12 September: Herbert Henry Asquith

Born this date in 1852 was Herbert Henry Asquith, British Liberal Prime Minister from 1908 to 1916.

1. He was the longest continuously serving 20^th century British Prime Minister until 5 January 1988, and also the last prime minister to lead a majority Liberal government.
2. He was born in Morley, Yorkshire, the son of a clothing manufacturer.
3. He was educated at City of London School and Balliol College Oxford where he studied law and was called to the bar in 1876. He set up a legal practice with two other junior barristers but he didn’t have many personal contacts and struggled to find work.
4. He married twice. His first wife was Helen Kelsall Melland, a doctor’s daughter who he met through friends of his mother’s. Even though Asquith was a struggling lawyer with very little income at the time, her father consented to the marriage because he’d made enquiries and worked out that the young man had potential. Five children later, Helen died from typhoid – she didn’t live to see him enter politics. His second wife was Margot Tennant, daughter of Sir Charles Tennant, 1st Baronet.
5. He became an MP in 1886, the Liberal MP for East Fife. Six years later William Ewart Gladstone made him Home Secretary. He became Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1905 and in 1908 he became Prime Minister following the resignation of Henry Campbell-Bannerman.
6. As Prime Minister, he introduced the old age pension and national insurance. He supported home rule for Ireland and the reduction of the power of the House of Lords (ironically he became a lord himself in 1925 when he was granted the title of Earl of Oxford). He didn’t support votes for women. He led Britain into the first world war.
7. He was said to have "a faculty for working quickly" which meant he could make time for hobbies and interests. He liked to travel and spend weekends at the country houses of his wife’s friends. He liked to read, play golf and bridge. He also wrote a lot of letters because he hated using the telephone. He liked a drink, which led to disagreements with the temperance element of his party. He may even have been an alcoholic which didn’t help his reputation. Conservative leader Bonar Law once quipped "Asquith drunk can make a better speech than any of us sober". Asquith was advised by his doctor to cut back on his drinking but it’s not clear whether he took the advice or not. He was described as having a red, bloated face.
8. He wasn’t a great success as a wartime Prime Minister. He was seen as an indecisive procrastinator. In 1915 he formed a coalition but at the time, the war wasn’t going well so the coalition was unpopular. David Lloyd George suggested a war cabinet be set up – without the Prime Minister. Their rifts resulted in Asquith resigning as PM in 1916. He lost his seat in 1918. He won another seat in a by-election in 1920 but never governed again.
9. He died of a stroke in 1928, aged 76.
10. Actress Helena Bonham Carter is his great-granddaughter and actress Anna Chancellor is his great-great-granddaughter.

Killing Me Softly

Sebastian Garrett is an assassin. It wasn’t his first choice of vocation, but nonetheless, he’s good at it, and can be relied upon to get the job done. He’s on top of his game.

Until he is contracted to kill Princess Helena of Galorvia. She is not just any princess. Sebastian doesn’t bargain on his intended victim being a super-heroine who gives as good as she gets. Only his own genetic variant power saves him from becoming the victim, instead of Helena. 

Fate has another surprise in store. Sebastian was not expecting to fall in love with her.

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