Labour - how effective Flashcards
Factors
*Want
*Disease
*Ignorance
*Squalor
*Idleness
Background
*The Beveridge Report was published in 1942 and “Five Giant” social problems facing Britain and blocking the path to progress. The report became a best-seller for a population that oped “post-war would be better than pre-war”.
*When Kier Hardies Labour Party came to power in 1945, at the end of WWII, they based their reforms to deal with Britain’s post-war social problems on attacking Beveridges ‘“Five Giants”.
Line of Argument
While reforms were not wholly successful in eradicating the “Five Giant” there is no doubt that Labour’s reforms did make significant improvements to the lives and opportunities of people in post-war Britain.
Want (1)
*(K) The National Insurance Act (1946) introduced a compulsory contributory scheme. It improved the old Liveral Act and allowed for sickness and unemployment benefits, widow’s pensions, and maternity grants. Designed to tackle poverty by providing from the ‘cradle to the grave’.
*(A) As it was compulsory, every worker was covered and guaranteed financial security when sick or unemployment. It also aimed to provide everyone with a pension.
*(A+) Brits were uneasy it taking around 5% of their earnings in taxes and that 156 contributions were required before sick pay was guaranteed. There was evidence that the benefits and the pension were still not enough to live on.
Want (2)
*(K) The National Assistance Act (1948) was for those who were not in work or who had not paid enough into the National Insurance Scheme. This was means tested and was designed to provide a ‘safety net’ to ensure that nobody fell into poverty.
*(A) It really did serve as a ‘catch-all’ to avoid anyone falling into serious poverty.
*(A+) There was still a stigma attached to means testing and many elderly people refused to apply. This meant that some elderly people and some families were still not having their financial needs met as they were falling below the subsistence level.
Want (E)
(E) Effective to a large extent. Labour can be criticised for the shortcoming of the reforms, and, indeed, post-war inflation rises certainly reduced the effectiveness of the benefits. However, they created a very firm social security structure. The biggest accomplishment of this system was that it was comprehensive.
Disease
*(K) The National Health Service (NHS) was introduced in 1946. Every British citizen could receive medical, dental, and optical services free of charge. Designed to be paid for through taxes, and NI contributions. The NHS would provide healthcare from ‘the cradle to the grave’.
*(A) Provided a system that would improve the health of the nation, and in turn, improve employment and poverty.
*(A+) It quickly became that the cost was going to considerably exceed expectations, and charges for some services (glasses and dental treatment) were introduced by 1952.
Disease (E)
(E) Revolutionary in terms of effectively dealing with health problems as a social problem. It can be considered the greatest achievement of the Labour government because of its continued existence and reverence. The backlog of problems that the new NHS dealt with in its first few years showed that there was a need for such a system. Where the British people may have felt that the Labour government fell short of meeting their needs in some areas of their reform programme, few could argue that the NHS was not welcomed by all.
Idleness (1, 2, )
*(K) Labour aimed for full employment after the war, as Britain rebuilt, there was work for all. By 1946 unemployment was reduced to 2.5% despite post-war problems like materials shortages and war debts.
*(K)Nationalisation aided employment. Following principles of economist John Maynard Keynes, the government took control of industries such as iron and steel manufacturing. By managing the economy, the govt could use taxes to keep industry afloat when it was faced with economic difficulties.
*(A) By nationalising industry the government could control industry and ensure people had jobs. The achievement of near zero unemployment exceeded target of 3.5% that Beveridge thought possible.
*(A+) There was a boom in private investment after the war and need to rebuild, requiring many workers, so Labour could have taken the credit for this.
Idleness (E)
(E) Effectively dealt with unemployment as a social problem after WWII which Hugh Dalton, the Chancellor of the Exchequer said was “the greatest revolution brought about by the Labour government.” Along with the NHS, this is probably the most successful attempt to meet British people’s needs. It is made more impressive due to the lack of resources after the war.
Ignorance
*(K) Education Act (1944) passed by the coalition government recognised ‘ignorance’ as a problem. The Labour government implemented its measures to make secondary education mandatory until 15 and provided meals and medical services to every school. The ‘11+’ exam was introduced as a selection procedure for a limited number of places at senior secondary and grammar schools. Those who failed were not expected to stay in school past 15 and were expected to get unskilled employment.
*(A) Provided secondary education for all children and ensured all children were educated until they were 15 for the first time
*(A+) Although it was designed for equal opportunities, the 11+ system created a two-tier system that working-class children struggled to bridge.
Ignorance (E)
Met educational needs to a very limited extent in providing better education. Many left school at 15 with no qualifications and working-class children were still under more pressure to earn a wage for their family than get an education. Didn’t effectively deal with education as a social problem as the reforms of education fell short of providing an education system to improve education standards in the British public.
Squalor (1)
*(K) War damage and destruction made the problem of slum housing and overcrowding even worse. The Labour Government attempted to deal with the lack of housing by adopting an extensive house-building programme, but a shortage of funds limited the number of houses built. Between 1945 and 1948, 157000 ‘prefabs’ were also built as temporary accommodation.
*(A) A bold attempt to effectively deal with the housing problem as quickly as possible, but the prefabs were used much longer than planned and many were still homeless and resorted to squatting in old airfield accommodation.
Squalor (2)
*(K) New Towns Act (1946) was designed to overcome housing shortages and overcrowding in the cities by encouraging local authorities to build new towns in the country
*(A+) The 1951 revealed that there were 750,000 fewer houses than households in Britain and this was approximately the same level of homelessness as in 1931
Squalor (E)
Didn’t effectively deal with housing a social problem and did not meet the needs of the British public. Britain did build more new houses between 1946 and 1951 than any other European country, however poor housing and homelessness were still serious problems at the need of the Labour administration in 1951.
