Opposition to Asquith

Some Conservatives believed that Asquith and the Liberals were not fit to run the country while it was at war. They blamed them for cutting back spending on the navy and the army. Liberals were described at the time as 'little navyites, betrayers of the army and peace-at-any-price men.' Conservatives, on the other hand, had been warning for a long time of the need to build up Britain's armed forces to deal with the threat from Germany. Two developments in 1915 seemed to support the Conservatives: the Munitions Scandal and conscription.

Neil Demarco: Britain and the Great War; Oxford University Press, 1992/2000, page 32