Liberal Social And Constitutional Reforms, 1906 - 1914 Flashcards
How did New Liberalism impact the social reforms?
It was the belief of tackling poverty through State social welfare, more humanitarian approach to social problems. The Liberal Party was moving away from ideas of laissez-fairs and moving towards the idea of collectivism
What were the 5 motives behind the social reforms?
1) New Liberalism
2) Political self-interest
3) Pressure from the Labour Party and trade unions
4) Impact of social research
5) Reform in the interests on national efficiency
How did political self-interest motivate the reforms?
The Liberal Party were particularly conscious of the Labour Party and they needed to do something to meet the needs of the working class
How did the trade unions and the Labour Party influence Liberal reforms?
They put pressure on the government to reform
What was the impact of social research on Liberal social reform?
The Liberal Party could not ignore the findings of the social research that was being done by the likes of Rowntree, this research encouraged greater social awareness of of poverty and if the Liberals were to stay in office they could not turn a blind eye
Explain why the social reforms may have been in the interests of national efficiency.
The reforms were encouraged by the poor state of health of the working-class army recruits who cam forward for the Boer War, they had generated widespread concern and shame which the Liberals could not ignore. It was believed that if Britain was to maintain a strong army then measures had to be taken to improve the state if health of the nation’s children.
What did the reform focus on?
1) Reforms for the children
2) Reforms for the elderly
3) Reforms for the workers
What were the reforms for children?
1) The Provision of Meals Act, 1906 - meant that local authorities could levy a rate to pay for school meals for needy children, was not made compulsory until 1914
2) Te introduction of medical inspections in schools in 1907 - most authorities chose to ignore this until the act was tightened in 1912 and additional government grants were given
3) The Children’s Charter - brought together a collection of measures to protect and decriminalise children, including setting up juvenile courts so that children who faced court were not mixed with hardened adult criminals, there were now penalties for the ill-treatment of children, the sale of tobacco and unsealed alcohol to children under 16 was banned
What were the reforms for the elderly?
The Old Age Pensions Act, 1908 - included a non-contributory pension of 5 shillings per week for people aged 70 and over with an annual income of under £21, main criticism was that it was insufficient t raise an elderly person above the poverty line
Wa were the reforms for the workers?
1) Trade Boards Act - fixed minimum wages for the various trades involved
2) The Shops Act - gave assistants a half-day holiday a week, but did not control maximum number of ours that could be worked
3) The Mines Act - limited the number of hours a miner cold be underground a day, but did not take into account the lengthy time of getting to and from the mine
4) The setting up of the Labour Exchange Offices - advertised local vacancies, after 1911 it paid out unemployment benefits
5) National Insurance Act, 1911 - included health insurance and unemployment insurance, workers paid regular contributions and were rewarded with a measure of sickness or unemployment benefit,myths scheme covered over 2million people but was not comprehensive enough
Why did the social reforms have limited effect?
1) Between 1901 and 1914 the value of real wages rose very little
2) The pension provision was regarded as inadequate
3) The National Insurance Act was not comprehensive enough
4) The major issues of housing and education were ignored
How could it be argued that the reforms were a significant step away from a laissez-faire attitude?
1) Setting up Labour Exchanges went against the principles of market economy and laissez-faire Liberalism
2) Was the firs time any government had provided welfare benefits as a right
3) The old idea that poverty was caused by individual laziness as disappearing
4) The move towards collectivism began to gain acceptance
During this period how was the position of the House of Lords changing?
It became less powerful as each step of parliamentary reform was introduced
What was the People’s Budget, set up by Lloyd George aiming to do?
1) Raise enough money to finance the bulldog of dreadnoughts in response to the growing naval threat from Germany
2) To fund old-age pensions and set a precedent for the future
What did the People’s Budget propose?
1) Raise income tax on those earning over £3,000 p.a. and introduce a super tax on annual income over £5,000
2) Introduce a road fund licence and petrol duties
3) Increase death duties, tax alcohol and tobacco
4) Introduce a 20% tax on profits made from the sale of land
