Why did the Liberals introduce Social Reform? 1906-1914 Collect a copy of this image and stick it in your jotter Click on the image to watch an overview of the background to the Liberal Reforms Why the Liberals introduced social welfare reforms?

Poverty National Security (Booth & Rowntree) (Boer War)

New Liberalism Municipal Socialism Rise of Labour Laissez - Faire During the late 19th century the British Government, under the Liberal party, followed the principle of laissez faire. Individuals were solely responsible for their own lives and welfare. The government did not accept responsibility for the and hardship that existed amongst its citizens. A popular point of view at the time was the poverty was caused by individual idleness, drunkenness and other moral weaknesses on the part of the working classes. The poor were viewed by the wealthy as an unfortunate but inevitable section of society.

There were no old age pensions, unemployment benefits or family allowances. If the main wage-earner died or could not work, a whole family could be plunged into terrible poverty. The state would not interfere. Families relied on charitable donations or faced the terrible prospect of the workhouse.

During this period, the accepted role of the government was very limited. It was simply expected to maintain law and order and protect the country from invasion. Government involvement in social issues was unpopular as it would inevitably lead to tax increases. The Surveys of Charles Booth & Seebohm Rowntree Charles Booth

•Born in Liverpool 30 March 1840 •Died 23 November 1916 •Wealthy ship-owner •Raised with the belief that poverty was the fault of the poor and could be dealt with by charity. •Between 1886 and 1903 studied the life of the poor in London •Published his findings in 17 volumes entitled Life and Labour of the People in London. Life and Labour of the People of London

•Booths findings changed the opinion of many in Britain about poverty •He used scientific methods and put people into recognisable classes •He worked out a poverty line of 21 shillings per week to indicate the income a family needed to survive •He provided statistics that showed the widespread nature of poverty •The scale of poverty he uncovered could not be handled by charity •He concluded that 35% of London’s population was living in poverty Booth’s Population Classification of London

Category Description Numbers Percentage

A Lowest class - loafers and criminals 37,610 0.9% B Very poor – hand to mouth existence 316,854 7.5% C and D Poor – small earners and unemployed 938,293 22.3% E and F Employed – fairly paid working class of all grades 2,166,503 51.5% G and H Lower and upper middle classes 749,930 17.8% Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree

•Born in 17 July 1871 •Died 7 October 1954 •Son of wealthy chocolate manufacturer Joseph Rowntree •A committed Christian who carried out his own investigation into the poor of York after reading Booth’s findings •Published his own findings in 1901, Poverty: A Study of Town Life •He estimated that 1/3 of town populations lived in poverty Poverty: A Study of Town Life

•Rowntree’s work in York showed that poverty was not exclusive to London •Rowntree is responsible for identifying the two types of poverty; primary and secondary •He put a figure on the amount of money a worker needed to earn in order to maintain a minimum standard of living •He also stated that poverty was not constant – people drifted below the poverty line at different stages in life i.e. in old age •Rowntree’s investigation confirmed the belief that if a ‘typical English town’ like York had 30% of its population in poverty then it must be a national problem “And let us clearly understand what a merely physical efficiency means. A family living upon the scale allowed for must never spend a penny on railway fares. They must never go into the country unless they walk. They must never purchase a half penny newspaper or spend a penny to buy a ticket for a popular concert. They must write no letters to absent children, for they cannot afford to pay the postage. They must never contribute anything to their church or chapel, or give any help to a neighbour which costs them money. They cannot save nor can they join a sick club or trade union, because they cannot pay the necessary subscriptions. The children must have no pocket money for dolls, marbles or sweets. The father must smoke no tobacco and drink no beer. The mother must never buy any pretty clothes for herself or her children. Should a child fall ill it must be attended by the parish doctor, should it die it must be buried by the parish. Finally the wage earner must never be absent from his work for a single day.”

BS Rowntree Poverty; A Study of Life Summary • Booth and Rowntree were private wealthy individuals who studied poverty in London and York • They introduced new scientific methods to study the extent of poverty • Their findings found that 30% of the urban population lived in poverty • They confirmed that only the Government, not charity, could tackle Britain’s level of poverty. • Their reports were important because it was hard statistical evidence – not opinion. • If the reports were so important why did the Liberals not introduce reforms that at least matched the agreed poverty line • Both surveys focused on the inner cities so there was some criticism that this was not a true reflection of the scale of British poverty and some MPs still blamed the working class for their situation Andrew Marr on Seebohm Rowntree Booth & Rowntree Parody Historiography – Booth & Rowntree

copy the quotes on page copy any 3 quotes from the 6 on pages 43- 122 by Goodlad and Staton 45 that you understand and could use in and Peter Murray an essay National Security Why does it take 30 months for 250,000 British soldiers to defeat 60,000 South African farmers? Andrew Marr on The Boer War • 25% of the volunteers for the Boer War in 1899-1902 were unfit for service due to ill health. • Urban figures were the worst - Manchester 8,000 rejected out of 11,000 recruits • This was alarming for a government that may need to call up a strong army at short notice against a greater enemy. • Real fear of German militarism – “Place in the Sun” • Politicians and the public alike began to ask questions as to whether Britain could survive a war. • Lack of efficiency on the battlefield against what were termed farmers highlighted not only the inefficiencies of the male populace but also introduced the idea of “National Efficiency” into the language of British society • Without the Boer War unearthing the horrors of poverty that an industrialised non-interventionist state had created, it would have been highly unlikely that reform would have played such a major role in Liberal policies between 1906-1914. New Liberalism

“Don’t be afraid to take a big step” If you’re not a Liberal at 20, you have no heart” A summary of failing health and poverty in Britain at the start of the 20th Century • “Old Liberalism” was the belief that poverty was due to personal defects, but as the realisation grew that poverty itself imposed restrictions on choices available to individuals a new definition of liberalism developed. • The Liberal Government had many outstanding ministers who were prepared to fight for better living conditions to help the poor, the unemployed, the elderly and the sick. • On the death of Prime Minister, Campbell-Bannerman, Herbert Asquith brought ‘New Liberals’ into his cabinet. • For example , Chancellor of the Exchequer, who had been brought up by a poor family in Wales and Winston Churchill, with a privileged background, also felt strongly about these issues. • New Liberals realised that the extent of poverty made it impossible for many people to get themselves out of poverty • They had genuine sympathy for the poor but were also worried by the rise in support for the Labour Party which they believed would affect the Liberals. • Without the emergence of such an intellectual revolution in Britain it would have been very unlikely that Britain by the outbreak of WWI would have had social policy implemented. • However - in the lead up to the 1906 election the issue of poverty had actually only been the 7th most mentioned problem in Liberal campaign speeches. • 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 wanting to gain working class votes over Labour Rise of the Labour Party • By the end of the 19th century the trade union movement was gaining pace. • Trade unions recognised that they needed a voice in Parliament if they wanted to change the political nature of Britain. • In 1900 the unions agreed to use some of their funds to set up a new organisation called the Labour Representation Committee: this became the Labour Party in 1906. • Traditionally, the working class men that had been enfranchised in 1867 and 1884, identified more closely with Liberal policies, rather than those of the Tories. • In the early 1900s, the Labour Party under the leadership of Keir Hardie, was winning public support with its campaign for social welfare reform, including old age pensions and unemployment benefits. • The Labour Party had increased their number of MP’s from 5 in 1902 to 29 in 1905. The Liberals were worried that failure to improve the social conditions of the working classes would lead them to desert the Liberals and vote for the Labour Party. • Labour were a growing threat from 1909 onwards due to high unemployment, the recession and discontent meant Labour were gradually winning seats. It is therefore no coincidence that reforms were introduced before the 1910 election.

• However it is far too harsh to argue that the Liberals passed social reform just to win votes. A new generation of politician with feelings of responsibility and more philanthropic attitudes had emerged.

• Also deep concern was growing that a more radical brand of socialism might arise. Strikes, especially in 1910-12, and the growth of trade unionism meant politicians feared that, unless standards of living improved for the workers, they might turn to Communism or rebellion. Municipal Socialism Municipal what?!

• Municipal socialism is the spending of local authority money in order to benefit the public as a whole • Public works schemes to improve living conditions and public health had been established in the late 19th century, often set up and run by Liberals. These small, local schemes raised the possibility of similar schemes being a success on a national level. • Following the cholera epidemics of 1842 and 1853 in Glasgow , those responsible for running the city and shaping it’s future accepted the link doctors had highlighted between dirt and disease. • There were a number of influencing figures dubbed “Glasgow’s City Fathers” behind the driving force to regulate sanitary conditions and eradicate the city’s filthy environment. • The 1866 City Improvement Act introduced the scheme to bring a clean water supply into Glasgow with the opening of the Loch Katrine project. Gas and electricity systems followed.

• In Birmingham, Mayor Joseph Chamberlain (1873 to 1875) provision was made for gas and water supplies controlled by the government. They also cleared slums and introduced a city park system. • The examples of Glasgow and Birmingham encouraged the Liberals to expand reform from local intervention to national intervention using taxes to redistribute wealth • However, we must remember that the local model was not able to change the minds of everybody in terms of government intervention. 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 SUMMARY 1906 General Election Liberal Government Social investigations of Before 1906 Introduced Booth & Welfare Rowntree Reforms unearthed true Workhouse, level of poverty Poor Relief, charities WHY? Shock at scale of ‘victory’ in Boer Laissez-faire War threatened national secuirty Local initiatives Concerns about New Liberals rolled out on national efficiency of favoured Fear of new Labour a national British workforce intervention Party encouraged level and industrial world political advantage power Why Liberal Reforms Were Introduced

New Liberalism: “The political force of this Old Liberalism is spent.” Historian Sidney Webb National Security: “Arguably the single most important precondition for the spate of social reforms between 1905 and 1914 was fear of the consequences of an unfit and debilitated population.” Historian Eric Evans. Rise of Labour: “Socialism and the organisation of labour represented a threat to the other parties in view of the more democratic franchise that existed.” Historian D Fraser Laissz-faire: “Heaven helps those who help themselves.” Author Samuel Smiles National Security: “The country that spent £250m to avenge an insult by Dutch farmers is not ashamed to see her children walk the streets hungry and in old rags.” David Lloyd George. Booth & Rowntree: “Booth and Rowntree gave to the growing public concern over poverty the statistical evidence on which to build the case for state aid.” Historian D Fraser Other Factors National Efficiency & The German Model • Britain’s position as the world’s leading industrial nation had been declining since 1870. By 1900 both Germany and the USA had overtaken Britain. • ‘New Liberal’ politicians including Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lloyd George, visited Germany and were impressed by what they saw. • The great German Chancellor, Bismarck, had introduced a social welfare system in Germany at the end of the 19th century - the first in Europe. • Lloyd George believed Germany’s success was linked closely to its healthier, better-educated and more efficient workforce. • The Government realised that it would have to do more to improve the lives of Britain’s poorest workers - if health and education standards continued to fall so would Britain's position in the industrial world • Without the pure detest and resentment from British statesman that they were being overshadowed by Germany industrially, economically and militarily by 1906 reform would not have been so quick. • Therefore the need to secure Britain’s imperial position, to re- establish a physically fit army for any future conflict and the need to produce young healthy children to breed national efficiency for future generations were strong motives for the uncharacteristic burst of activity by the Liberal Government of 1906-1914.