Changing Britain Flashcards
How did Britain become more democratic?
**Background** No women and only a small group of men could vote. Most working class people couldn't run as an MP due to the lack of a wage -only rich could be MP's.
Expansion Of The Electorate
More groups of people could now vote by 1911. A large percentage of males could now vote. However lots of makes still couldn’t vote and no females could vote.
Corruption/Exploitation Prevention
Late 19th century elections were known to be very corrupt. Ballet act made it so ballets were used for voting, not raised hands. Other acts limited bribary. Plural voting (people voting more than once) was still an issue.
**MP Role Given Salary** Working class could now become MP's. Working class couldn't beforehand due to no salary. MP's were now more representative of the population.
House Of Lords Loses Power
House of lords unfair- unelected members, they were born into it. These members were not representative of the population, so lost powers like the ability to veto a law. However, members were still not voted in and they still had al ot of power.
**More voting options** Working class didn't really have anyone to vote for. Most were corrupt and only aimed to please higher classes. Working class party created- Prototype of the Labour party. They had more interest in working class issues than any other party. Now there is a party for all classes rather than just the higher classes.
Re-Distribution Of The Seats
Members of parliament would regularly change to fit needs of all the British people. This wasn’t very useful for areas with very few candidates. This meant that new industrial towns like Manchester were now represented and rotten boroughs were swept away.
How did women gain the right to vote?
Background- Women have few rights compared to men. Cant divorce/own bank account.
Suffragettes/Suffragists- Both suck, but different ways.
Changing attitudes- Women starting to seem more equal to men.
Natural progression- Now can have custody of children, aswell as other rights.
Fear- Russian revolution, fears a similar revolution will occur in UK, voting rights to show public that government cares about them.
War effort- Women took up mens roles and contributed greatly to war victory.
Why were the Liberal social reforms passed between 1906 and 1914?
Background -Britian was in a very sorry state during this time due to the lack of care provided from the govenrment, the results of this were very clear in things like Booth and Rowntrees surveys.
Social Surveys Booth and Rowntree conducted surveys across the UK which found that nationally, 35% of the population was living in poverty. Also found that it was very easy for families to slip into poverty.
Rise of Labour- New political party formed which focuses far more on the issues of the working class unlike other parties at the time.
National Security/Empire- Volunteers during Boer war ill health amongst the working class. Questions were to be asked about the health of the next generation of British soldiers. A war with Germany was becoming increasingly likely.
National Efficiency- Britain losing it’s position as top industrial nation to Germany/USA. British workforce unreliable due to poor health = less productive.
New Liberalism (scarce details)- Parties taking a more liberal approach to attracting voters, attempting to influence the working classes lives more, Lloyd George was an example.
Municipal Socialism- Success of local “municipal” government schemes, e.g. in Birmingham, or Glasgow, in improving lives of local population.
How effective were the Liberal Social Welfare Reforms?
- *The Young** -Too hungry to learn. There was already laws punishing animal abusers, but not children abusers. Accepted as the group least able to protect themselves from poverty. Ensured children not living on the streets, not without food or education and banned under 16s from smoking, drinking alcohol and begging.
- *Effective?** -Meals could be provided but this was not compulsory and 67% of Local Authorities chose not to provide them. Depended on people paying more tax which they were not keen to do. Therefore it only helped some of children’s problems.
- *The Old** -Poor people became poorer as they got older due to the lack of work they could do. This led to the creation of the pension.
- *Effective?** -Labour MPs argued that level was too low and few in poverty would live to be 70. Many elderly did not fit the criteria to get a pension, however a lot of elderly people still adapted to this new system happily.
- *The Sick** -Illness was recognised as a huge cause of poverty. So David Lloyd George introduced the national insurance act. This act introduced many new forms of payment such as sick pay, so that workers are still earning money while they are ill.
- *Effective?** -It helped but came with some issues. Only the worker benefited from the scheme, not the family or the self employed. Did not include other forms of illness such as dental care. Paying insurance made some people more poor.
- *The Unemployed** -The national insurance act mentioned earlier also helped the unemployed. It tried to ease the problem of temporary unemployment but only in certain areas of employment such as shipbuilding or vehicle manufacture. Made it easier for employees to find new jobs, and also prevented them from immediate poverty.
- *Effective?** Prevented alot of the unemployed from falling into poverty and helped them find new jobs, however this act did not affect many workers.
Employed -Liberal reforms made working conditions improve slightly, however failed to establish a minimum wage or working hours limitations.
