How Successful were the Liberal Reforms (1906 - 1914)

Question 1

Who was the Liberal Government first led by?

Answer 1

Henry Campbell Bannerman - until his death in 1908.

Question 2

Who took over as Liberal Government leader in 1908?

Answer 2

Herbert Asquith

Question 3

What was there a growing number of within the Liberal Government?

Answer 3

“New Liberals”, who believed state government should intervene to improve the lives of poor people.

Question 4

Who were two of the most influential New Liberals?

Answer 4

David Lloyd George and Winston Churchill

Question 5

What was Asquith’s view of the ideas of New Liberals?

Answer 5

He was more sympathetic to them than Campbell-Bannerman was.

Question 6

What was Winston Churchill’s response to Rowntree’s report into poverty?

Answer 6

“I see little glory in an Empire who can rule the waves and is unable to flush its sewers”

Question 7

In 1905, what did the Committee on Physical Deterioration report? (The Young)

Answer 7

-It was reported that too many children were too hungry to learn effectively in school.
-This was linked to concerns over national security.
-Booth and Rowntree’s reports also proved that children were the group most likely to experience poverty.

Question 8

What was noticed by teachers now that education was now compulsory? (The Young)

(Key Name: Margaret McMillan)

Answer 8

Large numbers of students were coming into school hungry, dirty, or suffering ill health. In some authorities, there were efforts to provide meals from the 1880s. Ie Margaret McMillan in Bradford.

Question 9

What was there an increasing pressure from the public to do? (The Young)

Answer 9

Improve the nutrition of such children.

Question 10

In 1906, the Liberals passed the Education (Provis. of Meals) Act. What did this act do? (The Young)

Answer 10

Allowed local authorities to raise taxes to provide free school meals.

Question 11

How much did the number of school meals provided rise up to? (The Young)

Answer 11

(In 1906) - 3 million
(In 1910) - 9 million
(In 1914) - 14 million

Question 12

What is a positive analysis of The Young?

Answer 12

The large number of school meals provided would have a massive benefit on some children. Their learning would have also improved thanks to their diet.

Question 13

What is a negative of The Young?

Answer 13

-By 1911, less than 1/3 of schools were providing free school meals.
-Almost 30 years later, only half of schools were providing them.
-This proves that Liberals were not improving many lives as they could by not making the act compulsory.

Question 14

What is another negative of The Young?

(Keyword: Pressure)

Answer 14

Liberals likely did not choose to pass this reform, but rather pressured by the public. Shows they might not be interested in improving the lives of some children.

Question 15

What had trying to recruit soldiers for the Boer War lead to? (The Young)

Answer 15

-Alerting the government to poor health of much of the population.
-As a consequence, there was recognition that something needed to be done about this to avoiding future problems.

Question 16

On the contrary, what were the Liberal Government worried about? (The Young)

Answer 16

Introducing medical inspections in schools because they knew it would reveal huge health problems that they couldn’t pay for. The provision was slipped into an Education Act by R.L Morant, from the Board of Education.

Question 17

What did the Education Act 1907 provide? (The Young)

Answer 17

Medical inspections in schools on at least 3 occasions during a school career

Question 18

On the contrary, why would health problems go untreated? (The Young)

Answer 18

Because parents couldn’t afford to pay for the treatment. As a result, from 1912 there was free medical treatment for school treatment.

Question 19

Between 1913 and 1914, inspections were carried out. How many were carried out and for how many children? (The Young)

Answer 19

1,900,000 inspections
650,000 children

Question 20

What is a positive analysis of the Young (Medical Inspections)

Answer 20

Children would be healthier because of their medical inspections being paid for. This would allow them to grow up without health problems.

Question 21

What is a negative analysis of the Young (Medical Inspections)

Answer 21

It took until 1912 for the government to take action to provide medical treatment. They knew the extent of the health problems would be revealed by medical inspections was going to be massive. They passed an act they knew they couldn’t afford. Implies they were hoping to get away with not having to pay for treatment which shows they did not care about the children.

Question 22

What did many reformers argue, including Rowntree (The Old)

Answer 22

That the elderly were most in need of help as they usually became very poor once no longer working.

Question 23

In 1908, the Old Age Pensions Act was passed. What did this act do? (The Old)

Answer 23

People over 70 were given between one shilling and 5 shillings a week depending on any other income they had. If they had an income of over 12 shillings a week, their entitlement of a pension stopped. Married couples were given 7 shillings and six pence a week.

Question 24

By 1914 how many claimants were there? (The Old)

Answer 24

970,000

Question 25

What is a positive of the Old?

Answer 25

The pension guaranteed an income to elderly people that undoubtedly allowed many of them to avoid poverty.

Question 26

What is another positive of the Old?

Answer 26

Liberals said that the Old Age Pension was a massive success.

Question 27

What is a negative of the Old?

Answer 27

Rowntree’s study said that the least amount of money needed to survive on any given week was 7 shillings, with married couples needing 11 shillings and 8 pence. The pension was below this level. Therefore, did not eradicate poverty completely.

Question 28

What is another negative of the Old?

Answer 28

The Labour Party argued that few people would live to 70, especially given their financial situation. Therefore, they would not benefit from the pension.

Question 29

In 1906, the Liberal Government passed the Workman’s Compensation Act. What did this act do? (The Sick)

Answer 29

Workers who had to stay off work for a week due to an accident were entitled to compensation

Question 30

In 1911, the National Insurance Act was passed. What did this act do?

Answer 30

Part of it provided for a health insurance scheme. 3 payments were made into this scheme, one by the worker, one by the employer and one by the government.

Question 31

What qualifications did you need for the National Insurance Act?

Answer 31

-Be between 16 and 60, earn less that £160 a year. The worker would pay 4 pence a week, the employer 3 pence, and the government 2 pence.

Question 32

How much money would a worker receive if time had to be taken off due to illness?

Answer 32

10 shillings a week for 26 weeks. Women received less.

Question 33

What is a positive analysis of The Sick?

Answer 33

Workers were guaranteed an income for a specific time if they had to take time off work through illness.

Question 34

What is a negative analysis of The Sick?

Answer 34

Only the insured worker got free medical treatment from a doctor. Families of the worker received nothing

Question 35

What is another negative analysis of The Sick?

Answer 35

Time limit was 26 weeks. This meant that some people who were sick for longer did not receive any benefits.

Question 36

In 1909, the Liberal Government set up Labour Changes. What did these do? (The unemployed)

Answer 36

Matched unemployed workers with jobs

Question 37

What did the National Insurance Act Part 2 do? (The Unemployed)

Answer 37

It passed to help workers in some industries namely building/construction, mechanical engineering, iron founding, and construction of vehicles. This meant about 2.25 million workers were covered.

Question 38

Who helped pay for the NI Act P2? (The Unemployed)

Answer 38

It was paid for by contributions from workers, employers and the government. The worker + employer would donate 2 pence a week and the government would donate 3 pence a week.

Question 39

After 1 week of unemployment, how much would the worker be paid (The Unemployed)

Answer 39

7 shillings a week for up to 15 weeks

Question 40

What is a positive of The Unemployed?

Answer 40

Labour exchanges have been recognised by historians as a genuine attempt to help workers find jobs.

Question 41

What is another positive of The Unemployed?

Answer 41

P1 of National Insurance Act meant people were guaranteed income, albeit for 15 weeks (if unemployed). This would help insured workers avoid poverty. Since 15 weeks is a long period of time, meant likelihood of not finding work at the end of this period was slim. Therefore, workers were not likely to need any longer than 15 weeks of payment.

Question 42

What is a negative of The Unemployed?

Answer 42

Some historians argue that Labour Changes were ineffective as work was still very hard to find and wages were low. Still remain below the the poverty line.

Question 43

What is another negative of The Unemployed?

Answer 43

Workers did not choose whether or not they were going to be apart of the national insurance scheme. Therefore, they were taking a compulsory pay cut to make contributions, could make it harder for families to make ends meat.

Question 44

What is a third negative of The Unemployed?

Answer 44

If unemployment rose above 5% of the work force, the National Insurance Act scheme was unsustainable. This was a real danger.

Question 45

In 1906, the Liberals extended the Workman’s compensation act to cover a further 6 million people. What did this act do now? (The Employed)

Answer 45

Workers were allowed to claim compensation for injuries and diseases that were the result of working conditions.

Question 46

In 1908, the Coal Mines Regulation Act was passed. What does this act do? (The Employed)

Answer 46

Also known as the Eight Hours Act, this limited the working day of miners to 8 hours.

Question 47

In 1909, the Trade Boards Act was passed. What did this act do? (The Employed)

Answer 47

Protected workers in “sweated trades” like tailoring or lace makings by setting up trade boards to set minimum wages for jobs where workers could be taken advantage of.

Question 48

In 1911, a Shops Act was passed. What did this act do? (The Employed)

Answer 48

Set a limit on working hours for shop assistants and guaranteed a half day closing

Question 49

What is a positive of The Employed?

Answer 49

These measures and acts would all have helped different groups of workers to an extent and improved their general lives.

Question 50

What is a negative of The Employed?

Answer 50

Only certain jobs were being affected by these measures. Many workers were not offered any protection at all.