The Making Of Modern Britain Flashcards
what are the causes of poverty
some men’s earnings were not enough to keep a family
difficult to find work
hard to keep a job
large families
illness
drinking and gambling
what were the impacts of liberal reforms
reforms weren’t designed to free people from poverty
only certain types of worker were supported for sickness and unemployment
even though the lib reforms were to help people, poor law was still used
what was the impact of the blitz
middle class people became more aware of the problems of poverty though the experience of evacuation.
people from different classes also came together to do air raid duties like fire watching
people from different classes were brought together in the air raid shelters
both rich and poor faced the same problems such as bomb damage to their homes
people were more sympathetic towards people living in inadequate housing due to the blitz
why was the beveridge report so popular with people
beveridge proposed a system which was open to everyone regardless of class
there would be no return to the hated means test \
national health service would be free to everyone meaning that poor people could recieve good medical attention
proposed fair insurance scheme where everyone would pay the same contribution to recieve the same benefits
promised every family an allowance for every child
what were the attitudes to the poor
aberdeen organisation representative of an industrial city which would experience more poverty
drinking and laziness were causes of poverty
only those willing to work and stay sober are to be helped
why did WWII change peoples attitudes towards the welfare reform
rationing helped encourage the idea of universal sharing of the nations food supply
war highlighted problems that could be overcome by gov eg squalor
poor health of some city children evacuated to the country highlighted the problems of poverty
suffering of war caused determination to create a better society once war was over
other reforms had been made by gov during war such as free health care for war wounded and bomb victims
why did people welcome the labour reforms
free health care - free prescriptions under new NHS
- free dental care
- free optical care
free secondary education for all
national insurance scheme to cover everybody
major new house building programme
why did the libs introduce reforms to support children and elderly
info produced by surveys of pov by booth and rowntree showed extent of poverty among children and elderly
investigators had drawn attention to the fact that many children got no benefits from ed due to hunger/ill health
socialist groups campaigned for school meals and old age pensions
recruits for army during boer war failed basic army medical
poor state of workers made it more difficult for britain to compete with other countries
countries like ger appeared to have benefited from intro of pensions
what was the attitude towards the welfare reform after WWII
labour reformers were unrealistic dreamers
british people should be free to plan their own lives
many british people supported idea of welfare reform
beveridge report was very popular in britain
why did attitudes change to poverty by 1945
rationing - introduced by gov to ensure food was distributed equally
many people agrred with gov support for victims of bombing
evacuation made more MC people aware of effects of poverty
war brought desire for fairer society after war
many people influenced by 1942 beveridge report
what were the main causes of poverty by 1900
poor health - absence of work due to illness would likely result in less money for the family
- if poor and ill then people could not afford medicine
old age - those on low wages unable to save, so when too old for work fell into poverty
death of breadwinner - this would cause many families to fall into poverty very quickly
family size - large families often lived below the poverty line especially when children very young
low pay - work was often seasonal causing temporary poverty
- wages often weren’t enough for average family to live off
what were the reasons for the liberals introducing reforms to help the young
the conditions of the men who fought in the boer war were to little standard
important concern at the time
children were the soldiers of the future
help britain take a step in the way of greater health care
many children weren’t receiving school meals
why did WWII change attitudes to the welfare reform
sense of determination/will to ‘build a better britain’ after war
helped gov see that poverty did still exist when children were evacuated to countryside
‘fair shares for all’ - rationing
brought together rich and poor as both were affected equally
war highlighted the social problems of britain eg five giants
bombing helped classes mix
what were the liberal reforms introduced to help the sick
1907 - childrens medical inspection
NI act part 1 - sick.
contributory scheme- employers, workers and state paid into it
‘9d for 4d’
compulsory for all workers who earned under £160 per year
insured workers recieved benefit when they were off sick (10 shillings per week for 26 weeks, 5 shillings after that)
what are the recommendations of the beveridge report
tackling one of the five giants wouldnt be so good
advised the government to adopt a policy of full employment
tackle all five giants - ignorance, squalor, want, disease, idleness
payments to be at a standard rate without a means test
system of national insurance to cover want
house building/slum clearance to tackle squalor
why did the labour government did not tackle the problem of squalor
by the time of the 1951 election there was still a shortage of 750 000 homes
bombing of world war 2 had a huge impact on the construction of houses
shortage of bombing materials and labour
great deal of slum housing still existed
Bevan was minister for both squalor and health, one was going to suffer
new towns planned but not built by 1951 (12 planned in scotland but only 4 built)
where was there a 1/3 of the population in poverty
london and york
who carried out surveys that proved the result of poverty
Booth and Rowntree
