Liberal Reforms: Why the Liberal introduced reforms

Question 1

The social reformers (Rowntree)

Answer 1

• Rowntree’s work had a particularly powerful impact on the Liberals.
• He had wealth and connections - also friends with David Lloyd George.
• His family owned The Nation and Daily News, which between them published issues of poverty among the working and middle classes.
• 1913 he carried a study into rural poverty - He had big influence behind the Old Age Pensions Act and National Insurance Act
• He changed people’s attitudes towards the poor

Question 2

Political rivalry

Answer 2

• The Liberal’s main rivalas were the Conservative Party
• They knew that the Unemployment Workman’s Act could be a vote winner
• Main reason for why they were elected was because people didn’t want the Conservatives to govern again
• Asquith wanted the Liberal Party to have a big idea to inspire all liberals to show how they were different from the Conservatives
• Welfare reforms was a way of fighting Socialism
• If the working classes were happier and healthier then there would be less chance of revolution
• Most working men could vote in elections by 1906
• The L.P. was calling for pensions, education and unemplyment benefits
• 1906 - they onyl had 29 seats in Parliament

Question 3

Boer war

Answer 3

• Between 1899 and 1902 Britain was at war to defend its territory in South Africa
• 1/2 recruits who volunteered were unfit due to ill health
• In some areas in Britain 69% were unfit - they were so badly fed that they had not grown properly
• It was alarming for the government that needed to call up a strong army at a short notice
• They set up the Physical Deterioration Committe to investigate the issue

Question 4

Lloyd George

Answer 4

• Poor background
• With his uncle’s help he became a solicitor
• He hated how English upper class dominated society and sympathised with the poor
• He was an able politician and by 1908, he had become a Chancellor of the Exchequer
• He was aware of the huge living conditions gap of the upper class and the working class

Question 5

Churchill

Answer 5

• Leading Conservative who switched sides in 1906 to the Liberals and started their welfare reforms
• 1908 - became president of Board of Trade
• He had read Rowntree’s books and believed that poverty had to be tackled.
• He was aware of the huge living conditions gap of the upper class and the working class

Question 6

Scale of problem

Answer 6

• Poor died at an early age
• Life expectancy of men and women was 45 years 163/1000 deaths compared to 12/1000 today
• Even in their adulthood adults living in the poorest area were prone to illness or accidents
• Top 10% of the population owened 92% of the country’s wealth
• Poorest places looked like developing countries

Question 7

Effective workforce

Answer 7

• From 1870, Britain’s position as the world’s leading industrial power was challenged by the USA and Germany
• By 1900 both countries had overtaken Britain
• Lloyd George was impressed by the welfare programme introduced in Germany by Bismarch, the chancellor
• Rapid development in Germany was due to the healthier, better educated and more efficient workforce
• Unemployment was caused by foreign competition not lazyness
• As a result, government help for the unemployed had widespread support