Editing Edward VII (section)

===Constitutional crisis===
In the last year of his life, Edward became embroiled in a constitutional crisis when the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] majority in the [[House of Lords]] refused to pass the "[[People's Budget]]" proposed by the [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]] government of Prime Minister Asquith. The crisis eventually led—after Edward's death—to the removal of the Lords' right to veto legislation. The King was displeased at Liberal attacks on the peers, which included a polemical speech by [[David Lloyd George]] at [[Limehouse]].<ref>[[#Heffer|Heffer]], pp. 276–277; [[#Ridley|Ridley]], p. 437</ref> Cabinet minister [[Winston Churchill]] publicly demanded a general election, for which Asquith apologised to the King's adviser [[Francis Knollys, 1st Viscount Knollys|Lord Knollys]] and rebuked Churchill at a Cabinet meeting. Edward was so dispirited at the tone of class warfare—although Asquith told him that party rancour had been just as bad over the [[First Home Rule Bill]] in 1886—that he introduced his son to [[Secretary of State for War]] [[Richard Haldane]] as "the last King of England".<ref>[[#Heffer|Heffer]], pp. 282–283</ref> After the King's horse [[Minoru (horse)|Minoru]] won the Derby on 26 July 1909, he returned to the racetrack the following day and laughed when a man shouted: "Now, King. You've won the Derby. Go back home and dissolve this bloody Parliament!"<ref>[[#Magnus|Magnus]], p. 526</ref>

In vain, the King urged Conservative leaders [[Arthur Balfour]] and Lord Lansdowne to pass the budget, which [[Reginald Brett, 2nd Viscount Esher|Lord Esher]] had advised him was not unusual, as Queen Victoria had helped to broker agreements between the two Houses over [[Irish disestablishment]] in 1869 and the [[Third Reform Act]] in 1884.<ref>[[#Magnus|Magnus]], p. 534; [[#Ridley|Ridley]], pp. 440–441</ref> On Asquith's advice, however, he did not offer them an election (at which, to judge from recent by-elections, they were likely to gain seats) as a reward for doing so.<ref>[[#Heffer|Heffer]], pp. 281–282</ref>
[[File:Francis Derwent Wood - Edouard VII.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Bust by [[Francis Derwent Wood]]]]
[[File:Edward VII Halfpenny.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Profile of Edward VII on a [[Halfpenny (British pre-decimal coin)|halfpenny]], 1902]]
The Finance Bill passed the Commons on 5 November 1909, but was rejected by the Lords on 30 November; they instead passed a resolution of Lord Lansdowne's stating that they were entitled to oppose the bill as it lacked an electoral mandate. The King was annoyed that his efforts to urge passage of the budget had become public knowledge<ref>[[#Magnus|Magnus]], p. 536</ref> and had forbidden Knollys, who was an active Liberal peer, from voting for the budget, although Knollys had suggested that this would be a suitable gesture to indicate royal desire to see the budget pass.<ref>[[#Heffer|Heffer]], pp. 283–284</ref> In December 1909, a proposal to create peers (to give the Liberals a majority in the Lords) or give the prime minister the right to do so was considered "outrageous" by Knollys, who thought the King should abdicate rather than agree to it.<ref>[[#Ridley|Ridley]], p. 443</ref>

Talk of removing the Lords' veto played a major role in the [[January 1910 United Kingdom general election|January 1910 election]]. Early in the election campaign, Lloyd George talked of "guarantees" and Asquith of "safeguards" that would be necessary before forming another Liberal government, but such talk ceased after the King informed Asquith that he would not be willing to contemplate creating peers until after a second general election.<ref name="dnb" /><ref>[[#Hattersley|Hattersley]], p. 168</ref> Balfour refused to say whether or not he would be willing to form a Conservative government, but advised the King not to promise to create peers until he had seen the terms of any proposed constitutional change.<ref name="Heffer, pp. 286–288">[[#Heffer|Heffer]], pp. 286–288</ref> During the campaign, the leading Conservative [[Walter Long, 1st Viscount Long|Walter Long]] asked Knollys for permission to state that the King did not favour Irish Home Rule, but Knollys refused on the grounds that it was not appropriate for the monarch's views to be known in public.<ref name="Magnus, p. 547">[[#Magnus|Magnus]], p. 547</ref>

The election resulted in a [[hung parliament]], with the Liberal government dependent on the support of the third-largest party, the [[Irish nationalism|nationalist]] [[Irish Parliamentary Party]]. The King suggested a compromise whereby only 50 peers from each side would be allowed to vote, which would also obviate the large Conservative majority in the Lords, but [[Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe|Lord Crewe]], Liberal leader in the Lords, advised that this would reduce the Lords' independence, as only peers who were loyal party supporters would be picked.<ref name="Magnus, p. 547" /> Pressure to remove the Lords' veto now came from the Irish nationalist MPs, who wanted to remove the Lords' ability to block the introduction of Home Rule. They threatened to vote against the budget unless they had their way (an attempt by Lloyd George to win their support by amending whiskey duties was abandoned as the Cabinet felt this would recast the budget too much). Asquith now revealed that there were no "guarantees" for the creation of peers. The Cabinet considered resigning and leaving it up to Balfour to try to form a Conservative government.<ref>[[#Heffer|Heffer]], pp. 290–293</ref>

The King's [[speech from the throne]] on 21 February made reference to introducing measures restricting the Lords' power of veto to one of delay, but Asquith inserted a phrase "in the opinion of my advisers" so the King could be seen to be distancing himself from the planned legislation.<ref>[[#Heffer|Heffer]], p. 291</ref> The Commons passed resolutions on 14 April that would form the basis for the [[Parliament Act 1911]]: to remove the power of the Lords to veto money bills, to replace their veto of other bills with a power to delay, and to reduce the term of Parliament from seven years to five (the King would have preferred four<ref name="Heffer, pp. 286–288" />). However, in that debate Asquith hinted—to ensure the support of the nationalist MPs—that he would ask the King to break the deadlock "in that Parliament" (i.e. contrary to Edward's earlier stipulation that there be a second election). The budget was passed by both Commons and Lords in April.<ref>[[#Heffer|Heffer]], p. 293</ref>

By April, the Palace was having secret talks with Balfour and [[Randall Davidson]], Archbishop of Canterbury, who both advised that the Liberals did not have sufficient mandate to demand the creation of peers. The King thought the whole proposal "simply disgusting" and that the government was "in the hands of [[John Redmond|Redmond]] & Co". [[Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe|Lord Crewe]] announced publicly that the government's wish to create peers should be treated as formal "[[advice (constitutional law)|ministerial advice]]" (which, by convention, the monarch must accept), although Lord Esher argued that the monarch was entitled ''in extremis'' to dismiss the government rather than take their "advice".<ref>[[#Heffer|Heffer]], pp. 294–296</ref> Esher's view has been called "obsolete and unhelpful".<ref>[[#Magnus|Magnus]], pp. 555–556</ref>