Causes Of Liberal Welfare Reforms

Social Investigations
1. Booth
  1. East London
    1. 30% Lived below the poverty line
  2. The Life & Labour Of The People Of London
  3. Poverty Line- Family income could not meet basic needs E.g. Food/rent/clothes
2. Rowntree
  1. York
    1. 28% were living in some degree of poverty
  2. Primary Poverty
    1. Family income fell below the 21s required to maintain physical efficiency
  3. Secondary Poverty
    1. Spending took the residual income below the poverty line
3. Highlighted that poverty was not caused by personal inadequacies but to: low wages, unemployment, sickness & old age
4. National Problem
Boer War
1. Showed the inadequacies of a non-interventionist state
2. Poor physical condition of recruits
  1. Brought the scale of poverty to the surface
  2. Manchester- 8000 of 11,000 volunteers were unfit for service
  3. 25% of volunteers rejected
3. Britain's imperial supremacy could be in danger
  1. Lack of military efficiency
  2. Concerns for the security of Britain
New Liberalism
1. Responsibility to help the poor (Philanthropy)
  1. Interventionist ideas
2. Broke away from Gladstonian Liberals
3. New generation of politicians
  1. DLG
  2. Asquith
  3. In Government positions to implement ideas
  4. Churchill
  5. Aware of social problems, failures of the Poor Law
  6. Used positions & personal motives to change direction of Govt. Social Policy
    1. Personal ambition?
Threat Of Labour
1. Chance for Liberals to prove they can do what Labour offers
  1. Competing for same votes
    1. 'Out- trumped' Labour
      1. Old age pensions
2. 1909 onwards
  1. Recession
    1. Unemployment
  2. Timed with workers reforms
    1. Occurred just before & after 1910 election following bad run of by-elections in 1907 & 1908
      1. Personal ambition of DLG & Churchill
3. Compromise- reduced chance of a more radical form of socialism
Threat Of Germany
1. Decline in British economy & industry
  1. Britain was weak in comparison to Germany
2. Germany's strength
  1. Model Army
  2. Bismarkian network of social insurance
    1. Compulsory sickness & accident insurance
    2. Old age pensions
    3. Copied by DLG
  3. Highly organised educational system
  4. Proved state intervention worked
    1. If Germany could afford to do it so could Britain
    2. Was needed to secure Britain's imperial position
3. Reforms wouldn't have been so rapid

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Causes Of Liberal Welfare Reforms

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