liberal reforms 1906 to 1914 essay

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Liberal Reforms

Liberal reforms

In 1906 the General Election returned a Liberal Government with a large majority. The Liberal Party had campaigned on welfare issues. They called for reforms that would transform the way in which poverty was managed. Following in the footsteps of reforms in Germany, the Liberal Reforms saw pensions, sick pay, maternity benefits and unemployment insurance for some workers introduced. The Liberal Reforms led to constitutional changes and faced criticism from both those who felt it went too far and those who wanted further reform. 

At this time, it the popular belief was that people brought poverty on themselves due to waste, bad habits and low morals. It was not the job of the government to help the poor – they should help themselves by hard work, thrift and saving for the future. The only help for the poor was based on the 1834 Poor Law . Those in need had to go into a workhouse but these were so harsh and unpleasant that most poor people did not apply. At the start of the 20th Century there was a growing belief that politicians were not doing enough to tackle the causes of poverty and that with such a high percentage of the population living in poverty Britain’s future as a great power could be threatened. The Liberal Reforms intended to raise the standards of living with this leading to improved standards in the workplace.

Important factors that made poverty become an important issue:

• Charles Booth in London and Sebohm Rowntree in York carried out the first serious studies into poverty and its causes. They discovered that the causes were casual labour, low pay, unemployment, large families, illness and old age – not laziness, drunkenness and gambling. These reports raised awareness of the extent of poverty in Britain and the problems it caused.

• The Boer war of 1899-1902 showed the poor state of health of the nation. One out of every three volunteers failed the army medical due to bad diet and living conditions. This could seriously affect Britain’s military strength if nothing was done to improve the situation.

• The effects of poverty were damaging to society. Health problems and infectious disease could affect rich and poor. The economy suffered if large numbers of people were too poor to buy goods and social problems such as crime, prostitution, slums and drunkenness were a direct result of poverty.

• There was a particular worry about the effects of poverty on children. Studies had shown many to be underweight, malformed and infested with lice scabies etc. This would lead to problems in the future – weak sickly children would become weak, sickly adults.

• There were concerns about Britain’s future ability to compete with new industrial nations such as Germany and the USA. National efficiency would only increase if the health and welfare of the population improved.

• The growth of Trade Unions and the Labour Party was a threat to the Liberals and the Conservatives. The new working class voters were turning to these organizations to improve their lives. The New Liberals recognized this and supported government help for the poor.

• In the 1905 general election, the Liberals and the Labour Party reached agreement not to stand against each other in many seats. If elected to power the Liberals promised a programme of welfare reforms which would recognize the government’s responsibility to help the weakest and poorest sections of society.

The Liberal Reforms:

Free School Meals

In 1906 the Liberal Government introduced Free School Meals for children. This allowed local education authorities to provide free meals to children on a means tested basis. About half of local authorities introduced the scheme and by the outbreak of the First World War some 14 million meals had been provided.

Medical Tests for Children

In 1907 a series of free medical tests were introduced for children. as with the Free School Meals the testing was optional for local authorities. These tests identified illnesses and diseases at an early stage and marked a change in central governments attitudes towards children. They were now being seen as a national asset worth looking after.

Children and Young Persons Act

The 1908 Children and Young Persons Act provided protection for children. From now on it was a legal requirement to look after children properly and the authorities were given the power to intervene in cases where this was not deemed to be the case.

Children’s Charter

Laws to stop cruelty and neglect of children and end baby farming. New Juvenile Courts no longer sent children to adult prisons. ‘Borstals’ and a probation service set up. Begging by children was made an offence. The sale of alcohol and tobacco to children under 16 years was forbidden.

Old Age Pensions Act

The Old Age Pensions Act provided a small pension for everybody aged 70 or above. As this was a universal right, rather than being means tested, it took away the stigma that had been attached to Poor Law Benefits.

Opposition to the Liberal reforms

• Some Councils did not approve of free school meals and this had to be made compulsory in 1914.

• The Children’s Charter was opposed because the government was meddling in family life.

• Many people believed government help for the poor would encourage laziness. Pensions might stop people saving for their old age.

• Some doctors were opposed to Health Insurance because it did not pay enough.

• Friendly Societies and Insurance companies thought they would lose business.

• The Tories and the House of Lords objected to the new taxes needed to pay for the reforms.

• Some employers objected to paying for worker’s insurance.

• In 1909, the House of Lords rejected the People’s Budget. This led to the Parliament Act of 1911, which reduced the power of the Lords and stopped them interfering in money bills.

• There were concerns that tax payers would have to pay for the cost of these reforms. Many thought this was unfair as the middle class tax payers tended not to need to use the “safety net” provided by the Liberal reforms.

Source : Rowntree Report: Unemployment

‘He was wearing a ragged coat that was falling apart. That day he had walked 28 miles looking for work. He had only a crust of bread for breakfast and more bread for supper. His feet were blistered and swollen; he looked like a man who had given up all hope.’

Source: Rowntree Report: Poor Housing

‘Wooden floor of the upper room has holes admitting numbers of mice. Roof very defective, the rain falling through to the bed in wet weather. Outside wall also very damp. Plaster falling off. Tenants apparently clean. Courtyard houses all back to back. Water supply for 12 houses from tap placed in the privy wall.

Source: Charles Booth- Poor Housing

Few of the 200 families who lived there occupied more than one room. 15 rooms out of 20 were fifthly to the last degree. Not a room was free of vermin (mice or lice). The little yard at the back was only sufficient for a dust bin, toilet and water tap, which served 7 families.

Source : Speech by Lloyd George to a Liberal Party meeting in Cardiff, October 1906

I warn you about the Labour Party. I warn you it will become a terrifying force that will sweep away Liberalism. We have a Liberal Parliament, but we must act to help the poor. We must get rid of the national disgrace of slums. We must eliminate the widespread poverty which scars this land glittering with wealth, otherwise the working men of Britain will vote Labour instead of Liberal.

Source: From a letter Winston Churchill wrote to Asquith in December, 1908.

Germany is not rich as us, yet German social reforms mean they are better organised for peace and also for war. We are organised for nothing! We cannot rely on existing charities and this winter is causing misery. Consequently, there is an urgent need to help the working class and make England a safer and better country for them. When the people begin to feel the benefit of our social reforms they will give solid support to our Liberal Government.

Source: Description of a room in Lambert from a survey of poverty in South London by Maud reeves in 1913

Under the window facing the door is the large bed, in which sleep mother, father and two children. A baby is asleep in the pram by the bed and another child is asleep in the cot in the corner. The second window can be and is, left partly open at night. At the foot of the table is a small table. Three wooden chairs and a chest of drawers complete the furniture. The small fireplace has no oven, and open shelves go each side of it. There are two saucepans, both burnt. There is no larder. (Storage Cupboard)

Source: Will Crooks MP, who was born in a workhouse, describes his attitude towards old age pensions.

We were challenged by the MP for Preston who said: ‘Would you declare that you are in favour of giving 5s a week to a drunken, thriftless, worthless man or woman? My Reply is very prompt: ‘A man of 70 with nothing in the world is going to cut a pretty shine on 5s a week, whether his character be good or bad. Who are you, to be continually finding fault? Who amongst you has such a clear record as to be able to point to wickedness of an old man of 70? If a man is foolish enough to get old, and if he has not been artful enough to get rich, you have no right to punish him for it.’

Source: David Lloyd George Speaking in 1908

The Old Age Pension Act is just the beginning of things. We are still confronted with the more gigantic task of dealing with the sick, the infirm, the unemployed, the windows and the orphans. No country can be called civilised that allows them to starve. Starvation is a punishment that society has ceased to inflict for centuries on its worst criminals, and at its most barbarous stage humanity never starved the children of the criminal.

I have had some excruciating letters piled upon me from people whose cases I have investigated – honest workmen thrown out of work, tramping the streets from town to town, begging for work, and at the end of the day trudging home tired, disheartened, and empty handed, to be greeted by faces, and some of them little faces, haggard and pinched with starvation and anxiety. During years of prosperity the workmen has helped to create enormous piles of wealth that have accumulated in the country. Surely a few of these millions might be spared to preserve from huger the workmen who have helped to create that great wealth.

Source: An extract from the memoirs of Flora Thompson.

There were one or twp poorer couples, just holding onto their homes, but in daily fear of the workhouse. When the Old age Pension began, life was transformed for such aged cottagers. They were relieved of anxiety. They were suddenly rich. Independent for life! At first, when they went to the Post Office to draw it, tears of gratitude would run down the cheeks of some, and they would say as they picked up their money, ‘God bless that Lloyd George!’ (for they could not believe one so powerful and munificent (generous) could be plain ‘Mr.’

Source: The Classic Slum, Richard Roberts, 1973

At last, in 1908 the Liberal Government allocated £1,200,000 for the establishment of a non contributory old-age pension scheme, and an Act was passed to become law on 1 January 1909.

Pensions, however, would be withheld from those ‘who had failed to work according to their ability and need, and those who had failed to save money regularly’. Here was a means test with a vengeance. Paupers were not entitled to any pension. Nevertheless, even these small doses meant life itself for many among the elderly poor . Old folk, my mother (who was a shopkeeper) said, spending their allowance at the shop, ‘would bless the name of Lloyd George as if he was a saint from heaven.’

LIberal Reforms Links:

BBC Bitsize . Notes and revision tests.

National Archives . Use documents from the National Archives to investigate the Liberal Reforms.

Defence Dynamics . Lesson plan and notes from the Ministry of Defence.

Cat and Mouse Act – relates to Votes for Women but is a good contrast with the reforms.

Schoolshistory home  –  History teachers resources  –  Medical History Timelines  –  Liberal Reforms  –  Welfare State  –  The NHS  –  Alexander Fleming  –  Florey and Chain develop Penicillin  –  DNA and it’s impact on modern medicine

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The Liberal Welfare Reforms 1906-1914

Below is your section about Liberal Welfare Reforms between 1906-1914. I hope this helps you with your GCSE or Advanced Level History courses at school or college. Here we go…

In December 1905 the increasingly unpopular Conservative-Unionist Coalition Government ended with the resignation of the Prime Minister, Arthur Balfour.

The Liberal Party formed a new government under Henry Campbell-Bannerman. He immediately called a General Election for January 1906.

The Liberal’s campaign focused more on the failings of Balfour’s Government than on the issue of welfare reform. It was a landslide victory for the Liberals who won with a large majority.

‘The health of the people is really the foundation upon which all their happiness and all their powers as a state depend’ Benjamin Disraeli, 1877.

Studies conducted into the nature of poverty in Britain helped change people’s views on its causes. They also showed just how widespread the problem was.

The Second Boer War (1899-1902) demonstrated that poverty was linked to ill-health. It also raised questions about national efficiency and Britain’s ability to maintain its status as a world power.

Germany, Britain’s main economic rival, had already introduced a system of social welfare.

There was also support from within the Liberal Government for a move away from laissez-faire and the adoption of a more interventionist approach to the issue of poverty.

Some of this was due to genuine humanitarian reasons, to help those who could not help themselves. However, now that the issue of poverty was causing widespread concern, it was to the Liberal’s political advantage to be seen as the Party doing something about it.

The rise of the Labour Party and the growth of the trade unions also put pressure on the Liberal Government to address working-class concerns and introduce reforms.

Traditionally the Liberals believed in the principle of laissez-faire, valuing individualism and self-help. By the beginning of the twentieth century there were calls for greater state intervention to help the working classes.

This New Liberalism was advocated by many of the new Liberal MPs, such as Charles Masterman, who had been elected in 1906.

After Campbell-Bannerman’s resignation due to ill-health in April 1908, Herbert Asquith became Prime Minister. Asquith was more open to New Liberal ideas than Campbell-Bannerman had been.

David Lloyd George was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer and Winston Churchill went to the Board of Trade. Lloyd George and Churchill both supported interventionist ideas. They pushed the Liberal Government to introduce a more radical programme of reform.

Published in seventeen volumes between 1889 and 1903, Charles Booth’s The Life and Labour of the People in London revealed that thirty percent of London’s population lived in poverty.

Seebohm Rowntree’s Poverty: A Study of Town Life published in 1901, found that twenty eight percent of York’s population were living below the poverty line. This was defined by Rowntree as a minimum weekly sum of money ‘necessary to enable families to secure the necessities of a healthy life’.

Rowntree found that over half of the families living in primary poverty had a main wage-earner in work, but not earning enough to meet their family’s needs. Rowntree also identified that many families were trapped in a poverty cycle. Life events, such as the birth of a child or old age, would push them below the poverty line.

The prevailing view of the nineteenth century was that poverty was the fault of the poor. It was caused by drunkenness and idleness and the moral failings of the individual.

The studies by Booth and Rowntree were important as they showed that poverty was not the fault of the poor.

The main causes were low pay, unemployment, ill health, old age and large families.

They also showed that self-help would not work as poverty was caused by factors that were mostly outside of the poor’s control.

The studies also revealed just how widespread the problem of poverty was.

During the Second Boer War it was found that about one third of the men who volunteered were physically unfit for military service.

In July 1904 the Committee on Physical Deterioration published its findings on the issue. It attributed the poor physical condition of the working classes to malnourishment and the overcrowded living conditions in the industrial cities.

One of the Committee’s recommendations was the introduction of free school meals to needy children.

These findings demonstrated the link between poverty and ill-health. It also raised fears that in any future war Britain would not be able to recruit enough fit and healthy men.

At this time there were fears that Britain’s status as a world power was in decline. Britain’s share of the world’s markets was threatened by strong competition from other industrialised nations. This led to calls for improved national efficiency.

The country needed a workforce that was fit, healthy and educated if it were to compete with Germany and America.

Germany, which threatened to surpass Britain as an industrial and naval power, already had a system of social welfare. This had been introduced by Bismarck in the 1880’s as a way of combating the rise of socialism.

Both Churchill and Lloyd George took an interest, with Lloyd George visiting Germany in August 1908. Officials from the Board of Trade also studied Germany’s system of Labour Exchanges.

Formed in 1900, the Labour Party won twenty nine seats at the 1906 election and forty two in December 1910. Labour was committed to welfare reform.

By introducing these reforms the Liberals could attract the working class vote (many working class men had been enfranchised under the 1867 and 1884 Reform Acts) away from Labour.

It was the Labour MP, W T Wilson who originally introduced the Bill for the 1906 Education (Provision of Meals) Act.

In general the Liberals could count on Labour support for their welfare reforms. This became more important after the elections of 1910 when the Liberal’s failed to win a Commons majority and had to rely on Labour and Irish Nationalist support.

‘If we see a drowning man we do not drag him to the shore. Instead, we provide help to allow him to swim ashore’ Winston Churchill

The Liberal Government was not trying to create a welfare state as Clement Attlee’s Labour Government did after World War Two. Neither did they reform or abolish the Poor Law.

Instead they passed legislation to help those groups of people most likely to fall into poverty. These were the young, the old and those unable to earn a wage due to sickness or unemployment.

Welfare legislation was also passed to improve working conditions and to tackle low wages in the ‘sweated industries’.

Although the Liberal’s had moved away from the principle of laissez-faire and recognised the state should take responsibility for those in poverty, many still believed in the concept of self-help.

The Liberal’s intention was to provide people with the means to help themselves, hence the contributory element to National Insurance.

Between 1906 and 1908 the Liberal Government passed three Acts aimed at improving child welfare.

The Education (Provision of Meals) Act 1906 allowed Local Authorities to provide free school meals to destitute children. Money could be raised by a levy of up to a halfpenny on local rates. The Act was prescriptive and did not make the provision of school meals compulsory.

The Education (Administrative Provisions) Act 1907 made it compulsory for all Local Authorities to ensure each school child received a medical inspection.

The Children and Young Persons Act 1908 brought in a number of regulations to protect children from cruelty and abuse. It became known as the Children’s Charter .

It was a criminal offence to neglect or ill-treat a child. Paid carers had to be registered. Children were to be tried in juvenile courts and kept out of adult prisons. Instead they would be sent to borstals. Children could not be sent out begging or purchase cigarettes and alcohol.

The provision of school meals did have a positive effect on the health of the poorest children, at least during term time. Studies showed that children lost weight and their growth slowed during school holidays.

However it was up to the Local Authorities to decide whether to provide free school meals. By 1911 only forty percent of Authorities did. School meals were made compulsory in 1914.

Medical inspections were of limited value until free medical treatment was introduced in 1912.

The 1908 Act did help protect children from abuse but had little success in preventing children from smoking or drinking.

The first payments under the 1908 Old Age Pensions Act were made in January 1909. This was a non-contributory pension scheme funded by the Treasury.

It was also means tested. People over seventy, with an annual income of less than £21 would get the maximum of 5s per week. Married couples were entitled to 7s 6d. It reduced on a sliding scale up to a maximum annual income of £31.

Initially pensions were only available to British subjects who had been resident in the country for at least twenty years and who had not been in prison for the previous ten years.

They would also not receive a pension if they had been detained under the Inebriates Act in the previous ten years or had deliberately avoided work.

The pension wasn’t enough to cover an elderly person’s basic necessities. Many people were unable to work long before the age of seventy. The high starting age, means testing and restrictions on eligibility limited the number of people who were entitled to make a claim.

However for many poor families it eased the burden of caring for an elderly relative and it removed the threat of the workhouse. By 1914 almost one million people were receiving a pension.

‘The problem of unemployment lies…at the root of most other social problems’ William Beveridge, Unemployment: A Problem of Industry, 1909.

The Labour Exchanges Act 1909 was brought in to help the unemployed find work.

Part II of the National Insurance Act 1911 dealt with unemployment. It made insurance compulsory for trades such as construction and ship building, which were susceptible to seasonal unemployment.

It was a contributory scheme with the employee (2½d), employer (2½d) and the state (3d) each making a weekly contribution.

If an insured worker lost their job they would receive 7s a week for up to fifteen weeks.

They had to sign up with a Labour Exchange to receive payment but would get nothing if they had been dismissed due to bad conduct.

2.5million workers were covered by unemployment insurance under the 1911 Act. The insurance was designed to cover short-term unemployment in a limited number of industries.

After fifteen weeks the unemployed worker would likely fall back into poverty and any further assistance would come under the Poor Law. Cover was also only provided for the worker and not their whole family.

By 1914 over 400 labour exchanges were in operation. However, it was not compulsory for employers to notify the exchanges of any vacancies. There were also objections from many trade unions.

‘…the working man, he is quite sensible enough to see that when he is offered 9d for 4d he is getting a good bargain’ David Lloyd George, House of Commons 19 July 1911.

Under the Workmen’s Compensation Act 1906 most employees were now able to claim compensation for injury at work.

Part I of the National Insurance Act 1911 introduced a scheme of compulsory health insurance. The first payments under the scheme were made in January 1913.

All workers earning less than £160 per year had to contribute 4d a week to the scheme. Employers contributed 3d, the state 2d.

In return workers would be entitled to receive sickness benefits of 10s a week for thirteen weeks (7s 6d for women) and 5s a week for an additional thirteen weeks. They also received free medical treatment from a panel doctor, treatment in a sanatorium for TB and a maternity benefit of 30s for each child.

The chronically sick or disabled would receive 5s a week until they turned seventy.

The contributory nature of the scheme was seen as giving the poor a sense of self-respect. However some Labour MPs objected to the compulsory contributions as they felt it placed an unfair burden on the poorest workers.

The free medical treatment only applied to the insured worker and not their family. It also only allowed for treatment from a doctor. Hospital treatment was excluded. After twenty six weeks any further aid would be provided under the Poor Law.

The Labour Party’s Keir Hardie criticised the Liberal Government for not going far enough. The National Insurance Act would not ‘uproot the cause of poverty’ but only provide ‘a porous plaster to cover the disease that poverty causes’.

The Liberal Government also brought in legislation to try and help the low paid and those in jobs with poor working conditions.

The Trades Disputes Act 1906 overturned the Taff Vale ruling. It meant trade unions were no longer liable for damages if their members went on strike.

The Merchant Shipping Act 1906 aimed to improve conditions for workers on British registered merchant ships, with regulations governing food and accommodation.

The Coal Mines Regulation Act 1908 limited miners to working eight hours underground.

The Trade Boards Act 1909 tried to end the practice of ‘sweated labour’ in four industries (tailoring, lace, paper- box and chain making) with the formation of boards which could set a legally enforceable minimum wage.

The Shops Act 1911 allowed shop workers a half-day holiday each week.

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The Origins of the Liberal Welfare Reforms 1906–1914

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Table of contents (5 chapters)

Front matter, introduction, approaches to the reforms, the roots of the reforms, the process of reform, back matter, about the author, bibliographic information.

Book Title : The Origins of the Liberal Welfare Reforms 1906–1914

Authors : J. R. Hay

Series Title : Studies in Economic and Social History

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-06941-5

Publisher : Red Globe Press London

eBook Packages : Palgrave History Collection , History (R0)

Copyright Information : The Economic History Society 1983

Softcover ISBN : 978-0-333-36000-2 Due: 15 December 1983

Edition Number : 1

Number of Pages : IV, 84

Additional Information : Previously published under the imprint Palgrave

Topics : Social History

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Liberal Reforms (1906-1918)

Attitudes towards poverty in the 1890s 

• Poverty was often blamed on the individual which was blamed in laziness ( laissez-faire ). 
• Politicians believed that people were responsible for their own welfare and that they should work hard and save for their old age.
• The only way to get up if you were poor was to enter the workhouse. Conditions in the workhouse were poor to discourage people from seeking help. 
• Charities to help the poor existed, but many relied on family. 

Living conditions in the 1890s

• Many people moved from the countryside to the cities in hope of jobs in factories from an industrialising Britain.
• Poor housing
• Unemployment
• Irregular work
• Little help for elderly, sick or unemployed.

​ Why did the Liberal Government introduce reforms to help the young, old and unemployed?

• By 1900, public opinion was changing as people realised that poverty was a cause of several factors. 
• Charles Booth - he carried out research into poverty in London and published a book to display this.
• Seebohm Rowntree - he studied poverty and its causes in York and published a report on it.
• Both researchers found that 28 - 31% of the population lived around the poverty line. The poverty line meaning unable to afford decent housing, food, clothing, healthcare or even a luxury, such as a newspaper.

The Boer War

• In 1899, Britain went to war with South Africa. Half of those who volunteered to fight for the army were actually unfit for the service. The % of unfit people varied according to where they lived. 
• Many had been so badly fed as children that they had not grown fully. This was worrying for the government. 

Dynamic Individuals

• Two leading politicians, Lloyd George and Churchill believed strongly in reform. They believed social reform would make the people better off and the country stronger.

​ Rivalry with Labour

• In 1906, the newly formed Labour Party did well in the general election. This worried the Liberals as they wanted to win over ordinary people with their reforms so that people would vote Liberal, not Labour. 
• It is evident that in 1906 - 1910, Labour Members of Parliament increased so this could be a factor as to why reforms were brought in. However, the number of Labour Members of Parliament is so miniscule compared to that of the Liberals, so Labour may not have even been an issue. 

How the Liberal Reforms helped the children (The Children's Charter)?

Education (provision of meals) Act 1906

• Allowed local authorities to provide free school meals to needy children
• Originally Labour Members of Parliament private members’ bill
• Raised debate of state responsibility for welfare of nation
• Passing of bill meant significant advance in role of state
• Gave poor children chance of one hot meal per day
• By 1914 14 million meals were provided for 158,000 children
• Limitations
• Only voluntary basis, many local authorities failed to provide meals
• Imperialists’ motives to help National efficiency after failures if Boer War

Education (administrative procedures) Act 1907

• Required medical inspection of children and permitted medical treatment
• By 1914 most local authorities were providing children with some medical treatment
• Helped cut child mortality
• Gave children chance of medical help when previously received none
• Imperialist motives after poor standard of health in Boer War recruits
• Did not compel local authorities to set up clinics
• Only gave children free care, parents unable to receive any

Children’s Act 1908

• Dealt with child neglect
• Set up juvenile courts and remand homes
• Prohibited imprisonment of children
• Banned children from pubs buying cigarettes
• Highlighted difference between children and adults
• Gave children protection from parents and adults

How the Liberal Reforms helped the unemployed?

• All male householders now had the right to vote.
• Working hours had been reduced and working conditions improved.
• Limitations: N.I.A. had trades where seasonal unemployment was common, including buildings, shipbuilding and engineering. 

How the Liberal Reforms helped the sick?

• The National Insurance Act meant that they were insured if they got sick. They also got free medical treatment and maternity care. Three groups paid for this : Taxpayers, Employers, Workers.
• Limitations: N.I.A. only for people who were on low income (less that £160 a year) 

How the Liberal Reforms helped the old?

Old Age Pensions Act 1909

• Introduced pensions which gave weekly pensions from Government funds to the elderly of 5 shillings per week to those over 70 and married couples get: 7s 6d (later made 10s)
• Break from past
• State offered security for first time without stigma of poor law relief
• Gave pensioners chance of a better life
• Small amount, bare minimum to survive
• People under 70 did not qualify, many people did not live to this age
• Those who had been in prison or failed to work were excluded
• Had to be living in Britain for 20+ years
• Income of below £21 a year
• However, better than nothing, a start to progress from and a break from the past

More reforms passed during this period:

• 1906 - the Trade Disputes Act reversed Taff Vale judgement; gave unions right to strike and picket; gave unions more power
• 1906 - the Workmen's Compensation Act granted compensation for injury at work.
• 1907 - school medical inspections.
• 1908 - eight-hour day for miners.
• 1910 - half-day a week off for shop workers.
• A Merchant Shipping Act improved conditions for sailors.
• From 1911, Members of Parliament were paid. This gave working men the opportunity to stand for election

How effective were Liberal Reforms?

• Proposal from Royal commission to abolish poor law were not carried out
• Proposals to abolish poor law, workhouses and stigma were ignored
• Nothing done for agricultural labourers who remained worst paid of all workers
• Between 1900-14 real wages rose very little
• Trade unions were little impressed by reforms as militancy escalated
• By 1914 the percentage of army volunteers rejected through ill health was only slightly better than 1900
• However Rowntree’s follow up survey in 1936 found that percentage of people living in primary poverty had fallen from 9.9% to 3.9%
• Far better than anything offered before
• Recognition from government of need for state intervention
• Beginning of a social service state where government ensure minimum standards

​ Reform of the House of Lords

Crisis over the House of Lords erupted when peers rejected the Liberal government's budget in 1909. The Liberals hit back with laws to strip the Lords of power to reject legislation approved by Members of Parliament.

The Parliament Act of 1911 said "money" bills became law within a month if peers did not pass them without change. And Members of Parliament could force through other bills if the Commons passed them in three successive sessions after a two-year delay.

​This video looks at how British society changed from 1890 to 1918:

• Coal Mines Act 1908
• Introduced maximum 8 ½ hour working day for coal miners
• Milestone – first time British government had intervened to regulate maximum working hours
• Disliked by owners as would have to pay more to workers for overtime
• Seen by many Liberals as interference into market forces and profitability
• Labour Exchanges Act 1909
• Labour exchanges set up
• Employers with vacancies could advertise position in one place
• Unemployed could easily see positions available
• By 1913 430 exchanges in Britain
• Made easier to find work
• System was voluntary
• Those unemployed not living near exchanges could little afford to visit
• Trade Boards Act 1909
• Set up minimum wage in 4 occupations
• Tailoring, box making, lace making, chain making
• In 1913 was extended to cover 6 more sweated trades
• Almost 400,000 workers were protected
• Only small percentage of workforce covered
• Shops Act 1911
• Gave shop assistants statutory half day per week off
• Did not set maximum working hours
• Many workers forced to make up lost time during week
• Payment of Members of Parliament Act 1911
• Payment of £400 per year
• Working class could now afford to enter politics
• Conservatives very critical
• Said would attract people into public life for personal gain rather than to serve the people
• Miners’ Minimum Wage Act 1912
• Set up local boards to fix minimum wage in each district to help miners working difficult seams
• Emergency measure forced through to end strike that lasted from February to April
• Did not satisfy miners who wanted more: 5 shillings per day men and 2 shillings boy
• Trade Union Act 1913
• Reversed Osborne Judgement
• Trade Unions could now divide subscriptions into political and social funds
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Two Liberal Finance and Social Reform, 1906–1914

• Published: February 2000
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The Treasury was the department that, more than any other, was at the centre of Edwardian political controversy. Particularly under Lloyd George, the Treasury had to adapt itself to more active participation by central government in the relief of poverty and had to begin to act like a central department of government, seeking value for money, while at the same time holding firmly to the canons of public finance. With regards to public finance, the principal difference between the Conservative and Liberal parties in general elections was the question of how defence expenditure and social reform were to be paid for. From 1903 the orthodoxy of free trade was challenged by a tariff reform campaign, led initially by Joseph Chamberlain, who recommended that Britain should return to a policy of protection. The Liberals sought to avoid a need to raise revenue from tariffs, first by economies in defence expenditure, and then by raising direct taxation on the more affluent members of society.

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• DOI: 10.1007/978-1-349-01524-5
• Corpus ID: 154151040

The origins of the liberal welfare reforms, 1906-1914

• Published 1975
• History, Economics
• The Economic History Review

72 Citations

Employers and social policy in britain: the evolution of welfare legislation, 1905–14∗, the relative autonomy of the state and the origins of british welfare policy, the origins of unemployment insurance in britain.

• Highly Influenced

European Welfare State in a Historical Perspective. A Critical Review

The origins of unemployment insurance in britain: a cross-class alliance approach, legal reconstitution of the welfare state: a latent social democratic legacy, understanding social insurance: risk and value pluralism in the early british welfare state, the inequality trap. a comparative analysis of social spending between 1880 and 1930, government and the economy, 1860–1939, diffusion and the development of social policy: evidence from the third world, related papers.

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How successfully did the Liberal Reforms 1906-14 meet the social needs of the British people?

Liberal Reforms.

  The Liberal Reforms between 1906 and 1914 partly met the social needs of the British people however problems remained. In the early 1900s, many people in Britain were suffering greatly from poverty and deprivation which indicated to the government that reform was needed to improve this. This meant that the government were taking a much more interventionist approach, moving away from 19 th  century laissez-faire policy. This meant that those most in need in the country who were at a disadvantage were given a lot of support which helped to meet many of their social needs. However the reforms had many limitations which some would argue limit the success of them and therefore would argue that the social needs were not entirely met, leaving many in deprivation.

  Before the Liberal reforms, many children came to school hungry, dirty, with infestations of lice or suffering from ill health and poor physical health. In 1907 the Education (Administrative Provisions) Act was passed which introduced medical inspections for school children. Children were given thorough health inspections to check their well being, including general condition and circumstances, oral inspection and eye examinations. Through these inspections, the government discovered that children were going untreated because of the poverty of their parents, putting them under pressure to aid these families. This lead to the Board of Education giving grants to local authorities for treatment and school clinics were set up for the first time. This meant that children were finally receiving treatment that they otherwise could not afford, therefore meeting some of their social needs. When further targeting this problem of unhealthy children the Education (Scotland) Act of 1908 was passed. This gave school boards power to take action against parents who allow their children to go to school in a filthy or verminous condition. This further improved the lives of many children, meaning less were suffering from poor health through fault of their parents. Despite these reforms, T. Ferguson states that 55% of children still were not receiving treatment for illnesses and many others had treatment that was inadequate. Therefore it is clear that the reforms passed by the Liberals helped to target ill health in children, however the reforms were limited and problems still existed.

  In the late 17 th  century many old people were i ncapable of work due to old age which resulted in large-scale poverty amongst them. Lloyd George was interested in this area for a long time, due his time spent studying the scheme set up in Germany. In order to tackle this, the Liberals passed the Old Age Pensions Act in 1908 which

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entitled those over 70 with an annual income of £21 - £31 to weekly pension of between 1 and 5 shillings. Due to this, by 1914, nearly a million people applied for pension. This showed the immense popularity of the scheme and highlighted to the government the extent of elderly poverty. Trevor May argues that the pension was a “lifebelt which many people were happy to cling to”, demonstrating his belief that the pension scheme was a success. However, the scheme had it’s limitations. The government admitted that it was not supposed to be a solution to elderly poverty as the maximum available pension was still 2 shillings short of Rowntree’s ‘poverty line’. Therefore it is clear that the Liberal reforms made a significant improvement in elderly poverty, however due to its limitations its success is debatable.

  Prior to the Liberal reforms health care was expensive and there was no available insurance policy at the time. In 1911, the Liberals passed the National Insurance Act which introduced conditional health insurance. This mainly applied to mainly cyclical/seasonal unemployment in which the insured worker would contribute 4d a week if they earned under £160 a year. In return they would receive 7 shillings a week for up to 15 weeks in any one year after one week of unemployment. This meant that many people were now receiving suitable medical care that, before the Act, they would have been unable to afford. The Act also provided maternity benefit and free treatment for disabled children and pregnant women, therefore providing financial support in times of need. The Act however had its limitations. It only covered those who were employed and therefore those out of work were still going untreated due to high doctors bills. Also, the families of those insured workers were not covered by the Act meaning that if a family member was ill, the doctors bills still had to be paid out of their own pocket. Therefore it is clear that the Liberal government did attempt to improve the health care available to workers through the National Insurance Act, however as many people were not included, the success of the Act is debatable.

  Before the Liberal reforms the unemployed of Britain had no income to live on as benefits were unavailable. This meant that they could not support themselves or their families leading to severe poverty. Victorians felt it was a moral problem, however reports like Booth’s and Rowntree’s highlighted it was largely due to reasons beyond control. The Labour Exchanges Act, passed in 1909 helped unemployed people find work through the use of job centres. Due to the Act about 3000 people were being set up with work everyday by 1914, despite scepticism from both employers and employees. The Act however had its limitations as it was unknown whether the exchanges actually helped tackle to problem as employment was already high due to the potential war. It was not completely effective as 75% of those listed on the Labour Exchange did not find employment. Also, when attacking this problem of unemployment the second part of the National Insurance Act, 1911 introduced unemployment insurance which meant that payments were provided when your out of work. Within 2 years 2.3 million workers were insured which meant that people were given some form of financial support when they were out of work. Both Churchill and Lloyd George seen it as the beginning of a better system for dealing with unemployment. However, despite the success a large proportion of the population remained uninsured suggesting the limitations of the reform. Overall it is clear that the Liberal reforms helped many unemployed people in financial difficulty, however as a large percentage of the population were uninsured, it was not entirely successful.

  Before the Liberal reforms many workers were suffering from poor working conditions, working long hours for very little pay. In order to tackle this the government introduced the Coal Mines Act in 1909. This limited the working day in mines to 8 hours maximum and set a minimum wage for these miners meaning that they had better working conditions and better pay. Also when tackling this the government passed the Trade Boards Act in 1909 which looked at pay and conditions in the ‘sweated trades’. This set a minimum wage for 200,000 workers in areas such as box making, tailoring and lace-making. Peter Murray shows his approval of these Act by stating that minimum wages “mark a significant shift away from the 19 th  century laissez-faire attitude” showing that he believes this reform was a success. These Acts as a whole were mostly successful however there was no definition of minimum wage so nothing really happens to improve wages and as there was no mechanism to police the system increased wages were not always given. Therefore these Acts clearly improved working conditions and pay for many British people, however due to their limitations, their success is debatable.

  There is debate between historians over how successful the Liberal Reforms were at addressing the problem of poverty in Britain. AJP Taylor stresses how limited the reforms were as the pensions were inadequate and because only certain groups of people were insured against unemployment and sickness “it left the adult citizen alone”. In contrast, Peter Clark argues that even though the reforms were limited, they by-passed the Poor Laws and brought in a system which won approval.

Martin Pugh stands somewhere in the middle, his argument being that the Liberal reforms were not meant to be a solution to the problem of poverty but an attempt to target and contain discrete parts of the problem.

  In conclusion it is clear that overall the Liberal reforms introduced between 1906 and 1914 were relatively successful in meeting the social need of the British people, however due to their limitations, many people remained deprived. The introduction of health inspections improved the health of many British children and showed clearly to the government the extent of poverty through investigations, however by 1914 some medical treatment was inadequate suggesting the limitations of the reforms. By introducing a pension for the elderly in Britain, the extent of poverty was further revealed due to the number of applicants and with more money to live on, improvements were made to people’s lives, however the amount of money given was below Rowntree’s poverty line meaning it was inadequate to live on and not all people were entitled to the pension. The National Insurance Act, 1911 introduced health insurance for the worker in case of sickness, meaning that more people could now afford to get medical treatment, however not everyone was eligible suggesting the limitations of the insurance. In order to help the unemployed find work, for employers to find workers and to provide unemployment benefit, Acts were passed which meant that thousands of more jobs were found for people and the unemployed still had an income to help them financially, however many people still remained uninsured and unemployed. To improve conditions and pay for the employed, Acts were passed which set minimum wages and improved conditions in the workplace, however as the minimum wage was not defined and there was no mechanism to ensure increased wages were given, not a lot happens to improve the pay of these workers, leaving many still in poverty. These reforms were a significant step away from the laissez-faire  principle and marked a significant improvement when meeting the social needs of the British people, however by 1914, many problems still remained and poverty was still a serious issue.

Document Details

• Level AS and A Level
• Subject History

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