Were the Labour Reforms of 1945-1951 effective in dealing with the five giants

Question 1

Introduction

Answer 1

• In 1945, the Labour Party won the general election by a landslide and came into parliament. During the Second World War, conditions of poverty were highlighted- middle class people were seeing the levels of poverty in their inner city slums rather than just hearing about them; evacuation led to many children with rags for clothes or lice infestations to be under the care of middle class people.
• The public saw the early Labour Party as being more committed to the welfare state than the Liberals immediately after the war- this was largely due to the contribution from William Beveridge, the author and researcher of the Beveridge Report, responsible for the post-war welfare state.

Question 2

Paragraph One (‘want’ - poverty)

Answer 2

• To combat the giant of ‘want’ (poverty), the Labour Government introduced the National Insurance Act. The National Insurance Act created a compulsory contribution scheme from the worker and in return they would receive unemployment, sickness, maternity and widow benefits. Insurance benefits began at 26 shillings (£1.30) for single addults and 42 shillings (£2.10) for couples.
• The National Insurance Act also standardised minimum living conditions for workers and provided financial assistance for funeral arrangements.
• This evidence clearly shows that the Labour Reforms of 1934-1951 were effective in dealing with the social problems identified in the Beveridge Report because this act greatly decreased the levels of poverty in Britain- from 36% in 1936 to 2.8% in 1950.
• However, a limitation of this reform was that sickness benefits could only be granted after 156 contributions from the worker and unemployment benefits could only be given for a period of 6 months and a little over a year, which meant that those in poverty struggled with the contribution scheme.

Question 3

Paragraph Two (‘ignorance’ - education)

Answer 3

• To combat the giant of ‘ignorance’ (education), the Labour Government introduced the education act of 1944. The act took effect in Scotland in 1945, raising the school leaving age from 14 to 15 years, as well as making it compulsory for children to receive secondary school education. This act resulted in the creation of ‘grammar’ and ‘technical schools’ - there were grammar school places for around 20% of children, while for technical schools around 5%.
• ‘Non-intelligent’ children were sent to a third type of ‘modern’ school. Children were allocated to the three types of school after an ‘intelligence’ test at age 11- if children passed the test, they would go to either a grammar or technical school- if they failed, they would attend a ‘modern’ school.
• This evidence clearly shows that the Labour Reforms of 1945-1951 were effective in dealing with the ‘five giants’ because the act included free school meals and medical inspections, which allowed children to focus better in class and progress in their education.
• However, a limitation of this reform was secondary modern schools granted less opportunity for children and staff that lacked teaching abilities than grammar schools, which meant that children ay secondary modern schools often left with fewer qualification and were at a disadvantage- which kept them trapped in the cycle of poverty.

Question 4

Paragraph Three (‘disease’)

Answer 4

• To help combat the giant of ‘disease’, the Labour Government introduced the National Health Service Act. The NHS act was scheduled to come into operation July 1948. After the launch of the NHS, doctors were flooded with patients queuing for treatment. Prescriptions rose from 7 million per month to nearly double (13.5 million) after the NHS.
• In the first year of the NHS, five million pairs of glasses were distributed and 5 million dental patients were treated. Despite criticism and restraints, the NHS was arguably “the greatest single achievement in the story of the welfare state”.
• This evidence clearly shows that the Labour Reforms of 1945-1951 were effective in dealing with the ‘Five Giants’ because no NHS patient was ever asked to pay for their healthcare- the NHS was and is paid for by taxation and social insurance made by workers, so impoverished people could readily access and afford their healthcare.
• However, a limitation of this reform was that once the NHS started rising in cost, the government introduced prescription charges and was paid for by the patients, meaning that poorer people couldn’t afford all their healthcare, despite the fact they are paying taxes for it.