Speech: Scotland and Scotsmen
Henry George’s speech in Glasgow City Hall started a process culminating in the 1909 People’s Budget. Lloyd George and Winston Churchill passed a measure through the House of Commons to collect a levy on the rental value of land. But their plans were frustrated by the House of Lords. The shameless throttling of the democratic mandate sparked the Constitutional Crisis and hastened the path to war. To paint a picture of the UK today – had the reform succeeded – would have been a gratifying survey of shared prosperity extending to all corners of the country.