In 1940, on this day Prime Minister David Lloyd George delivered a key foreign policy speech in the House of Commons.DLG '40 - Part 2: Heads Held High
Having struck an aggresive and belligerent tone during the Battle of Britain, Lloyd George stated that now that it had been proven to Hitler that Britain could not be defeated with ease, the time had come to "discuss terms with him".
In fact, he was restating a belief that had been expressed as early as September in a letter to the Duke of Bedford (who wanted an immediate peace) that the time would come when Britain had faced down an invasion attempt "our prestige will be higher than ever, and we should enter a Conference with our heads held high".
Lloyd George outlined a compelling case for his policy. Britain was isolated on the Continent, in a way she had never been before. In order to defeat Germany, she would need to equip, raid and land a massive army on the Continent and wage war for years; by that time she would be bankrupt and most of her Empire would be in other hands, including those of the Americans. Lloyd George's expectations of the Americans were guarded. "She will, no doubt help us in all ways short of War" but he did not see her sending another 'huge army' to Europe; even if she did, it would take at least two years for it to become anything like an effective fighting force ..(the story continues).