Were the Liberal Reforms successful in dealing with the problem of poverty in Britain?

Question 1

Introduction

Answer 1

• In the early 20th century, the government attitudes to social welfare were traditional ‘laissez faire’ attitudes. The Government policy believed that the state should not interfere with the lives of the people or the economy- this meant that people were expected to provide and see to themselves, and if one was stuck in poverty it was simply their fault for failing to do so.
• Although there were some factors put in place to help the poor, such as the Poorhouses or charities, most of these were limited in doing so. It eventually came to the Liberal Reforms of 1906-1914 to fix the mass problem of poverty.

Question 2

Paragraph One (Old Age Pensions Act)

Answer 2

• Before 1908, the Elderly relied on friends and family to support them financially as they were physically unfit to work- until David Lloyd George introduced the Old Age Pensions Act. The act provided single men and women five shillings per week (25p) and married couples 7 shillings 6 pence per week (37p).
• Once your income surpassed 12 shillings per week, your pensions stopped. By 1914, 970,000 people were claiming pensions per year.
• This evidence clearly shows that the liberal reforms dealt with the problem of poverty in Britain because it prevented the elderly from entering the workhouse which as damaging for their health as long as they received the pension.
• However, this evidence is less effective in showing that the reforms dealt with the problem of poverty in Britain because it was only applicable to people above the age of 70, however the life expectancy for men and women in Britain was 45 and 48 respectively, meaning that people often did not live long enough to receiver their pensions and poverty was still prevalent amongst the elderly.
• In evaluation, despite some limitations such as the Old Age Pensions were 2 shillings below Seebohm Rowntree’s recommendation- he recommended 7 shillings for single men and women, yet the government only provided 5 shillings for single men and women- suggesting that the Liberal Government was not fully devoted to solving the issue of poverty in Britain, overall the Old Age Pensions show that the Liberal social welfare reforms were effective in dealing with the issue of poverty because the number of paupers decreased from 920,000 (2.6% of the population) in 1910 to 750,000 (2.0% of the population) in 1914, showing that the Old Age Pensions overall reduced the levels of poverty in Britain.

Question 3

Paragraph Two (Workman’s Compensation Act of 1906, Shops Act of 1911)

Answer 3

• Prior to 1906, workers had few rights and worked in unsanitary conditions. In order to combat these problems, the Liberal Government introduced numerous acts to help the working class. One act was the Workman’s Compensation Act in 1906. This introduced worker’s receiving compensation if they sustained an injury in their place of work.
• Another act the government introduced to aid workers was the Shops Act of 1911. This act stated that shop assistants were entitled to a weekly half day off and a meal break.
• This evidence clearly shows that the reforms dealt with the problem of poverty in Britain because the government was improving the overall health of the country which showed an improvement in their working conditions and increased pay as a result- for example, the number of accidents in mines decreased as miners were not as tired as they were previously which further means that they were being paid more for increased work. .
• However, this evidence is less effective because workers were not paid for their time off, and as people were low on salaries they were losing money they desperately needed.

Question 4

Paragraph Three (National Insurance Act Part Two, Labour Exchange Act).

Answer 4

• To deal with the short-term and long-term unemployment faced by workers, which inevitably plunged them and their families into poverty, the Liberal Government introduced the National Insurance Act Part Two in 1911. Workers paid a fee of 2.5d in weekly payments in exchange for 7 shillings (35p) per week up to 15 weeks. The act applied to 7 trades where seasonal unemployment was common, such as shipbuilding. By 1913, 2.3 million workers were covered by this act.
• In addition, the government also introduced the Labour Exchange Act. This act aimed to make finding jobs easier for workers by creating labour exchanges which acted as early job centres.
• This evidence clearly shows that the reforms dealt with the problem of poverty in Britain because it meant that unemployed people under the National Insurance Act Part Two were not immediately plunged into poverty as they received weekly payments of 35p.
• However, the National Insurance Act Part Two was limited because workers that were close to the poverty line came even closer due to compulsory payment. The Labour Exchanges was also limited because employers did not need to notify Labour Exchanges when they had vacancies, which suggests not many jobs were offered at Labour Exchanges.