What promoted the Liberal Reforms of 1906-1914?

Question 1

Introduction

Answer 1

In the late 19th 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, they were very limited in doing so.

Question 2

Paragraph One (Rise of Labour)

Answer 2

• The liberals were traditionally the party representing the working class, and they were keen to keep the votes they had earned- however, by 1906, a new party had risen: the Labour Party- originally the Labour Representation Committee, founded by trade unions- a party who was competing for the same working class votes. The Labour Party was a concern for the liberals as their policies were more in line with what working class voters wanted, including introducing old age pensions and unemployment benefits- and in 1906, the Labour Party had won 29 seats in the election.
• To counter the threat from Labour, the liberals realised they had to introduce their own social reforms or else they would risk losing political support from the working classes.
• The challenge from the Labour Party was important for passing the liberal social reforms because the 1903 lib-lab pact suggested that the liberals were willing to sign a pact with labour because they saw them as a threat.
• However, the challenge from the Labour Party was less important in passing the liberal reforms because labour only had 29 MPS and the Trade Unions still majorly supported the liberals, showing that the liberals still held the massive majority in parliament.
• In evaluation, despite some limitations such as the 1903 Lib-Lab pact was negotiated in order to prevent the presence of a Labour candidate in a constituency fought over by Liberals and the Conservatives from splitting the vote and allowing the Conservatives to win by default, and therefore the pact was not signed from a position on Labour strength but rather to prevent any potential damage, overall the challenge from the Labour Party was the most important factor for passing the liberal social reforms because David Lloyd George had stated that “Unless we can prove.. that there is no necessity for a separate party in order to press forward the legitimate claims of labour.. the Liberal Party will be practically wiped out..” This shows that the Liberals were legitimately concerned of the need to steal Labour’s votes.

Question 3

Paragraph Two (Concerns over national efficiency and national security).

Answer 3

• At the start of the 20th century, Britain became concerned over keeping the country known as a major empire in Europe. In 1906, it became increasingly obvious that the health of British youth was vital to this cause. Concerns over national security peaked once the government became aware that around 25% of volunteers to fight in the Boer War were rejected because they were deemed physically unfit- a statistic that rose to 1/3 of volunteers living in industrial areas.
• Britain was also facing serious industrial competition from nations such as the USA or more notably, Germany, after Germany had introduced it’s social welfare reforms. Germany had introduced a system of welfare benefits and old age pensions in the 1880s, and, working as a single government, had limited the growth of socialism by introducing social reforms. It was argued that if the health and education of British workers got any worse then Britain would lose it’s status as a leading industrial power.
• Concerns over national security and efficiency were important for passing the liberal social reforms because it put pressure on the Government to preserve the country’s status as a leading military power by improving the health and wellbeing of the general public.
• However, concerns over national security and efficiency were limited in importance in passing the liberal social reforms because the free school meals implemented after the reforms were not obligatory for school, which suggests the Government didn’t really care about the health of children in the UK, and thus the efficiency of the future workforce.
• In evaluation, whilst concerns over national security and efficiency were important because historian E. P Henpeck suggests that German social reforms of the 1880s influenced British thinking and eventual policy decisions: he argues that the introduction of the National Insurance Act had origins in the Bismarckin reforms of the 1880s, the challenge from the Labour Party was the most important factor for the liberals passing the social reforms because the Liberal reforms had been influenced by the Labour Party: for example, the School Meals Act was inspired by labour, and Campbell Bannerman opted to use the Labour’s draft for the Trade Disputes Act over the Liberals- who were his own party.

Question 4

Paragraph Three (the studies of Booth and Rowntree)

Answer 4

• The studies of Booth and Rowntree were evaluating the presence of poverty in areas of England such as London and York. At the time, it was estimated that only 1/4 of people living in London were in poverty, but Booth had investigated that actually 1/3 of London families were living in poverty. This equates to roughly 35% of families. However, after criticisms that London was a ‘special case’, Rowntree set out to compare Booth’s statistics to his own in York.
• After two years of studying poverty, Rowntree discovered that similarly 30% of those living in York were in extreme poverty. He also identified the minimum amount of money (21 shillings) a family could live off on- known as the poverty line- and defined poverty as either primary or secondary. Primary poverty was described by Rowntree as when a family did not make enough money to even buy necessities. Secondary poverty was defined as when a family does make enough money to stay above the poverty line, but some of that money is wasted on alcohol, gambling or smoking. He detailed this in his book, ‘Poverty, a study of Town Life’.
• The studies of Booth and Rowntree were important for passing the liberal social reforms because Booth used scientific methods to conduct his research which made his findings more accurate and even harder to ignore. His statistics proved how widespread the problem of poverty was and it’s causes were often outside of people’s control.
• However, the studies of Booth and Rowntree were limited in importance in passing the liberal social reforms because the Old Age Pensions introduced were two shillings below Rowntree’s recommendations- Rowntree has recommend seven shillings and the Government only provided five, which could suggest the Government weren’t fully devoted to solving the issue of poverty.
• In evaluation, whilst the studies of Booth and Rowntree were important because they proved that government intervention was necessary: only around 3% of the people in London were being helped through the poor law, and 10% of those in poverty were being helped through the poor law- showing that this law was ineffective in helping the poor, the challenge from the Labour Party was more important because when the Liberals lost almost 100 seats in the 1895 election, they were definitely more conscious of the threat of the Labour Party stealing their votes as they did not want to repeat the election of 1895.

Question 5

Paragraph Four (new liberalism)

Answer 5

• As previously stated, the general attitudes in the liberal party were typical ‘laissez faire’ attitudes. However, ‘new’ liberals argued that state intervention was necessary to solve the issue of poverty- often caused by factors beyond the person’s control. By the early 20th century, a small group of these ‘new’ liberals began to campaign for Government action against poverty- and although they were small in number, their influence was large.
• Three main persons were described as ‘new’ liberals- those being David Lloyd George, Winston Churchill, and Herbert Asquith. In 1908, Campbell Bannerman (an ‘old liberal’), was replaced by Herbert Asquith as prime minister, who was supportive of new liberalism.
• New liberalism was important for passing the liberal social reforms because the two main figures campaigning for direct action against poverty were men with a greater awareness of the social problems and the obvious failure of the Poor Law philanthropy, which convinced people that what these men were saying was true. David Lloyd George and Winston Churchill were also very influential in their party, which convinced other members in the liberal party to turn to and fight for ‘new liberalism’.
• However, new liberalism was limited in importance in passing the liberal social reforms because when the liberals were elected, Campbell Bannerman was the Prime Minister, and was a very traditional liberal that believed in ‘laissez faire’, showing that not many liberals were keen on the idea of ‘new’ liberalism.
• In evaluation, whilst new liberalism was important because J.T Hobson wrote in 1909 that Gladstonian Liberalism had been replaced by a new ‘commitment to a task which certainly involves a new conception of the state in its relation to the individual life and to private enterprise’, showing that new liberalism ideology was evident in Britain during this time, the threat from the Labour Party was more important because in the 1906 election, the Liberal Party had won almost 400 seats- thanks to the Labour Party and the Lib-Lab pact, suggesting that the Liberals would not have been so successful in this election without the pact with the Labour Party- showing that Labour was a legitimate threat to the Liberal Party.

Question 6

Paragraph Five (Municipal Socialism)

Answer 6

• Municipal Socialism can be defined as when local authorities take action to use local taxation income for social improvements: wealthier people paid the most, whilst poorer people paid the least. In Glasgow, by the 1850’s the Town Council had taken control of the local water supply by pumping water from Loch Katrine in Stirlingshire to the people in the city- this was a clear attempt to improve the health of the people in Glasgow.
• Chamberline’s local authorities purchased Birmingham’s waterworks and gas works and cleared the poorer parts in the area. As well as establishing hospitals to improve healthcare, public parks were also opened to provide access to fresh air and relaxation.
• Municipal socialism was important in passing the liberal social reforms because some argued that municipal socialism was so effective locally they began to question why it wasn’t brought to a national level.
• However, municipal socialism was limited in importance in passing the liberal social reforms because the Liberal Government may have felt they didn’t need to help the poor, sick, young and old baby further as local governments were already doing it for them.