Britian Issue 6 (labour reform essay)

Question 1

What is the context and background of this issue?

Answer 1

• After World War Two, many people were extremely poor, even after the pre-war liberal reforms had been introduced.
• Many people during the war believed that “post-war must be better than pre-war” and even before Labour’s landslide in 1945, the government had wanted to make post-war better.
• This is when in 1943, William Beveridge was asked to conduct a study into the social problems of Britain, he came back with what is known as “The Beveridge Report”.

Question 2

What are the factors of this essay?

Answer 2

• Beveridge highlighted 5 main giants (problems) that the Labour Government should tackle in their reforms, these included: want, idleness, ignorance, disease and squalor.

Question 3

What is the essay arguing?

Answer 3

• This essay will argue that the reforms of the Labour Government dealt with the social problems of Britain effectively.

Question 4

What is the first factor of this essay?

Answer 4

• One giant that was focused on dealing with the Labour Reforms was disease.

Question 5

What is the K1 point of disease?

Answer 5

• Before the reform was introduced, there was no national health service, and many could not afford private healthcare.
• The cycle of being ill, and poverty continued.

Question 6

What is the K2 point of disease?

Answer 6

• This is when the government set up the National Health Service on the 5th of July 1948 which had 3 aims;
• to have universal access, be free to all, and treat all medical problems.
• The NHS also provided free dental care, prescriptions, maternity and spectacles which previously didn’t exist.
• The NHS was intended to be paid for through national insurance.

Question 7

What is the A point of disease?

Answer 7

• This reform was majorly effective as prior to this reform, more than half of Britain did not have medical cover.
• It was also effective as in the first year of the NHS, it brought in 13.5 million prescriptions, 8 million dental, and 5 million pairs of spectacles, this provided needs for many people who were previously unable to afford such necessities, making the reform very effective.

Question 8

What is the A+ point of disease?

Answer 8

• However, the reform was limited as it was intended to be covered by National Insurance (NI), but NI only covered 9% of the NHS’s costs, so it would have to require taxation to cover the cost.
• They had initially budgeted £140m, but the costs ended up being £358m in 1950, which defeated one of the main aims of the NHS altogether.

Question 9

What is the second factor of this essay?

Answer 9

• Another giant that was covered by the Labour reforms was squalor (lack of housing).

Question 10

What is the K1 point of squalor?

Answer 10

• After the second World War, 700,000 homes had been destroyed and couldn’t be rebuilt to the standard they had been at before, which left people homeless, and living in bad conditions.

Question 11

What is the K2 point of squalor?

Answer 11

• They promised to build 200,000 homes each year which was going to be prefabricated with central heating, larger average floor space, indoor toilets, and electric and gas power.
• This means that people can move in quickly with great benefits, and it can create construction jobs for many unemployed people, which lowers the unemployment rate for the country.
• For every private home, 4 council homes were built and by 1948 the target was exceeded as they had built 248,000 homes.

Question 12

What is the A point of squalor?

Answer 12

• This reform was majorly effective as it prevented people from becoming homeless permanently and increased both standards of health and living for the working class.

Question 13

What is the A+ point of squalor?

Answer 13

• However, there are limitations to the reform as the 1951 Census revealed that the Labour Government had failed to meet their target beyond 1948, as only 750,000 homes were built between 1948 and 1951.
• This makes the reform less effective as fewer homes were built, meaning more people were still homeless and did not maintain a good standard of living and health.

Question 14

What is the third factor of this essay?

Answer 14

• Another giant that was covered was ignorance (lack of education).

Question 15

What is the K1 point of ignorance?

Answer 15

• Before this reform, from the impact of the Second World War many schools, were destroyed, which were almost impossible to rebuild to their original state.
• Plus there were little to no teachers as there were no buildings to be taught in, plus the fact that women had to take over men’s jobs.
• It was seen during these times that education like university or high school was reserved for the upper classes.

Question 16

What is the K2 point of ignorance?

Answer 16

• The 1944 Education Act was introduced. This act is where the mandatory leaving age for schools has been increased to 15 years old.
• Also, you had to take a mandatory test when you were 11 years old which would determine whether you went to a grammar school which focused on academics or a technical school which focused on skills you needed for a job, like a Laborer or a fisherman.

Question 17

What is the A point of ignorance?

Answer 17

• This reform was majorly effective as it gave the working class more opportunities which did not have to be based on their wealth.

Question 18

What is the A+ point of ignorance?

Answer 18

• However, this reform did have limited effectiveness as many complained that you should not base a child’s future on a test, they did at 11.
• Furthermore, the working class and the school system were still very divided as kids who left school at 15 had little to no qualifications, which limited the working classes’ future, which then limited the effectiveness of this reform further.

Question 19

What is the line of argument for the conclusion?

Answer 19

• In conclusion, the Labour reforms of 1945-51 dealt with the social problems of Britian effectively.

Question 20

What is the first relative rating?

Answer 20

• Although many kids left with fewer qualifications at the age of 15, the reform was still effective as it introduced a fairer system to poorer backgrounds and proved that if you work hard enough, anyone from any background can have a chance at getting a good education.

Question 21

What is the second relative rating?

Answer 21

• Even though, the 1951 Census revealed that the Labour Government failed in its goal of 200,000 houses per year, it still made conditions for people who were homeless much better as it provided heating, water, electricity, toilets and larger floor space, so the population can live better, making the reform effective.

Question 22

What is the third relative rating?

Answer 22

• Even though the NHS failed to eradicate private health and it went overbudgeted, it still majorly helped the British population maintain a good standard of health as it brought free prescriptions, treatments, dental and spectacles which previously nobody had access to.

Question 23

What is the final sentence of the conclusion?

Answer 23

• Overall, the Labour reforms of 1945-51 were majorly effective as they solved the major problems that were previously identified by William Beveridge report, with the NHS, better quality housing for the homeless, and better education system with more qualifications for poorer children.