Reasons for the Liberal Reforms Flashcards
The Studies of Booth and Rowntree
K - The studies revealed that the main reasons for poverty were low pay, illness and old age.
K - The Studies also revealed the extent to which poverty existed in the UK, in his book “Poverty; A Study of Town Life”, Rowntree popularised the statistic that about 1/3 of the British population were in poverty.
A+ In many cases, there findings merely confirmed that which some already believed. People were already aware that poverty was not due to individual laziness to a small extent.
E - To evaluate, the social surveys of Booth and Rowntree were the most important reason for the introduction of the Liberal reforms. Authors such as Derek Fraser argue that the studies gave the public statistical evidence that poverty was not due to individual laziness. This is important since it became a popular belief among voters that Liberal reforms had to be introduced to combat poverty which Booth and Rowntree proved was a significant issue in the UK.
Fears over National Security
K - The health of the British public became a concern when about 25% of those who volunteered to fight in the Boer War were deemed too unfit, this was worse in poorer areas.
K - Other countries such as Germany were developing faster than Britain, they were starting to lose their industrial dominance in Europe due to the health of it’s workers.
A+ The British Empire was still by far the most powerful empire by the early 20th century, the country of Britain was just in decline.
E - To evaluate, fears over national security were less important than the studies of Booth and Rowntree in causing the introduction of the Liberal reforms. This is because the studies gave the public evidence of the causes of poverty, voters began to support the idea of reform to a point where the position of the Liberals was in danger. The recruitment during the Boer war proved that poverty existed and caused problems for the British military but it was the studies of Booth and Rowntree which proved that Liberal reforms would be an effective method of reducing poverty.
The Rise of Labour
K - The newly formed Labour party was set up by trade unions and made to represent the views of the working class.
A + It could be argued that the rise of Labour sped up the process of reform that the Liberals has already planned.
E - To evaluate, the rise of Labour was an important reason for the introduction of the Liberal reforms. This is because they were growing at a rate which alarmed the Liberals, the number of Labour MPs grew from 5 to 29 from 1902 to 1906. This showed that the demand for change of government policy and the introduction of reforms was high. The Liberal party was at risk of losing political influence if they didn’t introduce reforms.
New Liberalism
K - Notable new Liberals included Lloyd George and Winston Churchill.
K - Influence of groups such as the Fabian society who held lectures about the need for reform.
A+ “Old Liberals” remained important, only when the Prime Minister David Campbell died in 1908 was “New Liberalism” able to spread.
E - To evaluate, new Liberalism was not as important as the fears over national security in causing the introduction of the Liberal reforms. This is because the failure of the British army and the clear impact of poverty on Britain’s military power scared voters into supporting Liberal reform. The rise of the new Liberalism movement wasn’t as persuasive as the losses faced during the Boer war and the poor quality of British soldiers.
Municipal Socialism
K - In poorer areas such as Birmingham, local authorities introduced reform which was largely effective.
E - To evaluate, municipal socialism was an important reason for the introduction of the Liberal reforms but it was not as important as the studies of Booth and Rowntree. This is because, if these studies didn’t reveal the scope of poverty in the UK, then local or national reform wouldn’t have been seen as necessary and wouldn’t have been introduced.
