Lloyd George Society

The Lloyd George Society is an organisation connected to, but not formally affiliated to, the United Kingdom political party the Liberal Democrats. It is named after David Lloyd George, the Welsh Liberal politician who was British prime minister from 1916-1922. The Society was founded in the late 1950s by Liberals in Wales when it was known as the Welsh Liberal Weekend Schools [ "At Arms Length: Geraint Talfan Davies" by Geraint Talfan Davies; Poetry Wales Press, 2008] . It met, usually at a hotel in mid-Wales, once a year to discuss topical political and social questions both domestic and foreign, with invited specialist guest speakers. Its main purpose at that time was to provide Liberal parliamentary candidates with an environment in which they could learn about the issues of the day, debate them with experts and so gain in experience and self-assurance better to equip them for the pressures of fighting general elections.

By the mid-1980s, with the development of the Liberal-SDP Alliance, the name Welsh Liberal Weekend Schools was discarded and the group became known as the Lloyd George Society [Information from Dr. Russell Deacon, Centre for Humanities, University of Wales Institute, Cardiff] . The founding members included Emlyn Hooson, Baron Hooson who was Liberal MP for Montgomeryshire from 1962-79 and Tom Ellis of the Social Democratic Party (UK). It has continued to meet annually in Wales with expert speakers invited to talk on topical issues but over the years it has stopped being a training school for Liberal candidates and has now opened its doors to an audience who have an interest in Welsh affairs, society and culture as well as the wider British political scene. The Society also promotes an interest in the life, career and family of David Lloyd George.

References

External links

* [http://www.lloydgeorgesociety.org.uk Lloyd George Society]