Editing H. H. Asquith (section)

===Conscription===
{{main|Recruitment to the British Army during the First World War}}
[[File:Another call "More men and still more until the enemy is crushed" Lord Kitchener LCCN2003662914-cropped.jpg|thumb|right|Lord Kitchener's call to arms]]

The insatiable demand for manpower for the Western Front had been foreseen early on. A volunteer system had been introduced at the outbreak of war, and Asquith was reluctant to change it for political reasons, as many Liberals, and almost all of their Irish Nationalist and Labour allies, were strongly opposed to [[Conscription in the United Kingdom|conscription]].{{sfn|Jenkins|p=371}} Volunteer numbers dropped,{{sfn|Cassar|p=151}} not meeting the demands for more troops for Gallipoli, and much more strongly, for the Western Front.{{sfn|Jenkins|p=373}} This made the voluntary system increasingly untenable; Asquith's daughter Violet wrote in March 1915, "Gradually every man with the average number of limbs and faculties is being sucked out to the war."{{sfn|Bonham Carter|p=33}} In July 1915, the National Registration Act was passed, requiring compulsory registration for all men between the ages of 18 and 65.{{sfn|Cassar|p=150}} This was seen by many as the prelude to conscription but the appointment of [[Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby|Lord Derby]] as Director-General of Recruiting instead saw an attempt to rejuvenate the voluntary system, the [[Derby Scheme]].{{sfn|Toye|p=155}} Asquith's slow steps towards conscription continued to infuriate his opponents. [[Sir Henry Wilson]], for example, wrote this to [[Leo Amery]]: "What is going to be the result of these debates? Will 'wait and see' win, or can that part of the Cabinet that is in earnest and is honest force that damned old Squiff into action?"{{sfn|Amery|p=124}} The Prime Minister's balancing act, within Parliament and within his own party, was not assisted by a strident campaign against conscription conducted by his wife. Describing herself as "passionately against it",{{sfn|Margot Asquith 2014|p=180}} Margot Asquith engaged in one of her frequent influencing drives, by letters and through conversations, which had little impact other than doing "great harm" to Asquith's reputation and position.{{sfn|Margot Asquith 2014|p=175}}

By the end of 1915, it was clear that conscription was essential and Asquith laid the [[Military Service Act 1916|Military Service Act]] in the House of Commons on 5 January 1916.{{sfn|Cassar|p=162}} The Act introduced conscription of bachelors, and was extended to married men later in the year. Asquith's main opposition came from within his own party, particularly from Sir John Simon, who resigned. Asquith described Simon's stance in a letter to Sylvia Henley in these terms: "I felt really like a man who had been struck publicly in the face by his son."{{sfn|Cassar|p=163}} Some years later, Simon acknowledged his error by saying, "I have long since realised that my opposition was a mistake."{{sfn|Simon|p=107}} Asquith's achievement in bringing the bill through without breaking up the government was considerable, to quote the estimation of his wife: "Henry's patience and skill in keeping Labour in this amazing change in England have stunned everyone,"{{sfn|Margot Asquith 2014|p=257}} but the long struggle "hurt his own reputation and the unity of his party".{{sfn|Cassar|p=169}}