Budget Protest League Budget Protest League The Budget Protest League was a British pressure group formed in June 1909 and led by Walter Long to oppose David Lloyd George's "People's Budget" outside of Parliament. The League attacked the Budget's Finance (1909-10) Act 1910 as Socialist because of its income tax rises, increased death duties, and a land value tax in order to redistribute this to old age pensions. It was not linked to tariff reform. It produced posters outlining its opposition to Lloyd George and the Budget. In a letter to "The Times" announcing the formation of the Budget Protest League, Long said:
David Lloyd George traditional Liberal programmes such as licensing law reforms—his first major trial in this role was over the 1908–1909 Naval Estimates. The Liberal manifesto at the 1906 general election included a commitment to reduce military expenditure. Lloyd George strongly supported this, writing to Reginald McKenna, First Lord of the Admiralty, "the emphatic pledges given by all of us at the last general election to reduce the gigantic expenditure on armaments built up by the recklessness of our predecessors." He then proposed the programme be reduced from six to four dreadnoughts. This was adopted by the government, but there was a public