Liberal Reforms Flashcards
True or False?
In order to vote, you had to be a property owner.
True.
Could women vote?
No.
What was Parliament (House of Commons and House of Lords) dominated by?
The rich.
True or False?
MPs were paid.
False - MPs (Members of Parliament) were not paid.
How many male adults had the right to vote?
1 in every 3.
Which other country had already begun its reforms, and meant Britain was falling behind?
Germany.
How many of the world’s ships were built in Britain?
Half.
How much of the world’s trade was produced by British manufacturers?
One third.
What was there a huge production of in Britain’s industry?
Textiles, coal, machinery, ships and railway engines.
How much of the world was ruled by British empire?
A quarter.
Name some of Britain’s colonies.
Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India and South Africa.
Why was Britain so rich?
Because British manufacturers produced one third of the world’s trade.
What percentage of people in Britain were living below the poverty line?
45%
How many working class children would die before the age of 1?
33 out of every 1000
How many children born into rich households would die before the age of 1?
4 out of every 1000
What did the poverty in Britain mean for the Boer war?
Many men that volunteered to serve in the Boer War were rejected on health grounds.
How many men were rejected to serve in the Boer War due to poor health?
Two thirds.
Who was the Boer War between?
Between the British and the Africans.
Where was the Boer War being fought?
South Africa.
What is the meaning of the term “reforms”?
A change for the better.
When did Germany introduce social reforms?
In the 1880s.
What was there a fear of?
That Britain was lagging behind on reforms.
How much of Britain’s population was made up of the working classes?
Over 50%.
What did the government fear?
- That there would be a revolution of the working classes
- That people would vote for the newly formed Labour Party
Which social class did the Labour Party support in particular?
The working classes.
Which two main political parties were in government before the Labour Party was formed?
- The conservative party
- The liberal party
Which social class did the Liberal Party support in particular?
The middle classes.
Which social class did the Conservative support in particular?
The rich/upper classes.
What did people say were the causes of poverty?
- Laziness
- Old age (unable to earn a living)
- Unemployment (loss of a job meant loss of an income)
- Sickness (unable to work meant loss of an income)
- Large families (people had to support their elderly relatives who didn’t receive pensions, there was no contraception and no child benefits for families with lots of children)
- Low wages
What were the three options for those unable to work?
- Relying upon family
- Upon charities and churches
- Entering the workhouse
Who was David Lloyd-George at this time?
Chancellor of the Exchequer (not prime minister yet)
What did David Lloyd-George introduce that increased taxation to pay for the social reforms?
The People’s Budget.
When did Lloyd-George introduce the People’s Budget?
1909
What did the upper classes think about the People’s Budget?
Thought that it would make the working classes less independent and more dependent on the state.
What was introduced to help the elderly who were out of work.
The Old Age Pension
When was the Old Age Pensions Act passed?
1908
If you were over 70 with an income of less than £21 per year, how much was your pension?
5 shillings a week.
True or False?
The more you earned, the higher pension you got.
False - the more you earned every year, the smaller pension you would get through the Old Age Pensions Act.
How were pensions paid?
Out of taxation.
Why was the Old Age Pension thought of as a ‘gift’?
Because it was non-contributory (people did not have to contribute towards it)
What were two things that opponents of the Old Age Pensions Act said?
- Discourage people from saving
- Rob them of their independence
By 1918 how many old people were receiving a pension?
1 million.
When was the first every pension payment?
January 1st 1909
What happened if you were ill or unemployed BEFORE 1911?
There was no insurance and so you would have become poor
The National Insurance Act meant that health insurance was now compulsory if you earned how much per year?
£160 or less
Was the National Insurance Act contributory or non-contributory?
Unlike the Old Age Pensions Act it was contributory.
Because the National Insurance Act was a contributory system, how much did people have to pay into it?
- Workers paid 4d a week
- Employers paid 4d
- Government paid 2d
How much did workers pay out of their wages towards the National Insurance Act per year?
£2 - but for every 4d they paid, they got back 10d
Why did workers have their cards stamped?
If they became ill they could claim sick pay of 10 shillings per week for 26 weeks and free medical care.
a) How did workers feel about having to contribute towards National Insurance?
b) What did they say about David Lloyd-George who introduced it?
a) They did not like it because they had to pay out of their wages into it
b) “Taffy is a Welshman, Taffy is a thief!”
How was Unemployment Insurance similar to National Insurance?
The worker and the employer both had to pay into it.
How much did people have to pay into Unemployment Insurance?
Both the worker and the employer paid 2.5d each
How much could unemployed workers claim?
7 shillings per week for up to 15 weeks, so helping them until they found another job.
True or False?
If you don’t make a claim, you lose contributions you made.
True.
What was introduced by William Beveridge to help people to find work?
The Labour Exchange Act
When did Beveridge set up the Labour Exchange Act?
1909
Why did William Beveridge feel that the Labour Exchange Act was needed?
Because there was so much casual labour.
a) Where could employers advertise jobs?
b) What did this mean for the unemployed?
a) In the Labour Exchange/Job Centre.
b) Unemployed people no longer had to travel around looking for work.
a) By 1914, how many Labour Exchanges were there?
b) How many jobs were these filling every year?
a) 100
b) A million
a) What was set up for those in ‘sweated industries’?
b) What did this do?
) The Trades Board Act
b) It set minimum wages and conditions in industries like dressmaking and nail making.
What was a ‘sweated industry’?
Very hard work for very little money
What things were introduced to help children and young people?
- School Meals Act
- School medical inspections
- Free medical treatment
- Children’s Charter
- Child care committees
- Probation and borstals
- Illegal to sell tobacco, alcohol, and fireworks to those under 16
- Limited working hours and not allowed to do unsuitable work
a) When was the School Meals Act introduced?
b) What was it?
a) 1906
b) Local authorities provided free school meals for poorer children
When did school medical inspections start?
1907
In what year did children begin to receive free medical treatment?
1912
When was the ‘Childrens Charter’ introduced?
1908
What was the purpose of child care committees?
To support families in which children were suffering from poverty
Why was probation and borstals introduced rather than sending young criminals to adult prisons?
Because rape was common.
Complete the sentence.
There was high infant ______ amongst the working classes.
Mortality
What is infant mortality?
Children dying at a young age
What was the life expectancy in
a) the middle class London suburb of Hampstead?
b) working class Southwark?
a) 50
b) 36
Studies were done about poverty in Britain by which two people?
- Charles Booth
- Seebohm Rowntree
When was Charles Booth’s research published?
1902
Where did Charles Booth do his research?
London
What did Charles Booth’s research say?
That 33% of all Londoners didn’t have enough money to live on because of low wages, old age, ill health or unemployment.
When did Seebohm Rowntree do his research?
1899
Where did Seebohm Rowntree do his research?
York
What did Seebohm Rowntree’s research say?
- A family of 5 needed £1 a week to live on, and 28% of families had less than this
- Things were worse in Manchester and Newcastle
What did all the poverty mean there was an urgent need for?
Direct government action to introduce measures to help alleviate poverty.
Complete the sentence.
The Liberals brought in a series of ______ which set up the foundation of the _________ ______.
- Reforms
- Welfare State
What was the ‘Welfare State’?
Where the state or government looked after those people who were not able to look after themselves.
What did the Welfare State provide?
Essential services to ensure that nobody fell below a minimum standard of living
Complete the sentence.
Welfare gave security “from the…
…cradle to the grave.”
What was the role of the ‘Chancellor of the Exchequer’?
To sort out finance
As Chancellor of the Exchequer, what did Lloyd-George do in 1909?
- Introduced the People’s Budget to pay for the Liberal Reforms
- Raised duties (taxes) on tobacco and spirits because there was a high alcohol level in Britain
- Income tax was raised by 16% (from 1 shilling to 1 shilling and 2d)
- A new tax of 20% on the sale of land was introduced
What does “__d” mean
“____ pence”
What was 1 shilling worth?
5p
What was 1 shilling also known as
A ‘bob’
There was very little ____________ of wealth from the rich to the poor.
Redistribution.
What was the figure of the amount of free school meals given to children?
150,000
What was the problem with people finding work through the Labour Exchange?
- The jobs were mostly temporary or part time
- The government didn’t do anything to increase the amount of jobs available (there was no job creation schemes)
What was the problem with the Old Age Pension?
It was refused to people who had never worked in their life.
What were the problems with National Insurance?
- It was not a ‘gift’ like the pension, it was paid for through worker’s contributions
- Unemployment pay and sickness pay lasted only for a short amount of time
- The unemployment/sickness pay a family received was still not enough to live on for a week
- Free medical treatment was great, but it was given only to the worker (not his wife or children)
What the name for unemployment pay?
The dole
