assesment of liberal reforms essay Flashcards
introduction
The late-nineteenth and early twentieth century were periods in which many
people in Britain faced extreme problems. Unemployment, ill-health, poverty,
homelessness and overcrowding were everyday realities for a large proportion
of the population. Governments of the day adopted a laissez-faire approach to
these challenges, meaning that they did not believe in significant intervention,
leaving many people to suffer the worst excesses of the poor house. However, in
1906 a Liberal government was elected which began to change this through the
introduction of a range of reforms. A significant historical debate exists as to
whether these reforms did make a significant impact to the lives of the British
people. This essay will argue that their reforms had a limited impact through
studying the reforms put in place for young people, the elderly, workers and the unemployed.
2nd paragraph
The Liberals reforms passed to help the elderly were limited overall in their
impact. The 1908 Old Age Pensions Act gave people over 70 between 1 and 5
shillings depending on their income. Married couples received 37 pence per
week. This did impact the lives of the British people as it meant that elderly
people facing poverty now had some form of income so that they could feed
themselves and heat their homes meaning that their later years didn’t have to
be spent in the hated poorhouse. However, this reform was not completely
effective. Often people at this time did not reach the age of 70 as life
expectancy was around 50 years old. This meant that the age set for the
pension was too high and many elderly people still suffered greatly when they
were unable to work. In addition, Rowntree identified 7 shillings as the bare
minimum a person needed before they fell below the poverty line therefore 25
pence was still too low to provide a comfortable life. In evaluation, the reforms
passed to help the old were limited in their significance. Elderly people were
still facing hardship in their later years as the amount was too low and if people
had not made enough contributions they would receive no pension. This meant
many elderly people were still suffering and living in destitution.
3rd paragraph
The Liberals passed reforms to help young people, these were limited in their
impact. In 1906 the Provision of School Meals Act was introduced which allowed
councils to raise local taxes and use the money to fund free school meals in
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their area. This did impact the lives of young people because with high rates of
poverty and subsequently hunger it meant that many pupils benefitted. This is
because they were given at least one hot meal each day, which helped them to
work better when in school and provide them with some nutrients. However,
there were numerous drawbacks with this reform, which undermined its
attempts to help young people across Britain. The scheme was only voluntary at
this point and by 1911, less than one third of councils had introduced the plan,
meaning most young people did not benefit. The Liberals also took steps to
improve the health of young people, with mixed results. In 1907 the government
introduced compulsory medical inspections for all young people attending school,
which meant they would be inspected at least three times during their school
career. This had an impact on their lives as it was helpful in identifying health
problems that young people faced, in theory allowing their parents to arrange
medical treatment. However, medical inspections were limited because at this
time medical treatment in Britain was not free it meant that many people could
not afford treatment, even if they knew there was a problem. In evaluation, the
reforms passed to help the young were limited. Young people were still not fully
cared for by the government because although school meals were introduced
studies found that young people who benefitted from these saw a reduction in
their weight and general health during holiday periods because they did not
receive free meals at this point, which undermines the Liberal’s effectiveness in
helping the young.
4th paragraph
The Liberals also introduced laws and changes designed to improve workplace
conditions around Britain. These had a limited impact on people’s lives. One
action was designed to limit the number of hours that some groups worked; in
1908 a maximum working day of 8 hours was introduced for miners and the 1911
Shops Act guaranteed shop workers a half day off each week. This was helpful
to the needs of workers as it had been proven that longer working days often
led to a higher accident rate. However, these benefits were limited to the
workers affected, and not the majority of the population that worked in other
jobs and industries. Improvements to safety were also introduced through the
1906 Workmen’s Compensation Act which meant that 6 million more workers
could claim for workplace injuries and diseases. This had a significant impact on
the workers because it forced many employers to improve health and safety
conditions so that no workers would need to claim. However, this reform was not
completely effective because it cost a lot of money to take companies to court
to get this compensation, which meant that many people did not try to. In
addition, many groups were not covered with this reform such as non-manual
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workers who earned £250+ per year. In evaluation, the reforms passed to help
the workers were limited. Although steps were taken to reduce working hours
such as the 1911 Shops Act which limited working hours to 60 per week. This
was still very long to work in often difficult conditions. The reforms did not go
far enough to improve conditions in across all industries or to set a decent
minimum wage.
5th paragraph
The unemployed benefited to a small extent from the Liberals’ social changes.
The 1911 National Insurance Act (Part 2) introduced unemployment insurance.
Workers paid 2.5p per week and were eligible to get 35p for up to 15 weeks if
they lost their job. This had an impact on workers lives as prior to the
introduction of this, workers who lost their job faced extreme poverty, so this
was a significant benefit. However, the fact that it was only available to certain
workers - such as engineering and shipbuilding – and the temporary nature of
the benefit undermined its overall impact. The Liberals also created Labour
Exchanges which let workers check for available jobs and collect their
unemployment benefit, rather than walking around places to check if they
needed staff. This certainly made it easier to find work although was of little
benefit in areas with high unemployment that had no jobs to advertise. In
evaluation, although steps were taken to meet the needs of the unemployed
they had a limited impact. This is because although workers were given some
money each week by the government if they lost their job, this cover only lasted
15 weeks, after which time a worker got nothing resulting in only a temporary
solution.
conclusion
In conclusion, the Liberal Reforms did not make a significant impact to the lives
of British people. In terms of the elderly improvements were made in that the
Old Age pensions was introduced, but this did not give them enough money to
survive on. The workers benefitted from an 8-hour day being introduced to
miners which helped to reduce accidents, but many people did not benefit from
this as they did not work in this industry. Finally, the unemployed benefitted as
they received a weekly payment if they suddenly became unemployed, however
this payment only lasted for 15 weeks and afterwards people received nothing.
Overall, the Liberal reforms had a small impact on people’s lives. Although they
were a first step the reforms were flawed and many improvements still had to
be made as they did not fully meet the needs of the British people. Poverty was
still widespread and much more government intervention was needed.
