workers. The budget’s revenue program supported the Liberal government’s developing social reforms.

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