Labour would not have
grown powerful without the
First World War.
How far do you agree with
this statement?
Friday
th
16
September
How successful were
the Liberal reforms?
What? An evaluation of the Liberal
Reforms
Why? The Reforms have been seen
as the birth of the Welfare state. Were
they really?
Was it a welfare state?

What is a Welfare state? Be
ready with a definition of this
The idea of comprehensive
social services and social
security provision
Past paper essay
questions
How far were the reports on poverty produced by Booth and
Rowntree responsible for the Liberal social reforms of 19061914? (2005)
To what extent did the social reforms of the Liberal
government (1906-1914) improve the lives of the British
people? (2006)
Fear for Britain’s place in the
Evidence of poverty
(Booth and Rowntree )was
widely read. This
was
inescapable evidence
world - national security.
When potential recruits tried to join
the army for the Boer War (1899),
almost 25% were turned down
on the grounds of poor health
WHY did the Liberal
Government pass reforms?
“New Liberals”
-had new ideas
on state
intervention.
National Efficiency –
Britain no longer the top
industrial nation. Belief that this
was connected to poor health
and educational standards.
Chancellor Bismarck’s social
reforms were making Germans
strong in comparison.
Political pragmatism –
Liberals could lose votes to
Labour if nothing was done to
help the poor.
1906 General election




377 seats (Tories 157, Labour
29)
Ended long period of Tory
dominance
Tories lost it because of Boer
War and failing education and
tax systems
Liberal success the result of
individuals.....
Henry Campbell Bannermann



Prime Minister 1906-1908
Retired from ill-health and died a
few days later
Key reformer
Herbert Asquith


Chancellor of Exchequer 19051908
Prime Minister 1908-1916
David Lloyd George

Chancellor of Exchequer 19081915
Winston Churchill



Left Conservatives in 1904
Home secretary 1910-1911
Lord of Admiralty 1911-1915
Edward Grey


Foreign Secretary 1905-1916
Longest continuous holding of
office in British History
Their reforms



This section is about their
reforms.
There is little value in simply
reciting the reforms in an essay.
You need to be able to explain
how and why this form of Liberal
welfarism was different from the
ideas of Laissez Faire.
What were the reforms about?
Aimed at helping people who
faced poverty through no fault of
their own:
 Young people
 Old people
 Sick people
 Unemployed people
Reform
area
Young
Old
Sick
Unemployed
Other
Reforms
1906 - Free school
meals for young
people…
Success
Failure
Young




1906 - Free school meals for
young people
1907 – School medical
inspections started
1908 – juvenile courts / borstals
started
Children’s charter restricted the
sale of alcohol and cigarettes
How effective were these
reforms?




Research showed that growth of poor
children slowed during school holidays.
This showed that school meals were an
important part of health of poor children.
Medical inspections did little to solve any
problems discovered
Attempts to protect children from smoking
and alcohol had limited success.
Old



1908 – government started
paying 5 shillings (25p) per
week to people over 70 who had
a current income of up to £21
per year
A married couple got 37.5p each
week
Less pension given to higher
earners
How effective were these
reforms?




Providing pensions is the basis of a
Welfare state.
But remember, Rowntree calculated
a poverty line for an individual to be
35p a week.
Old age pensions therefore helped
the elderly but did not solve old age
poverty
Many elderly people needed help
long before they reached 70 and
most died before receiving a
pension.
Sick






There was no free National Health
Service at the time
The poor could not usually afford
treatment
1911 National Insurance Act gave
some medical benefits
Every worker contributed 4p per
week towards medical help
Every employer then added 3p and
the government added 2p per week.
Called ‘nine-pence for four-pence’
How effective were these
reforms?



Illness and absence from work were
a major cause of poverty. So money
coming in as ‘sick pay’ did help
families in hard times.
However, only the insured worker
got free medical treatment from a
doctor.
Other family members did not benefit
from the scheme, no matter how sick
they were.
Unemployed


Labour Exchanges (like today’s
job centres) were started.
Part II of the NI Act dealt with
unemployment and workers paid
into the scheme and got
contributions from their
employers and the state.
How effective were these
reforms?



The 1911 act only covered
temporary unemployment
Also only applied to seven
trades
When unemployment increased
after WW1 the system failed as
too many people claimed benefit
and there was not enough
money to pay out.
Other reforms worth noting




You should add these if a question
asks about Liberal Reforms in
general
1908 miners act secured an 8 hour
day (first time the length of a working
day was fixed)
1909 Trade Boards Act protected
‘sweated trades’ such as tailoring.
These fixed minimum wages and
maximum hours
1911 Shops Act gave shop
assistants a weekly half day off
Assessment



The liberal reforms were more
important psychologically than
anything else
They set precedents for future
reform
They did not improve much for
ordinary British citizens
The idea of comprehensive social
services and social security
provision
Positves?


If we compare them against the
old Victorian ideas of self-help
and the poor-law then the
Liberal Reforms mark a Giant
step .
They paved the way towards the
later proposals of the welfare
state which WAS set up later in
1945-1951
Essay Question: Did the Liberals
create a Welfare state?






NO
It was a transition point between old
laissez-faire attitudes and what was later
called the Welfare state
A change of ideas but still wanted the poor
to help themselves
Liberal MP Winston Churchill “If we see a
man drowning we do not drag him to the
shore. Instead we provide help to allow him
to swim ashore himself.”
The Liberals tried to help poorer sections of
society to help themselves.
The Reforms were not always successful
Tasks
1.
Complete all work up to and
including page 38
2.
Create a table about the Liberal
reforms and their success.
Complete it using the statements on
page 39
3.
Copy the diagram on page 39 and
add detail to it using the textbook
pages 48 to 57 as well as slide 1.
Arguments for
the success of
the Liberal
Reforms
Arguments
against the
success of the
Liberal
Reforms
Etc…….
MINI ESSAY
In your opinion, were the liberal
reforms successful in creating
a welfare state? Write a
detailed answer with evidence
to back up your argument.