Britain- Lloyd-George's coalition social policies

Question 1

Why did Lloyd-George implament these reforms?

Answer 1

1. Great desire to continue pre-war reforms
2. Large scale post-war disturbances meant that concessions had to be made to the working class
3. Immediate post-war boom meant the government believed these reforms could be afforded
4. Need to make transition from war to peace (e.g. keep wartime control over rents and wages)

Question 2

What were the social reforms implamented between 1918 and 1922?

Answer 2

• 1918 Maternity and Child Welfare Act
• 1919 Old Age Pensions Act
• 1919 Housing Act -aimed to build 70,000 council houses per year- 213,000 homes were built leaving the shortage at 287,000 homes
• 1919 Coal Miners’ Act- guaranteed a 7 hour day for miners
• 1920 Agriculture Act- fixed wages for farm workers and gauranteed agricultural prices
• 1920 Unemployment Act
• 1921 Unemployment Insurance
• 1921 Unemployed Dependants’ Act

Question 3

What reform affected the miners and what did it do?

Answer 3

1919 Coal Miners’ Act- guaranteed a 7 hour day for miners

Question 4

What reform tried to improve the housing in Britain? (What was the post-war defecit of homes?)

Answer 4

Half a million homes needed to be built
1919 Housing Act -aimed to build 70,000 council houses per year- 213,000 homes were built leaving the shortage at 287,000 homes

Question 5

What were some examples of the post war economic boom?

Answer 5

• jobs in heavy industry
• 17,000 small farms were established at the end of WW1
• lots of small businesses set up

Question 7

Statistics to show the slump in the post-war economy after the boom

Answer 7

End of 1920- 700,000 men unemployed
June 1921- over 2 million
End of 1921- 1.9 million
Didn’t fall below one million until WW2

Question 7

Why did government expenditure have to be cut?

Answer 7

1. Falling trade
2. Falling government income
3. Heavy debts

Question 8

What report did DLG do about government expenditure after the post-war economic boom? What did it reccomend? What did the government do?

Answer 8

Geddes Axe- Published in Feb 1922
Reccomended £87 million in cuts
Government aimed to cut £52 million (10% of government spending)

Question 9

What happened as a result of the Geddes Axe?

Answer 9

Geddes Axe- Feb 1922
* Housing subsidies were ended
* Councils that wanted to end workhouse or the old local poor rates were up for prosecution
* Controlled wages for farmworkers were ended
* Limits on miners’ working hours were ended

Question 10

Link cuts from the Geddes Axe to DLG’s earlier reforms

Answer 10

Geddes Axe- Feb 1922

• 1919 Housing Act -aimed to build 70,000 council houses per year- 213,000 homes were built leaving the shortage at 287,000 homes
  Housing subsidies ended
• 1919 Coal Miners’ Act- guaranteed a 7 hour day for miners
  Ended
• 1920 Agriculture Act- fixed wages for farm workers and gauranteed agricultural prices
  Controlled wages for farm workers ended

Question 11

When were the mines and railways denationalised?

Answer 11

1920