Lord Younger, speaking at Shipton last Saturday, gave the true
explanation of Mr. Lloyd George's fall— an explanation which is an open secret to politicians but has not yet found its way into the reference books :— ' " There was very nearly a second Coalition election, and if in .Tanuary, 1922, Mr. Lloyd George had had his way, there would have been and the Conservative Party would have been caught napping. The one mistake the late Prime Minister made, and it was a 'big mistake, was not to fight me when I opposed him in January of that year."
Lord Younger went on to say that, when it was seen that the late Prime Minister was not omnipotent, "all the disgruntled elements in our party and other parties made their voices heard," and the disaffection swelled until at the Carlton Club meeting Mr. Bonar Law gave the signal for a return to straightforward party, polities. If Lord Younger had not put his foot down, the Con- servative Party would have been split and might now be in as parlous a state as the Liberal Party. Lord Birkenhead in his anger called Lord Younger a mutinous "cabin boy." He was, in truth, the chief engineer, who disregarded the orders of a perverse captain to go full speed ahead when the vessel was running straight for the rocks.
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