Higher History Britain: The Motives of the Liberal Reforms Why did the Liberals introduce their reforms 1906-14?

We are learning to… Explain why the Liberals introduced a series of reforms between 1906 and 14 I can… Build up notes on the topic Plan a 20 mark essay Pass a 20 mark timed essay

Background (for intro) Prior to 1906, there was almost no help available for poor people in Britain The liberals had always had a ‘laissez-faire’ style of government – not interfering in peoples’ lives The only limited help available for those in poverty was the ‘Poor Law’ which was means tested This usually resulted in people being put in a workhouse (poorhouse in Scotland) where conditions were horrendous – 90% of people refused this option Charities such as Barnardos, the Salvation Army and the YMCA offered what help they could to people but demand was too great for them to help everyone From 1906 the Liberal government introduced welfare reforms (changes in the law) to offer more help to the poor

What were the MOTIVES for the Liberal Reforms 1906-1914? When the Liberals were elected in 1906, there had been no mention of introducing social welfare reform in their manifesto. So why did the Liberal Reforms like free school meals and pensions get introduced? There were 5 factors/ motives for reform

The arguments for the introduction of Liberal Reforms ‘The Factors’ 1. Surveys of Booth and Rowntree 2. Fears over National Security/ Efficiency 3. Fear of the Labour Party 4. ‘New Liberalism’ 5. Municipal Socialism

1. Booth & Rowntree - Knowledge At the end of the 19th century two social surveys were published that not only shocked the British public but changed popular opinion on the causes of poverty. Charles Booth was a London Businessman who carried out his survey in the East End of London and published his results in 1899 Life and Labour of the People of London His book showed that 35% of London’s population lived in extreme poverty, that poverty was so bad that only the government could help and that if nothing was done, Britain was on the brink of a socialist Revolution Seebohm Rowntree published his study of York to identify if the problem of poverty was as bad in the towns of Britain He found that 30% of York’s population lived in poverty, that there was a ‘poverty line’ of the basic minimum amount a family needed to survive and that there were certain times that individuals were more likely to fall into poverty – most importantly old age

Charles Booth “The survey into London life and labour”. Click on image to view video clip.

Seebohm Rowntree First York study (1899). Click on image to view clip.

Findings of the Surveys Their findings agreed on some key points: Up to 30% or almost 1/3rd of the population of the cities were living on or below poverty levels. The conditions were such that people could not pull themselves out of poverty by their own actions alone. Poverty was not self inflicted Booth and Rowntree both identified the main causes of poverty as being illness, unemployment and age - both the very young and the old were at risk of poverty.

Social Surveys: Analysis Analysis (basic) This led to the introduction of reforms because politicians now had statistical evidence which showed that no matter how hard people tried, they could not lift themselves out of poverty and the government would need to act to help them This led to the introduction of reforms because the surveys helped promote the idea of a ‘deserving poor’ those who were trying to lift themselves out of poverty which was an important theme of the liberal reforms and started to break down old ideas that poor people were lazy, ignorant and squandered their money

Social Surveys: Analysis However, it is important to remember that there were many people, MPs included, challenged the surveys and still believed that poverty was not widespread and that poor people wasted their money on alcohol and gambling, showing the surveys did not convince everyone However, poverty in rural areas was ignored by the surveys as they focused only on inner-city areas like London and York showing that the surveys did have limitations

Paragraph – Booth & Rowntree TS: At the end of the 19th century two social surveys were published that shocked the British public. K: Booth’s Survey – who, where, when, findings K: Rowntree’s Survey – who, where, when, findings K: Agreements of the surveys A: This motivated the Liberals to introduce Reforms because… A+ However… (could do A,A+ twice)

2. Fears over National Security/ Efficiency The Boer War (1899 - 1902) – National security - KNOWLEDGE Britain became involved in a war in South Africa, which was part of the British Empire at the time The government became alarmed when almost 25% of potential volunteers were rejected on the grounds of ill health This figure was even higher when it came to the industrial cities like Manchester – in some towns and cities 9 out of 10 men were rejected Britain used 450,000 troops to defeat Boer forces that totalled 35,000 men This was a major knock to confidence as the British Army should have been able to protect the country against enemies far stronger than the Boers.

Germany and National Efficiency It was felt that countries like the USA but especially Germany were pulling ahead of Britain. Liberal politicians like Winston Churchill and Lloyd George had visited Germany (Britain’s main rival) and were impressed by the effects on the nations health by the range of welfare benefits the German government had introduced – e.g. pensions and free school meals. The example of Bismarck's progressive social legislation in Germany, coupled with her economic and military strength, impressed both Lloyd George and Churchill. Among other measures, the Germans had instigated an early form of sickness insurance for its workers. Lloyd George and Churchill felt inspired to introduce similar style reforms in Britain.

Kaiser Wilhelm’s Germany was racing to outdo Britain in terms of iron, coal and steel production and also in Dreadnoughts (Battleships)

National Security & Efficiency: Analysis Analysis (basic) This is important because the British government were shocked at the ill health of the nation and worried about Britain’s potential to defend itself and fight future wars, if Britain couldn’t raise fit and healthy volunteers then the Empire may fall apart It can be argued that Britain wanted to retain it’s status as the most dominant economic nation in the world and introduced reforms to help the poor in order to be able to compete with nations like Germany and the USA – especially with a war against Germany looking likely Analysis (+) However many historians have challenged this view that politicians had any genuine concern for the welfare of the poor and instead wanted to pass reforms for political advantage – such as Churchill making a name for himself or the liberal party wanting to gain working class votes over Labour

Paragraph – Fears over National Security & Efficiency TS: There were major concerns over Britain’s ability to win wars and stay rich due to the ill health of the nation. K: Boer War – concerns, no of recruits rejected K: Other countries – USA, Germany – LG’s/ Churchill’s visit to Germany A: This is important because… A+ However…

3. Fear of Labour Party/Political Advantage The Liberals traditionally gained votes from poorer men – working class areas were their ‘stronghold’ The Labour Party was newly established in 1900 and it was winning public support for its campaigns for social welfare policies, such as old age pensions and unemployment benefits. The ruling Liberal Party recognised the threat this new party posed to its traditional support in many working class areas. They needed to offer something similar to woo the working class male voters The Labour party already had the support of working males through it’s affiliation with the Trade Unions and this was a threat to the ruling Liberal party

Keir Hardie Founder of the Labour Party, 1900

The Yellow Party The Blue Party The Red Party Low taxes Little help for the poor Poor need to help themselves If you work hard you can become very rich Rich work hard so should keep their money Slightly Higher Taxes for rich, but not too high A little help for the poor Give the poor a little help but not too much that they become lazy Rich should pay a bit more than poor but not too much that they are punished High taxes for rich Low taxes for poor Welfare benefits – free school meals, pensions, sickness & unemployment benefit Government’s role is to look after the vulnerable

Fear of Labour/ Political Advantage: Analysis Analysis (basic) This is important because the Liberals realised that they had to introduce social reforms or risk losing political support from the working classes so they tried to ‘buy off’ voters with smaller reforms to avoid bigger ones e.g. offered pensions but raised the age limit to 70 years old. Analysis (+) However many historians have pointed out that the Liberals cannot have been truly worried by the Labour promises otherwise they would have matched or bettered the Labour party by offering pensions earlier Labour party were still very small in 1906 (29 seats) so probably did not pose a threat in terms of winning an electoral majority

Paragraph – Fear of the Labour Party TS: Fear of the Labour Party may have encouraged the Liberals to introduce reforms. K: Liberal Party – traditional support/ voters K: Labour Party – what were they offering & why was it popular? A: This is important because… A+ However…

4. New Liberalism Old Liberalism meant Laissez – faire; poverty as the problem of the individual and minimal state intervention A new type of Liberalism had emerged by 1906, and it was this ‘New Liberalism' which provided the inspiration for reform. New Liberals, such as Lloyd George, Winston Churchill and Herbert Asquith, argued that there were circumstances in which it was right for the state to intervene in people's lives. They represented poorer areas – e.g. Lloyd George in Wales and Winston Churchill in Dundee.

New Liberalism - Analysis Analysis (basic) This shows that ‘New Liberalism’ was becoming more influential within the ruling party due to the more modern and interventionist ideas of new Liberals like Churchill and Lloyd George and the party was reforming from within and starting to believe that reform was necessary to help those in need Analysis (+) However, historians have pointed out that the new Liberals were still vastly outnumbered by ‘old’ laissez-faire Liberals and it was only when ‘old Liberal’ Campbell Bannerman died in 1908 that the new Liberals were able to introduce their interventionist ideas

Paragraph – New Liberalism TS: There were a number of ‘New Liberals’ pushing to introduce reform within the party. K: Difference between the ‘old liberals’ and ‘New Liberals K: Who were the New Liberals? And which areas did they represent? A: This is important because… A+ However…

5. Municipal Socialism During the later 1800s the public had enjoyed the intervention when Local authorities had been taxing people and using the money to improve local areas This showed people a basic socialist idea in practice – redistributing wealth – and it worked! It paved the way for the Liberals to introduce reforms which would obviously cost more money e.g. pensions

Birmingham – an example of municipal socialism In 1873 Liberal Joseph Chamberlain became mayor of Birmingham and introduced many reforms there Birmingham's water supply was polluted and only supplied 3 days a week; he bought the waterworks and ran it for the good of the people He did the same with the gasworks He cleared many slum houses One report said he left Birmingham ‘parked, paved, gas and watered and improved’

Public parks were another example of municipal socialism; bought by local councils to provide fresh air and recreation for people i.e. in Glasgow city

5. Municipal Socialism - analysis Analysis (basic) This is important as local socialism paved the way for similar reforms at national level and set a trend for social reform that the Liberals picked up on and continued Analysis (+) However, There remained huge opposition in Britain to the idea of taxing the wealthy more to provide for the poor – particularly from the upper classes and middle classes who resented losing out financially to provide for the needy

Main Liberal Reforms 1906 Free School Meals – 14 million per week being issued by 1914. 1907 Medical Inspections Act – medical inspections given at school 1908 Old Age Pensions – 25p per week for those 70+ (1/4 average wage). 1911 National Insurance I – sickness benefit for poorer workers – e.g. paid for doctor and medicine. 1911 National Insurance II – gave unemployment insurance to half a million poorly paid workers or those in seasonal employment.

Additional Analysis Points It can be argued that (insert reform here) was/ were a direct result of (insert knowledge here) because… It can be argued that Free School Meals were a direct result of fears over national security because the Liberals believed that giving children a meal would reduce the number of malnourished young men in Britain.

Consolidation A good idea when you have taken all your notes for a topic is to create a condensed revision guide for the essay This might be a mind map, picture map, bullet points etc. but should fit on one page Do this for homework

Essay Questions The Liberals motives is an example of an isolated factor essay – this means the SQA will ask you whether women got the vote because of a specific factor (one of the 5 we cover) You must talk about the factor in the question BUT you do not need to agree it is the most important Examples How important were fears over national security and efficiency in the Liberal government’s decision to introduce social reforms, 1906-1914? How important was fear of the labour party/ political advantage in the Liberal government’s decision to introduce social reforms, 1906-1914? How important was the rise of new liberalism in the Liberal government’s decision to introduce social reforms, 1906-1914?

2017 Essay Question

Introduction – 3 step plan Background (2/3 sentences – describe Britain’s help/ lack of help for poor before reform) Before the Liberal Reforms… Factors (what are the factors in the essay?) There were many motives for the liberal reforms such as… (1 in question 1st) (a list is fine) Argument (what will you be arguing is most important?) It can be argued that the most important factor was …because…

Conclusion – 4 step plan In conclusion, there were many reasons why the Liberals introduced reforms. On the one hand… (you should take one key factor here and explain why it was important) On the other hand… (now you should do the same with another key factor to balance your argument) Overall, the most important factor was…This was more important than the other factors because… (keep your strongest until last, backing up why it is so important and it should be clear why it outweighs the other factors)

Overall, the most important factor was fears over national security as during the Boer war 25% of men were rejected due to ill health and this was very worrying for the government. Overall, the most important factor was fears over national security. This was more important than the others as defending the country was the top priority of government and without fit and healthy men to win a war, Britain would lose their status as A ‘Great Power’ and therefore this motivated the Liberals to introduce social reforms to improve the Nations health.

Evaluation A good way to approach trying to get the final 4 marks for evaluation is to take your factors (5 in this case) and rank them from most important to least important Try to come up with a reason Why each is in that place (not why it is important but why it is more or less important) A priority diagram can be a good technique to use – try to relate every factor back to your most important

Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3 Factor 4

Evaluation E1 and E2 - 2 marks can be gained from making evaluative comments which relate to individual factors Example – Upon evaluation, ______ was the most/least important factor in the introductions of reforms because... NB – You must be saying something new in your evaluation, not repeating your analysis or doing ‘mini conclusions’

Evaluation + E+ - up to 4 marks can be gained from making evaluative comments which show the relative importance between factors (i.e. you compare two) Example – Upon evaluation, the fears of national security were more important than ______ in the introduction of reforms because... NB – You must be saying something new in your evaluation, not repeating your analysis or doing ‘mini conclusions’ Remember analysis is really tricky and many candidates get 0/4 but still get an A!

Upon evaluation, the fact that many men were rejected on health grounds during the Boer War was the most important factor because Britain’s politicians knew that all Britain’s wealth and success came from having a strong military which could conquer armies easily and without military strength, Britain’s power, wealth and influence would diminish.

Upon evaluation, the fact that Germany was pulling ahead of Britain in terms of industrial output is more important than municipal socialism because from 1900, politicians knew war with Germany was coming sooner or later and the arms and naval race with Germany was their key priority which needed fit & healthy young men and when the government was preparing for total war, issues like municipal socialism in Birmingham were probably less important to them.