[3] Motivated by concern for the treatment of the poor, and that the effects of poverty on health could be fought only by governments, not by doctors, Addison entered politics.

His work here was largely concerned with improving the health and welfare of children, but was cut short following the outbreak of the First World War.

[citation needed] Addison introduced a degree of intervention in the free market known as "War Socialism" to prompt faster munitions production.

Private enterprise in key sectors was brought under the control of government, which erected its own factories, and great care was taken to improve the welfare of the munitions workers, both male and female.

Ammunition supply-lines dictated the tempo of the war, especially in the first year of fighting, so stability and productivity within this industry were of the utmost importance.

The government subsidised housing estates, such as Vickerstown on Walney Island (now in Cumbria), with integral religious, social and recreational amenities, to enable pools of munitions workers and their families to move next to expanded armament factories.

Raymond Unwin, an influential civil servant from this time injected some of the late Victorian/utopian/Fabian philosophy of garden suburbs and ideals from the cheap cottages movement launched in 1905.

[citation needed] With hindsight, this may be seen as something of a prototype of the municipal housing that followed in the post-war period and the beginnings of town planning as an accepted concern of the state.

Fellow idealists might well have regretted the design, layout and landscaping compromises inevitably struck in the pursuit of rapid construction to support homeland defence as an over-riding priority.

Improved dimensions of kitchens, bathrooms and gardens for working-class houses might also be seen as a response to a more equal valuation of women as competent industrial workers and a political force.

Working conditions were improved in the new, state-owned industry, and Addison created and implemented schemes that greatly increased the efficiency of production.

[7] Although Lloyd George was increasingly influenced by the Conservative members of his coalition government, Addison's plans formed the basis of much post-war legislation.

Addison also reviewed and increased the provisions of the National Insurance system, and introduced programmes to improve healthcare and training.

Addison resigned in July 1921 when a Cabinet committee decided to halt the housing construction scheme altogether; he subsequently became a strong critic of the government.

He worked with Clement Attlee, the future Leader of the Labour party with whom he formed a close relationship, and was an active member of the Socialist Medical Association.

[citation needed] Facing economic crisis in 1931, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Snowden, proposed swingeing cuts to public spending, particularly to unemployment benefit.

As his health began to deteriorate he withdrew from foreign affairs in 1947, subsequently holding a number of sinecure positions in combination with his leadership of the Lords, until Labour lost office in October 1951.

[15] Isobel, the daughter of a wealthy Scottish businessman and shipping agent Archibald Gray, supported her husband morally and financially when he embarked upon a career in politics, and was involved in charitable causes in Shoreditch and Swindon.