Reasons for the Liberal Reforms

Question 1

Background Sentences

Answer 1

Before 1906, politicians had a laissez-faire attitude towards poverty and believed that poverty was completely the person’s own fault.

Between 1906 and 1914, they passed several different reforms which helped impact many different peoples’ lives within Britain.

Question 2

Factors

Answer 2

The Social Surveys of Booth and Rowntree, National Security and Boer War, Municipal Socialism, Rise of Labour and New Liberalism.

Question 3

Booth and Rowntree

Where was Booth’s report focused on?

Answer 3

Booth’s report was for people living in London in 1899. He found that 30% of people were living in poverty.

Question 4

Booth and Rowntree

What was Booth’s report focused on?

Answer 4

Booth found different reasons for people living in poverty that weren’t under the term ‘laissez-faire’ as he believed that laissez-faire wasn’t an accurate judgement for the reasons for people living in poverty. For example, Booth found that old age, becoming ill were causes of poverty.

Question 5

Booth and Rowntree

Where was Rowntree’s report focused on?

Answer 5

Rowntree conducted his own study in York for people living in poverty.He found that 27% of people in York lived below the poverty line. He also created the poverty cycle to chart poverty through people’s lives.

Question 6

Booth and Rowntree - Analysis

Answer 6

This changed people’s attitude towards poverty and made them abandon the ideas of laissez-faire politics as they discovered that there were other reasons why people were in poverty and that it wasn’t the person’s fault for being in poverty.

Question 7

Booth and Rowntree - Analysis +

Answer 7

The reports were published in 1899 and 1902 and the first reform wasn’t passed until 1906. This meant that the Liberals didn’t care to look at the many different reports Rowntree and Booth provided to the Liberals which caused many of the people stuck into poverty unable to get a way out of it as it took long for the Liberals to take action.

Question 8

National Security and Boer War

When did Britain go to war with the Boers and who was asked to volunteer?

Answer 8

In 1899, Britain fought in a war against the Boers in South Africa, where Britain asked for men to volunteer to join the armed forces. 25% of the men volunteering weren’t allowed to fight due to bad health and disability/injuries.

Question 9

National Security and Boer War

What happened for the next 3 years after 1899?

Answer 9

For 3 years, the British army failed to surpass the Boer army which was made up of farmers.

Question 10

National Security and Boer War

When did Britain win the war against the Boer and how was the army affected by the war?

Answer 10

Finally, in 1902 Britain managed to overcome the Boers and win the war. British army had lost at least 20,000 men with 90,000 injured, whereas the Boers only lost 6,000 men.

Question 11

National Security and Boer War - Analysis

Answer 11

It made the Liberal Party think about the future of the country, which caused them to decide to pass the Free School Meals in order to ensure that the children were being fed and would grow up to be strong, healthy and able to help fight in future wars.

Question 12

National Security and the Boer War - Analysis +

Answer 12

The Boer War only influenced early reforms such as Free School Meals, it had nothing to do with later reforms such as the Old Age Pension Act. This meant that the Liberals weren’t bothered about trying to fix poverty issues for all people as the eldery weren’t going to solve or help any future problems whereas the younger generation would be of age to help win wars for the British Empire in the future.

Question 13

Municipal Socialism

What was the money from the taxes used for, in Glasgow?

Answer 13

Glasgow city council used money raised by the people of Glasgow, through taxes, to help provide clean water to the city of Glasgow.

Question 14

Municipal Socialism

Where did the clean water come from?

Answer 14

Loch Katrine was used to help provide clean water to Glasgow, through aqua-tunnels and dams.

Question 15

Municipal Socialism

What happened in the 1870s and who helped?

Answer 15

Mayor Joseph Chamberlain used local taxes to give clean, reliable water and safe gas to the city of Birmingham in the 1870s.

Question 16

Municipal Socialism - Analysis

Answer 16

They were inspired by the local councils who proved that if this idea worked on a small scale then it could also work on a national scale.

Question 17

Municipal Socialism - Analysis +

Answer 17

Some Liberals still believed that poverty was only the person’s own fault and didn’t bother to try and fix poverty themselves as they didn’t care to fix it and they believed that it wasn’t an issue that the national government should be involved in but just the local government.

Question 18

Rise of Labour

Why weren’t the working class men able to become MPs?

Answer 18

Working class men weren’t able to become MPs as they didn’t have enough money to be able to not work as MPs weren’t paid.

Question 19

Rise of Labour

Who helped the working class?

Answer 19

Trade Unions paid working class men to become MPs to help the working class have a say in Parliament.

Question 20

Rise of Labour

When was the Labour Party created?

Answer 20

Keir Hardie and the Trade Union created the Labour Party in 1900, who were supported by the working class.

Question 21

Rise of Labour - Analysis

Answer 21

In 1900 the Labour Party had won 2 seats but then in 1910 they had won 40 seats in Parliament, which showed that the Labour Party was growing in popularity and support from the working class. This meant that the Liberals were losing support as the working class were voting for the Labour Party as they were made up of people who they could relate to, which caused the Liberals to help the working class out by creating the Reforms as they were wanting their votes to help them gain power within Britain.

Question 22

Rise of Labour - Analysis +

Answer 22

The Labour Party won less than 5% of the vote in 1906, the Liberals won nearly 50%. This meant that the Labour Party wasn’t a big threat for the Liberals as they still had 45% more of the votes than the Labour Party, which meant that they didn’t have to meet the public’s demand as they were still voting for the Liberals and not the Labour Party.

Question 23

New Liberalism

When did Herbert Asquith become Prime Minister?

Answer 23

Herbert Asquith became Prime Minister when Henry Campbell-Bannerman resigned as Prime Minister in 1908.

Question 24

New Liberalism

Who became the Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1908?

Answer 24

David Lloyd George became the Chancellor of Exchequer on the 12th of April 1908.

Question 25

New Liberalism

What jobs was Winston Churchill appointed to?

Answer 25

Winston Churchill was appointed the President of the Board of Trade in 1908 and was later promoted to Home Secretary in 1910.

Question 26

New Liberalism - Analysis

Answer 26

Winston Churchill and David Lloyd George helped convince the other Liberals to pass welfare reforms, as they were more thoughtful and didn’t have the laissez-faire attitude that the Old Liberals did, like the previous Prime Minister, Henry Campbell-Bannerman.

Question 27

New Liberalism - Analysis +

Answer 27

Before the New Liberals were in power, the Old Liberals still would pass reforms which were helpful for whose who needed extra support, for example the Free School Meals Act in 1906 which helped school children grow up strong and healthy, which showed that the Old Liberals had control over the passing of reforms.