The counterfactual needs an Admiralty minister who can force reform while Haldane remains at the War Office to reform the army. Admiralty apartments, a yacht, overseas travel, and a circle of advisers could absorb a First Lord into the department's own priorities and isolate him from competing views. David Lloyd George's interest in global trade gives him a reason to demand a navy that can explain and justify its work. His later insistence on weekly wartime briefings to ministers and MPs provides a model for that accountability. The proposed appointment begins with Campbell-Bannerman's government in December 1905 and probably lasts until 1908.
Chapter · 46:45-58:19
Why Lloyd George is chosen to reform the Admiralty
The counterfactual assigns David Lloyd George to the Admiralty because he combines political toughness, trade interests, and a demand for accountable briefings.