Liberal Reforms

Submitted By kyran06
Words: 1213
Pages: 5
Open Document
To what extent did the social reforms of the Liberal Government (1906-1914) solve the problems associated with poverty?
In the 1850s the British Government had a laissez-faire attitude towards poverty and believed in the policy of self-help. However, after the Liberal
Party won the General Election of 1906, it adopted a more interventionist approach and introduced a number of measures to help the poorest British citizens. Historians continue to debate how successful the Liberal reforms were in tackling the problems associated with poverty. This essay will focus on the problem of poverty in children, in the elderly, and due to sickness and unemployment. It will argue that the Liberal reforms did improve the lives of many poor people in Britain, but also had many limitations and did not solve the problem of poverty altogether.
One group the Liberal reforms sought to help was the young.

Many

children were at risk from poverty as their parents were too poor to provide for them adequately.

In 1906 an Education Act was passed which

provided children with free school meals.

The Act was shown to be

successful as by 1914 158,000 children a year were receiving free meals.
This helped improve the health and fitness of children and helped to prevent malnutrition. However, the Act had some limitations. Over half the local authorities had not set up the scheme by 1912 and during school holidays children’s weight dropped as they were not receiving school meals. In 1907 another Education Act was passed. This Act made medical inspections in schools free and compulsory. This was successful in identifying common childhood health problems, and by 1912 school clinics were being set up to provide free but limited treatment. However, this Act also had some omissions. Most of the inspections were very basic and overlooked many problems. It can be said that the Act was better at identifying health problems rather than actually treating them, and many parents were unable to afford to pay for specialist medical care. Finally, in 1908 the

“Children’s Charter” was passed. This made children “protected persons” and gave them a separate legal status from adults. It also banned children from buying alcohol or cigarettes. However, the Act did not eliminate the problem of child abuse nor did it prevent children from getting hold of alcohol and tobacco. Overall the Acts passed to tackle the problem of poverty in children had some success as they established the principle that the Government had a responsibility to provide for children’s welfare, and they also took some important steps towards improving the health and wellbeing of children, yet many children continued to be at risk from poverty. The Liberals also sought to tackle the problem of poverty in old age. Many elderly people were at risk of poverty as they were too old and frail to work and earn an income. In 1908 the Pensions Act was passed. This provided a state pension to the poorest old people over 70 if they met certain qualifications. If individuals met these qualifications they received up to 5 shillings a year from the government.

This was welcomed by many old

people, and by 1914 970,000 people a year were claiming a pension.
However studies by Charles Booth and Seebohm Rowntree had shown that the poverty line was 7 shillings a week, so it is clear that pensions were only meant to supplement previous savings. The problem was that many poor elderly people did not have previous savings so were still living in poverty.
The Act also cost the government a lot of money, which meant a rise in taxes which was unpopular with the majority of the population. Overall the
Pensions Act did improve the lives of some of the poorest elderly people, however it can be argued that the pension was not enough to live on by itself and therefore did not eliminate the problem of poverty in the elderly.
The Liberals also sought to help workers
Show More

Related Documents: Liberal Reforms

Liberalism and Free School Meals Essay

Surveys had shown that poverty was not self-inflicted, it gave the government a mandate to introduce welfare reforms which would be accepted by the public – helping the ‘deserving poor’ – Free School Meals, Old Age Pension and National Insurance Act. Paragraph 2 – National Stock / Efficieny Try and make a link explaining that the poverty highlighted by Booth and Rowntree was having a direct impact on Britain’s ability to fight in wars and this was another reason why reforms were introduced. KU:…

Words 583 - Pages 3

Imperialism In Imperial Russia

became too much for the traditional landholding elites to handle, leading to significant political and social unrest in the first decade of the twentieth century” (Duiker 67). “One of the new political ideas was liberalism” which promoted freedom and equality to individuals (Duiker 9). Liberalism (individuals' freedoms and rights) along with capitalism (market economy controlled by supply and demand) were most successful in Western Europe and the United States than in Eastern Europe areas. This was…

Words 956 - Pages 4

Neo Liberalism Research Paper

Neoliberalism The 21st century anthropologists as well as feminists have set their focus on neo-liberalism as ideas, economic policies and social values that have shown a vital influence on groups, individuals and nations ever since the end of the 19th century. Neoliberalism was seen as a philosophy that was economic and this concept emerged within the European scholars who considered themselves liberal. The reason why this concept became popular was because of the need to avoid economic failure…

Words 2013 - Pages 9

The Patriot Act: The Right To Privacy

for search and seizures is constitutional because the Patriot Act (revised as “The Freedom Act” in 2015) essentially is the warrant that makes the search and seizure legal and constitutional, when used for national security reasons. •The Patriot Act has been debated over many years, is now the law of our land, and was recently renewed as the Freedom Act, passed by Congress and signed by President Obama on June 2, 2015. •The Patriot Act was designed for the security of American citizens. It was created…

Words 866 - Pages 4

Ch 1 Notes Essay

its interdependence with those of other countries both influences policy choices in Canada and imposes practical constraints on its political processes. Government involvement in the economy has always expressed some concept of national interest or public good. The national interest may be conceived in the relatively narrow terms of raison d’etat: the preoccupation of governing elites with the protection and expansion of their power to serve the interests of the state. Mercantilism was used in the…

Words 2561 - Pages 11

Essay about Democracy: Liberalism and Act

How far was the concern over national security the real reason for the Liberal reforms passed between 1906 and 1914? The life of British people was increasingly improved during the series of social reforms being passed by the Liberal government. When the Liberals won the election, they won it through the thinking of Laissez-Faire as then the Government believed that they should not intervene with the lives of people but after 1908 the new Prime Minister of Liberals, Herbert Henry Asquith and also…

Words 1863 - Pages 8

How Did The Great Depression Affect Canada

in 1928 to a low of $177 million in 1931 and did not reach $300 million until 1939. Disaster also struck many industrial workers which they ended up with no jobs. Unemployment statistics were not reliable partly because there was no unemployment insurance and so no bookkeeping records. After this depression is where the governments started to rise up. Citizens turned to the government for an economic security that the system could not provide. As a result of…

Words 1581 - Pages 7

Comparing British Welfare Systems with 2 Other Countries Essay

authorities. However, this responsibility has expired over time and the national government decided to place a great deal of the responsibility for public services on the local authorities (Lilja et al, 2003). In Sweden policies relating to people with disabilities is provided through integration, full contribution and equality. Ministry of Health and social affairs (2000) reported the Swedish parliament had adopted a national policy for individuals with disabilities; they should have the same rights…

Words 2390 - Pages 10

French Revolution

1789 – Third Estate declares itself to be the “National Assembly” A few parish priests began to go over to the third estate Tennis Court Oath June 20, 1789 Delegates of the Third Estate excluded from their hall because of “repairs” Moved to a large indoor tennis court Members of Third Estate vow to meet until they have produced a French Constitution King urged reforms and ordered the three estates to meet together yet tries to dissolve the National Assembly at the same time Dismissed his moderate…

Words 2817 - Pages 12

Why Did Roosevelt And Truman Succeed Where Wilson Failed?

1 From 1917 to 1919 Woodrow Wilson argued that the United States faced new responsibilities for global leadership, and advocated U.S. participation in the League of Nations, a collective body designed to ensure international peace, security, and prosperity. Most Americans rejected Wilson’s overtures, however. Beginning in 1937 Franklin Roosevelt (and Truman after FDR’s death) made arguments similar to those of Wilson and ultimately built widespread public support for full involvement in World War…

Words 2087 - Pages 9