New Liberals Flashcards
Ku1
The old liberals had been associated with Laizze-Faire and believed that if people got stuck in to poverty it was their own fault and it would be wrong for the state to intervene. The new liberals believed that something had to happen in terms of fixing poverty and that it was not right that a third of the population was living in misery.
Ku2
The main new liberals were David Lloyd George, Winston Churchill, and Henry Herbert Asquith. David Lloyd-George had experienced poverty himself, which was very unusual for a politician at that time. These new liberals proposed bills and pushed reforms through parliament.
Analysis
it can be argued that new liberalism helped to motivate liberal reforms as reforms such as pensions showed a direct link with political ideology of the new liberals. For example, the introduction of the Old Age Pensions Act of 1908 reflected their commitment to providing financial security for the elderly, a key aspect of their vision for a more active welfare state.
Analysis plus
However, it can be pointed out that the new liberals were outnumbered massively by old laisse- faire liberals. This meant that it would be increasingly difficult for the old liberals to be convinced out of their beliefs encouraging the new liberals’ campaign
Evaluation
In evaluation, the new liberals were a less important reason than the reports of Booth and Rowntree in encouraging the liberals to pass reforms because the liberals didn’t really start introducing there ideas until old liberal prime minister Campbell bannermen passed away in 1908 and was replaced by new liberal Asquith, whereas booth and Rowntree were influential with their reports as they’re findings shocked the public eye even before the new liberals were in power.
