 Hirst wrote that there was little to choose between the old Prime Minister Asquith and the new, Lloyd George; they both held power at the pleasure of protectionists.This "Old Gang of official Liberals" were impossible to rely upon because they had sacrificed liberalism in a "miserable hunt for offices and titles...in order to please their Protectionist colleagues and remain in office".Hirst agreed with Lord Lansdowne's proposal for a negotiated peace with Germany and drew up a government for this purpose.