‘The Whigs were more successful than the Tories in their social and economic reforms between 1833 and 1846'

Question 1

Introduction

3

Answer 1

• Across the given time period both the Whigs and Tories embarked upon numerous reforms.
• The Whigs largely focused upon social and political reform, such as the 1833 Factory Act and the Poor Law Amendment Act.
• Conversely, whilst the Tories (Conservatives by this point) enacted some social reform, they largely focused upon economic reform as a means to improve the social situation for the population.

Question 2

Whig reforms

Education grant

4

Answer 2

• Education grant Acts in 1833 and 1839 which gave state money to support charitable education and established teacher training colleges and inspections
• if a parish could raise half the funds needed to establish a school the grant would cover the other half of the sum
• the government encouraged the church of england to take control of most schools that were built
• sets the precedent that the government should be responsable for the education of the poor

Question 3

whig reforms

Factory Act 1833

4

Answer 3

• this act was introduced as a result of pressure from tory paternalists led by lord ashley, after a royal comission presented its graphic findings
• the terms of the act were mostly centered around the working hours of children - no children under 9 could work, 9-13 year olds could only work 8 hours a day with 2 hours of education. also appointed 4 inspectors to oversee the new regulations
• the act had success in that the appointment of the inspectors allowed for the collection of evidence against reoffending factories eg 600 fines handed out in one year alone , paving the way for further reform in the future
• however it can be argued that this act was notactually a whig reform due to the initial pressure from the tory paternalists . the act was also unsuccessful in that the worst abuses were taking place in smaller workshops and mills , places that were not key target s for the inspectors . it was also difficult to prove the ages of children

Question 4

whig reforms

1834 Poor Law Amendment Act

4

Answer 4

• this act was introduced in order to reduce the cost of poor relief [1830 - poor relief £8 million] and encouraged the poor to work through the principle of less eligibility
• many in upper and middle class viewed the poor law as giving the poor no incentive to work. therefore the workhouses were designed in order to incentivise the poor into working out of desperation
• the act was successful as it did reduce the cost of caring for the poor. however during recessions outdoor relief was often re-introduced such as in 1838-39 in order to cope with the large amounts of unemployment
• workhouses were universally hated by the poor

Question 5

Tory social reforms

Mines Act 1842 and Factory Act 1844

4

Answer 5

• Whig factory acts were largely restricted to textile workers; the Tories in 1842 passed a Mines Act to restrict the employment of women and children under 10 working underground
• this act set a precedent, that women and children should be protected citizens by the law
• however at this point there is still no regulations in place for the conditions of the mines themselves or the shifts being worked by adult men
• The Factory act 1844 was the first example of health and safety legislation for industrial workers, fencing off heavy machinery, eating lunch in separate rooms

Question 6

Tory economic reform

Improving the lives of the poor through economic improvments

3

Answer 6

• the Tories focussed on improving the economic condition of the poor between 1841 and 1846 by reducing indirect taxation, introducing cheap train travel, repealing the Corn Laws and reintroducing the income tax. Standards of living did rise
• income tax - reintroduced do to the loss of revenue from the tariff cuts. income tax was set at 7% for incomes over £150, so this did not effect the working classes
• Repeal of the corn laws - The repeal led the mid-Victorian move to freer trade by Britain, The sustained efforts of the ACLL and similar groups, combined with the onset of the Irish Potato Famine

Question 7

conclusion

Answer 7

Whig reforms had minimal tangible impact upon people’s lives during the given dates and some of their reforms were actively harmful to the working classes
However, their reforms set numerous precedents that would see them built upon later on.
Admittedly however, not all of these successes can be truly considered Whig as the impetus came from paternalistic Tories such as Lord Ashley,
Tory reforms, however, did have a much more tangible impact on the lives of the working class. The free trade budgets of Peel shifted the tax burden further onto the wealthiest and helped to create the mid-Victorian boom, which had a larger positive impact than most of the Whig reforms.
Similarly however, the Tories cannot be fully credited given that Peel’s government had over 40 Whigs brought over from the opposition after 1841.
The Tories did also have some success in social reform, but again this cannot be wholly credited to them as a party. The Mines Act was largely due to the shocking images produced by the commission set up under the Whigs to investigate conditions in mines.
Furthermore, the 1844 Factory Act was largely due to Lord Ashley’s agitation, with Peel more concerned with improving educational provision as a means of social control rather than to actually help the working class.
So whilst there were some successes, Peel’s commitment to laissez-faire hindered social reform during his time in government, just like the Whigs.
Thus within the given dates the Tories were more successful in their reforms, whilst in the long-term the Whigs were instrumental in laying the groundwork for later social reform that would seriously benefit the working population.