Editing H. H. Asquith (section)

===1924 election===
Instead of resigning MacDonald requested, and was granted, a General Election.{{sfn|Jenkins|p=502}} The [[1924 United Kingdom general election|1924 election]] was intended by MacDonald to cripple the Liberals, and it did.{{sfn|Koss|p=266}} Lloyd George refused to hand over money from his fund until he had more say over the Liberal whips office, Liberal Party Headquarters at Arlington Street and an election there was a chance of winning.{{sfn|Jenkins|p=503}}{{sfn|Koss|p=266}}

Meetings at Paisley were tumultuous and Asquith was barracked by hecklers singing "[[The Red Flag]]".{{sfn|Jenkins|p=504}} Asquith was widely expected to lose his seat and did so by 2,228.{{sfn|Koss|pp=267–268}} He received 46.5 per cent of the vote in his final parliamentary election, a straight fight against Labour.<ref name = "results" /> Violet wrote, "Father was absolutely controlled. He just said to me, 'I'm out by 2,000'."{{sfn|Bonham Carter|p=164}}

It was a political, as well as a personal, disaster. Baldwin won a landslide victory, with over "400 Conservatives returned and only 40 Liberals",{{sfn|Cowling|p=414}} far behind Labour which entrenched its position as the "chief party of Opposition."{{sfn|Cowling|p=1}} Labour's vote actually increased somewhat (partly as a result of their fielding more candidates than before). The Liberal vote collapsed, much of it coalescing to the Conservatives as a result of the scare around the forged [[Zinoviev Letter]].{{sfn|Jenkins|p=502}}

The Liberal grandees, who hated Lloyd George, did not press Asquith to retire. Sir Robert Hudson and Maclean called on him (31 October) and insisted he firmly keep the chair at the next meeting and nominate the new Chief Whip himself.{{sfn|Koss|pp=267–268}}