DCY issue 4: reasons for liberal reforms Flashcards
introduction
In the 19th century the British government had a laissez- faire attitude to poverty. Britain had the largest empire in the world, but many people in Britain lived in extreme poverty. However, at the beginning of the 20th century the liberals introduced a number of reforms to tackle the issue. There were many factors that led to these reforms including municipal socialism, fear over national security and efficiency and social surveys for Booth and rowntree. However, this essay intends that social surveys of booth and rowntree were the most important reason why the liberals introduced social welfare reforms, 1906-1914.
municipal socialism
K-Some local authorities such as municipal carried out improvements that were paid for by local taxes from residents, with taxes based on individuals wealth for this reason they became known as municipal socialism.
A-This is important as this was the reason local authority action came to be known as municipal socialism and made it apparent that many of the liberal-controlled local authorities were feeling the pressure from the shocked reaction of the reports on poverty in britain.
K-In Birmingham particularly, the liberal mayor, Joe Chamberlain, made various improvements to the city, paid for by local taxation.
A-This showed that due to successful local authority intervention that was beneficial for the social and welfare of the citizens now in operation, could only serve as a positive stepping stone for further reform at a national level.
A+-However, the municipal socialism is a limited reason as they did not go far enough with their ideas, they only gave the options to the council whether they wanted free school meals or free medical check-ups, meaning it was not compulsory.
Social survey of Booth and Rowntree
K-Social investigators Charlie Booth and Seebom Rowntree revealed that around 30% of the population was living in poverty.
A-This was important as these reports destroyed the opinions of proponents of “self care” by showing emphatically that the vast majority of those living in poverty did so because of circumstances outside their control.
K-Rowntree identified two different types of poverty. Primary poverty was used to describe those whose earnings were so low they could not survive on them alone. Secondary poverty was used to describe those whose earnings were enough to live on but who spent money in a wasteful way.
A-This was important as this essentially proved that no matter how hard some people tried, they could not escape poverty.
A+-However, the liberals were likely to introduce reforms as they were influenced by Booth and Rowntree surveys as they wanted to see what they are doing to help people in poverty.
Fears of national security
K-An inquiry into the physique of Glasgow School children showed that children from Glasgow were even more under-weight than those from Edinburgh.
A-This was important as these reports carried through to the liberal reforms and became acts of parliament, so it is clear that the concerns of security did influence the liberals reforms.
K-The Boers had a small army at 88000 whereas the British army was made up of 450000, the war lasted three years which alarmed as it should of been easy
A-British politicians were desperate to fix these problems to maintain a strong army thus maintaining Britain’s standing as a global power, leading to them becoming more interested in helping the regular people with their economic hardships.
A+-politicians such as Winston Churchill supported the reforms for political gain rather than any genuine desire to help the poor.
rise of labour
K–As since 1884 60% of adult men were able to vote, a large amount of this was the poorest of the working class
A-many big Liberal politicians like Winston Churchill and David Lloyd George pushed for the liberal reforms so that the working class voters would sway towards voting for the liberals and away from the labour party
A+-in 1910 the liberals were still the most popular party for working class voters with 274 MPs which was over 200 more than what the Labour party had.
K-In the 20th century, things were changing for the Labour party as they had the most public support with campaigning for social welfare reform (introducing old age pensions and unemployment benefits).
A-This lead to the Liberals introducing reform as they had lots of support behind them and they would be able to stay in power.
New liberalism
K-the old liberals passionately believed in the “laissez faire” mentality where they firmly argued that people stuck in poverty should be able to work themselves out of it. By 1906, new liberals began to emerge who believed that more should be put in place to help those in poverty
A-for the first time there appeared to be genuine desire from politician to help the poor with no external factors influencing decision
A+-The earliest reforms were in 1906 and 1907 when it was still an Old Liberal in charge, so clearly New Liberals can’t be seen as solely responsible for the initial introduction of reforms
K-New Liberalism believed that the government should have more involvement with helping the people and new men in the party (such as Lloyd George and Churchill) were becoming more powerful in roles in government.
A-The earliest reforms were in 1906 and 1907 when it was still an Old Liberal in charge, so clearly New Liberals can’t be seen as solely responsible for the initial introduction of reforms
Conclusion
In conclusion, the following factors led to the Liberals passing welfare reforms 1906-1914: social surveys, the rise of Labour, fear over national security, municipal socialism and new liberalism.
Overall, the most important factor was social surveys. One reason for this was because the surveys made many Liberals realise that poverty was often caused by a complex range of factors out with an individuals control that could be relieved by government intervention.
Another reason for this was because surveys embarrassed the government that, despite being one of the worlds great powers, over a third of the population in the British capital could not meet their basic needs. This prompted many liberals to tackle action to address this issue. As a result, the social surveys were the most important factor leading to the Liberals passing reforms 1906 - 1914.
