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How successful were the Liberal Reforms?

How successful were the Liberal Reforms?. Founding the Welfare State?. The new Liberals??. Henry Campbell-Bannerman, the PM, 1906 -08, was an Old Style Liberal. The New Liberals?.

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How successful were the Liberal Reforms?

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  1. How successful were the Liberal Reforms? Founding the Welfare State?

  2. The new Liberals?? • Henry Campbell-Bannerman, the PM, 1906 -08, was an Old Style Liberal.

  3. The New Liberals? • Landslide victory 1906 not = New Liberalism dedicated to the introduction of interventionist social welfare policies. • Only about 200 of the 400 Liberals elected were interventionist. • But by 1908= New Liberalism.

  4. Who were the New Liberals? • Old Style Liberal = rights of the individual • New Liberal = level playing field (so all helped to start life equally) • Wanted to tackle social problems using powers of state. • T.H. Green and J.A. Hobson advocated this idea before 1906. • Eg : David Lloyd George and Winston Churchill

  5. The New Liberals • Herbert Asquith • Chancellor of the Exchequer 1906 - 08 • PM 1908 - 15 • Accepted the need for welfare reforms and a redistribution of wealth through taxation.

  6. The New Liberals • David Lloyd George • leading spokesman for the New Liberals • President of the Board of Trade, 1906-08 • Chancellor of the Exchequer, 1908 - 15 • PM

  7. The New Liberals • Winston Churchill • President of the Board of Trade, 1908 - 10 • Home Secretary, 1910 -11 • First Lord of the Admiralty, 1911 - 15 • Joined army • Minister of Munitions 1917 -19 • PM, 1940

  8. Why reform? • New evidence of the causes of poverty; • genuine social concern (e.g. Lloyd George); • fear of the growth of the Labour Party; • attempt to stop the spread of Socialism; • worries about matters of national efficiency vis a vis international competitors

  9. What areas did the Liberals plan to improve? • Old • Young • Sick • Unemployed • Workers Take notes from Andrew Marr ‘History of Britain’ • http://clickview.mgfl.net:9053/Player.htm?442 Take notes in a grid format: Successful / Unsuccessful

  10. Remember Rowntree’s Poverty Line: Survive = 35 p / week (58 p for couples) Child Young Adult Parent Middle age Old Starve = 34 p / week

  11. Were Reforms Successful: Young • Aims =? • 1904 – Inter-departmental Committee on Physical Deterioration • 1906 - Education (Provision of meals) Free school meals for poor children. • 1907 - Education (Administrative Provisions) Act = compulsory medical inspections for school children. • Relied on Local Authorities to voluntarily introduce • By 1911 30% had introduced school meals • No provision for free health care

  12. Were reforms successful? Young • 1908 - Children Act made it illegal for parents to neglect children. • Childrens’ Charter, e.g. Children under 16 couldn’t drink or smoke, juvenile courts, go to Borstals rather than prison, probation officers to look after them after prison, etc.. • Hard to enforce all this

  13. Why did reforms increase after 1908? • Campbell-Bannerman replaced by Asquith. • Brought Lloyd George and Churchill into the Cabinet. • Lloyd George: “[The Liberal Party] has not abandoned the traditional ambition…to establish freedom and equality; but side by side with this effort it promotes measures for improving the conditions of life of the multitude.”

  14. How successful were the reforms: Old? • 1893 - Royal Commission on the Aged Poor in favour of Laissez Faire • but included a minority report which supported Government intervention. • opposition to a state pension system from the Friendly Societies which already organised a Pension system. • Considerable cost implications - “The Boer war made all schemes of social reform impossible.” (Bonar Law, 1912)

  15. How successful were the reforms: Old? • 1893 - Royal Commission on the Aged Poor in favour of ... • minority report = • opposition pension system from ... • Considerable implications

  16. How successful were the reforms: Old? • 1908 - the Old Age Pensions Act. • Those over 70 got 5p to 25p a week. • Rowntree’s poverty line minimum = 35p • Life expectancy 46 in worst slums • 650,000 applied. 15,000 more than expected. • By 1914 970,000 • “Thank goodness for that Lord George”

  17. How successful were the reforms: Old? • 1908 - • Those over 70 got.... • Rowntree’s poverty line minimum = • Life expectancy ... • _______ applied. 15,000 more than expected. • By 1914 _______ • “Thank goodness for that Lord George”

  18. One reaction • “The state invites us every day to lean upon it. The strongest man, …may soon accustom himself to the methods of an invalid. Every day the standing ground for initiative is being undermined; every day the public (the government) impinges…on the individual; the nation is being taken into custody by the State. It was self-reliance which build the Empire; it is by self-reliance…that it must be welded and continued.” Earl of Wemyss • Laissez Faire or Interventionist??

  19. How successful were the reforms: Workers? • 1906 - Workmen’s Compensation Act forced employers = £ if injured at work. • 1906 - Trades Disputes Act= made strikes possible (safeguarded union funds from claims arising out of strikes -remember Taff Vale). • 1908 - Laundry Act brought workers within the provisions of existing Factory Acts.

  20. How successful were the reforms: Workers? • 1906 - Workmen’s Compensation Act forced employers =. • 1906 - Trades Disputes Act= • 1908 - Laundry Act =

  21. How successful were the reforms: Workers? • 1908 - the Eight Hour Day Act introduced into the Coal mining industry. • 1909 - the Trade Boards Act introduced minimum wages and maximum hours to certain industries. • 1911 - The Shops Act provided a half-day off each week. • Many industries got no help Wages Act.

  22. How successful were the reforms: Workers? • 1908 - the ____Day Act introduced into the Coal mining industry. • 1909 - the Trade Boards Act introduced .... • 1911 - The Shops Act ... • Many industries got ....Act.

  23. How successful were reforms? Sick • 1911 - National Health Insurance Act (Part 1) • Compulsory • Worker paid 4 p/week, Employer = 3p, Gov =2 p • Covered 15 million poorest workers • Worker got sick pay at 50p a week • for 26 weeks (25p for last half) • Women workers got 35 p, but some maternity grants • But family didn’t get anything • Didn’t include doctor’s fees • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIIDILXfpyk

  24. How successful were reforms? Unemployed • 1909 - Introduction of Labour Exchanges. • 1912 - National Insurance Act, Part 2, • unemployment benefits = 35p a week for 15 weeks • Part 2 gave 10p per week for 15 weeks to those unemployed in certain industries, e.g. shipbuilding, construction. • Only covered 2.2 million workers • Assumed max 5% of workforce unemployed (rest paid for their dole)

  25. Did the reforms take up too much time? = 1909 Budget • Reforms extremely expensive. • To pay = tax • 20% capital gains tax on land sales • supertax for those earning over £5000 pa, • income tax rising depending upon earnings. • Rejected by the House of Lords. • Led to two General Elections 1910 • & Parliament Act, 1911, which removed the House of Lords’ veto

  26. The reforms - an assessment • The reforms were a significant move away from the Laissez Faire approach to social welfare. • Some historians believe the Liberals laid the foundations of the Welfare State.

  27. The reforms - an assessment 2 • Others argue no, the reforms were limited in scope, far from financially generous and reforms ignored many areas of great need, e.g. education and housing. • Lloyd George and Churchill saw the reforms as first steps only halted by WWI.

  28. Study pp 93 -103. S. Wood, “Britain, 1850 - 1979” Try to form your notes around the questions • Why did the Liberals carry out these reforms? • Who were the driving forces for change? • What did the Liberal government actually do? • To what extent were the reforms solutions to the social problems faced in Victorian and Edwardian Britain? • What was the significance of what they did?

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