Labour Reforms Flashcards
Background
During WWII, government intervention in people’s lives increased. With measures such as rationing & evacuation, people became more used to government help & expected this would continue after the war. The Bereridge Report of 1942 discovered that there were many social problems in Britain. When Labour won a landslide victory in 1945 they passed a series of measures to improve people’s lives.
Line of Argument
There is debate whether the Labour welfare reforms of 1945-51 dealt effectively with the social problems of Britain, this essay will argue that their reforms were largely effective.
Factors
To examine this, the reforms passed to tackle the Giant of Want, Disease & Squalor will be evaluated.
Want - Knowledge
Passed the Family Allowances Act in 1946
- Gave weekly payment to mothers with 2 or more children
Received 5 shillings per child except the oldest
National Insurance Act extended in 1946
- People who contributed could get sickness & unemployment benefit, pensions & maternity grants
Want - Analysis For
Family Allowance Act
- Money was paid directly to the mother meaning it was more likely to be spent on items for the family. This benefit was a huge help to families who had lost their father in the war
National Insurance Act
- It was more generous than before & aimed to protect people from the cradle to the grave
Want - Analysis Against
Some people weren’t covered by National Insurance. People were only entitled to benefits after paying contributions for 10 years, so this meant people missed out & they were still at risk of falling into poverty especially in their later years.
Want - Evaluation
Although some people were at risk, Labour took steps to try and protect those most vulnerable. The National Assistance Act was introduced in 1948 for those who could not afford to pay National Insurance. This was a further safety net to prevent people falling into poverty.
Disease - Knowledge
National Health Service established in 1948
- Set up to be free at points of use & provide a range of services
Provided dental treatment, eye services & maternity services
People able to register with a local doctor’s surgery & wouldn’t have to pay to use this service
Disease - Analysis For
Medical care now based on need & not a person’s wealth or background which helped to limit health inequalities.
Disease - Analysis Against
Running costs were high & in 1951 Labour voted to introduce charges for dental care, spectacles & prescriptions. This meant people who couldn’t afford prescriptions went without treatment.
Disease - Evaluation
Although there were cost issues, the benefits outweighed any of the negatives & the fact that the NHS is still around today proves how successful it is. Birch argues the NHS was the ‘greatest single achievement of the welfare state’.
Squalor - Knowledge
In 1946, the New Town Act was launched creating 14 new towns by 1951
- East Kilbride was a new town which had terraced housing & became an attractive investment for employers such as Inland Revenue
Government introduced plans to build 200,000 new houses per year
- Managed to build 1 million of these & the new fabricated housing gave a higher standard of living for tenants
Squalor - Analysis For
They succeeded in building lots of new homes which allowed people to move from the overcrowded cities. This helped to improve their standard of living & overall health as the new homes had better sanitation & more outside space.
Squalor - Analysis Against
They failed to achieve their aims. They didn’t manage to fulfil their promise of building 200,000 houses a year & the 1951 census revealed that there were 750,000 fewer houses than households in Britain. This shows that homelessness was still prevalent & the government had more to do.
Squalor - Evaluation
Although many have criticised their success in this area it is important to bear in mind this was a time when basic raw materials for house building such as timber were both expensive & in short supply. Also Britain was still recovering from wartime damage. This shows that they certainly achieved a lot considering the difficult situation that they were in.
