🔵| Labour Reforms Essay Flashcards
Paragraphs
4
- Want
- Squalor
- Disease
- Ignorance
Introduction
- BG: Despite the efforts of the Liberal Government in the early 1900s to meet the needs of the people via their reforms, the people of Britain were still suffering. William Beveridge, a social policy expert, was appointed as head of a committee charged with investigating social security in Britain during the second World War.
- BG: Led by Beveridge, the committee identified five major problems that prevented people from escaping poverty. What became known as the Beveridge Report was published in December 1942, and it contained several recommendations to solve the issue of poverty – examples include pensions, payment for the unemployed and a national health service.
- Factors: This subsequently led to the Labour Reforms, which historians have argued were effective in meeting the needs of the people because they introduced several acts to tackle the five ‘giants’ - want, squalor, disease, ignorance and idleness. However, others would suggest that the reforms were not as effective in meeting the needs of the people as there were weaknesses within each attempt that hindered their success.
- LOA: In my opinion, the Labour reforms were a positive addition to Britain but did not fully meet the needs of the people for this very reason.
Want:
KU1
Firstly, the National Insurance Act 1946 provided financial protection in the event of unemployment, sickness and retirement. Under this act workers received 26 shillings a week – or 42 shillings for married men – and the elderly received pensions.
Want:
Analysis 1
This act can be said to have met the needs of the people it applied to all adults, meaning that established standardised minimal living conditions could be experienced and benefited from by all employed adults.
Want:
Analysis+ 1
- However, it can be said that this act did not fully meet the needs of the people because a lot of the national assistance went towards pension funding, meaning help for the younger adults was more neglected.
- For example, in 1949 48% of all national assistance went to supplement retirement pensions, and by the 1950s this rose to 68%.
Want:
KU2
Secondly, the National Assistance Act 1948 set up national assistance boards to help citizens with insufficient resources to meet their needs.
Want:
Analysis 2
This act can be said to have met the needs of the people because it provided financial assistance to the unemployed who would otherwise struggle to get by.
Want:
Analysis+ 2
- However, it can be said that this act did not fully meet the needs of the people because the amount of financial assistance received depended on the money and valuables belonging to a family or individual.
- This meant that not all of those in need of help would receive a satisfactory amount because items such as those with sentimental value were being considered as part of their finance when this wasn’t realistic.
Want:
Evaluation
Overall, it can be said that the labour reforms attempted to address the giant of want because more was done to ensure aid for those out of work who couldn’t afford necessities.
Want:
Evaluation+
- However, this was not done in a way to fully meet the needs of the people because the help given did not properly consider the current circumstances of the individual or Britain.
- For example, welfare benefits in 1948 under the 1946 National Insurance Act were only 19% of the average industrial wage, which is well below the subsistence level.
Squalor:
KU1
Firstly, the New Towns Act 1946 planned for twelve new towns to reduce overcrowding. Stevenage in Hertfordshire was the first new town created under the act.
Squalor:
Analysis 1
- This act can be said to have met the needs of the people because it not only aimed to tackle overcrowding, but it considered what areas were affected by this the most and therefore needed the extra help.
- For example, eight of the twelve planned towns were intended to accommodate the overspill of population from London alone, one of the worst areas for overcrowding.
Squalor:
Analysis+ 1
- However, it can be said that this act did not fully meet the needs of the people because high demand for housing still existed.
- The 1951 census revealed that there were 750,000 fewer houses than households in Britain, demonstrating this.
Squalor:
KU2
Secondly, the Housing Act 1949 allowed councils to buy houses in disrepair to make improvements, and householders could apply for assistance to also make improvements.
Squalor:
Analysis 2
This act can be said to have met the needs of the people because allowing for houses to be improved and providing resource to facilitate this would surely increase the quantity of adequate housing available for British households desperately in need of this.
Squalor:
Analysis+ 2
However, it can be said that this act did not fully meet the needs of the people because poor housing was still a serious problem at the end of the Labour administration in 1951, which suggests that although the Government was allowing for housing improvements to be made there wasn’t enough done to oversee that this would happen or encourage it.
Squalor:
Evaluation
Overall, it can be said that the labour reforms attempted to address the giant of squalor because the new towns being built would relieve overcrowded towns of this pressure, which would be in dire conditions because of this.
Squalor:
Evaluation+
- However, this was not done in a way to fully meet the needs of the people because by the end of Labour’s term in office in 1951 it was clear that not enough had been done to properly house the excess of people caused by overcrowding.
- For example, the lack of housing was approximately the same level as homelessness had been in 1931, showing how the help didn’t stretch far enough to be a solution for the people.
Disease:
KU
2
- Firstly, the National Health Service Act 1946 led to the establishment of the National Health Service (NHS) in 1948, which provided free access to treatment from doctors, dentists, opticians and hospitals.
- Secondly, because of this act prescriptions rose from 7 million per month before the NHS to 13.5 million per month in September 1948.
Disease:
Analysis
This act can be said to have met the needs of the people because those in desperate need could finally seek adequate treatment they previously could not afford from health professionals in a sterile environment.
Disease:
Analysis+
However, it can be said that this act did not fully meet the needs of the people because development of this system was hampered by the country’s dated hospitals, meaning that more technical or advanced treatments weren’t locally available for many people.
Disease:
Evaluation
Overall, it can be said that the Labour reforms attempted to address the giant of disease because this was the first time for many Brits that they would have the ability to seek proper healthcare without worrying about lack of insurance or expenses.
Disease:
Evaluation+
- However, this was not addressed in a way to fully meet the needs of the people because ultimately the NHS was too expensive for the Labour Government to maintain in a way that would remain fully accessible for the people.
- For example, by 1950 the NHS was costing £358 million per year which led the Government to backtrack on free glasses and dental treatment, which shows that just as quickly as needs were met, they were no longer due to lack of maintainability.
Ignorance:
KU
2
- Firstly, the Education Act 1944 introduced the 11+ examination for 11-year-old pupils, which placed children in certain types of schools according to their ability.
- Also, those who passed went to senior secondary schools and were expected to ‘stay on’ after age 15 and possibly go to university to get jobs in management.
Ignorance:
Analysis
- This act can be said to have met the needs of the people because it ensured that at least some form of education for all children, and some extra opportunity depending on ability, which would better young people’s chances of accessing employment when they left school.
- All local authorities had to provide primary education, secondary education and further education, and secondary education became compulsory until the age of 15.
Ignorance:
Analysis+
- However, it can be said that this act did not fully meet the needs of the people because it can be argued that it wasn’t entirely equal among different classes.
- The 11+ exam was seen to be socially divisive and highly contentious, and this idea can be backed up with concerns at the time that education would be harmed by combining it with less academic subjects and children – this shows discrimination within the education system.
Ignorance:
Evaluation
Overall, it can be said that the labour reforms attempted to address the giant of ignorance because more was being done to encourage capable children to continue their education which would increase their chances of securing employment with better pay and conditions.
Ignorance:
Evaluation+
- However, this was not addressed in a way that fully met the needs of the people because little had been done to enhance the opportunities of the working-class children who were arguably more in need of the help.
- For example, after 1947 most working-class children left school at 15 with few paper qualifications, demonstrating how they were overlooked by the education system which ultimately effected their lives.
Conclusion
LOA, Argue Other Side, Argue LOA
- Overall, the labour reforms were not effective in meeting the needs of the people because weaknesses and limitations were prominent within each act, which impacted how successful the reforms were in tackling the five giants.
- Some would argue that that the labour reforms were effective in meeting the needs of the people because of their large contributions to welfare in Britain. For example, the Labour reforms led to the founding of the NHS in 1948 which introduced free healthcare to the people of Britain. Additionally, Towns like Stevenage in Hertfordshire were built to tackle the overcrowding that plagued major areas of Britain like London.
- However, others would still argue that the labour reforms were not effective in meeting the needs of the people because although contributions were made, there were limitations and weaknesses within each of these which impacted their success. The Government had to backtrack on their promise of entirely free healthcare due to how expensive it became to upkeep, and lack of housing was still a prominent issue impacting many families by the end of the Labour Government’s tenure. Therefore, I have shown that the labour reforms were not effective in meeting the needs of the people.
