BRITISH DEPTH STUDY, 18901918
The Liberal Reforms
Reactions to the reforms
Starter:
Refer to the change and continuity
table you completed for
homework:
Do you think the Liberal reforms
were a total change in the way
the government helped the
poor or were the old ideas
about poverty still present?
Be ready to explain your answer
Lesson Objectives
By the end of this lesson you should:
Understand and be able to explain the
reactions to the Liberal reforms
 Consider how effective the Liberal reforms
were

Reactions to the reforms

The Liberal reforms were controversial and met with enormous
opposition
Use p.56 to explain what each of the following groups opposed
or criticised:
 Conservatives –
 Doctors –
 Friendly societies and building societies –
 Workers –
 Rich people and the House of Lords –
 The Labour party –
Rich Fare
CONTENT

Large, wild-eyed figure – Lloyd George

Spiked mace labelled ‘Budget’

Empty dish on table

Small, well-dressed, well-fed man cowering under the
table (plutocrat – has power because he is wealthy)
CONTEXT



1909 – year of the People’s Budget
LG wanted to increase taxes on the rich to fund his
reforms
The Conservative dominated House of Lords rejected this
– LG threatened to have more Liberal peers created to
outvote them
COMMENT


Could be approving of LG’s actions – uses words like
‘plutocrat’ – not right that money should give power in a
democracy. HofL – wealthy, unelected members. LG’s
dish is empty – could represent lack of money for reforms
if budget not passed
Could be criticising LG for using threats against wealthy –
shows him as an armed bully
The Philanthropic Highwayman
CONTENT




LG is seen standing on a road side holding a gun
and a donation box labelled ‘Old Age Pension
Fund’
You can see he has travelled by horse and a
motor car approaches on the road
A highwayman robs travellers
A philanthropist is generous and seeks to
promote the welfare of others
CONTEXT

1909 – again, year of the People’s Budget
COMMENT

LG is collecting money in order to raise pensions,
and the gun shows he's going to force the rich
people to give money as he is a highwayman
(and the car approaching is a symbol of wealth).
It shows that he is a charitable robber, as he
wants to steal from the rich and give to the poor
The Big Dog and the Little One
CONTENT


2 old men
Shabbily dressed, thin man has a tiny dog labelled
‘OAP’. Well-dressed, well fed man – Lord Halsbury has a
huge dog labelled ‘PENSION.’ He tells the poorer man
that his dog is nothing but a mockery, but gets the reply
that despite its small size, it is a great comfort –as not
every one can have a large dog (pension)
CONTEXT



The Liberals introduced an OAP in 1908. It was only 5
shillings a week, limited to the very poor over 70s, with
various restrictions
Previously, such people would have relied on their
children or gone into the workhouse. Many lives were
made easier
Wealthy men had long been able to contribute to a
private pension so would regard the small OAP a quite
laughable
COMMENT

The artist seems to approve of the idea of the OAP,
though is commenting on its smallness. He is aware of the
difference it would make to many old people
The Dawn of Hope
CONTENT


Liberal Party poster with LG sitting by the bed of a sick
man
His hand is gesturing towards a glow (window through
which dawn can be seen?) on which are the words
‘National Insurance…….’ The man is looking towards this.
In LG’s pocket is a document labelled National Insurance
CONTEXT


Many lived in poverty as a result of being unable to
work through sickness. Medical care was also too great
an expense for many
LG proposed a National Insurance scheme, paid for by
workers, employers and government
COMMENT


The title is uplifting - ‘The Dawn of Hope’ and the caption
is calling for support of Liberal Party policies. It suggests
a ‘better tomorrow’ if the Liberals get their proposals
through Parliament. There was some opposition –not just
from those who wanted a continuation of ‘laissez-faire’
and less government spending, but also from some
workers who resented the idea of 4d being stopped from
their meagre wages
The scheme didn’t help everyone –the poster doesn’t say
this –but it does show its importance to those helped
The Poor Law (source 17)
In 1834 a new Poor Law was introduced. Some people welcomed it because
they believed it would:

reduce the cost of looking after the poor

take beggars off the streets

encourage poor people to work hard to support themselves
The new Poor Law ensured that the poor were housed in workhouses, clothed
and fed. Children who entered the workhouse would receive some schooling. In
return for this care, all workhouse paupers would have to work for several
hours each day
However, not all Victorians shared this point of view. Some people spoke out
against the new Poor Law, calling the workhouses 'Prisons for the Poor'. The
poor themselves hated and feared the threat of the workhouse so much that
there were riots in northern towns