Why did the Liberal party try to help the poor?

1. Why did the Liberal party try to help the poor? Laissez Faire to Interventionism

2. Copy What is meant by “Social Welfare”? “Social Welfare” means the well-being of all the people in the land.

3. What areas of life does the term “Social Welfare” apply to? Copy • Health • Education • living and working conditions • Unemployment • old age NO WORK!

4. By the middle of the 19th century governments were forced to ask themselves - Should a government interfere in the nation’s social welfare? Should governments try to end poverty and solve other social problems?

5. Why did governments have to start tackling poverty? The following factors increased the numbers of poor and, by their sheer scale, made their problems everyone’s problems: • The Industrial Revolution • The growth of the UK’s population • The urbanisation of the UK population Why would this cause social problems?

6. Classwork Date:________ Why did the Liberals Reform Poverty? Starter: 4 kinds of freedom Think of examples of each kind Physical Mental By others By self HW: Choose extended essay topic Do activities at end of chapter on Liberal Reforms Due on: Mon

7. Solve the problems of the poor Amy is a miner’s wife in Newbattle in 1840. It is astonishingly expensive to buy food in the area. The one shop is owned by the mine which charges up to double the original cost of goods. You have no time to go into Edinburgh to buy things because you’re working. Anyway it would cost to travel that far. The shop also gives you credit which is docked directly from your salary.Solve it… Kieran is a fisherman in Musselburgh in 1840. Roughly once a week someone gets killed at sea. You hope it won’t be you, but if it is- what would happen to your wife and 11 children? Or what would happen even if you just got badly injured? Isla is a papermaker in Bilston in 1840. Your bosses have cut your wages again. You cannot do anything except make paper, and there are no other paper factories nearby. What will you do? Regine is a docker in Leith. Everyday he goes to ask for work, but what happens when he can’t get work. The rest of the class work down the mines in Newbattle. They earn some money for their parents (though not much). One of you- Rhys, wants to better himself by getting an education- but it’s too expensive. What can he do?

8. Why did the Liberal party try to help the poor? Researchers National security National efficiency New ideas Political advantage Hans Rosling on improvements in health and poverty

9. What was the 19th century attitude to the poor? • = government should interfere in peoples’ lives as little as possible. • People = self-reliant. • Politicians reluctant = very expensive • = taxes for rich

10. 19th C attitude = ‘Laissez-faire’ • = Government should not pass lots of laws • “Laissez Faire” = to “leave alone” Copy

11. Copy What did Victorians believe caused poverty?

12. Norman Pearson believed… the poor were “made of inferior material…and cannot be improved…” [They are] poor in their blood and their bones”. He even went on to say they should be prevented from breeding!

13. Why Laissez-Faire? • + severe economic depression in the late 1800s • = mass unemployment • So government help = very expensive • =Taxes increase for everyone • Rich felt…why should they help the lazy, drunken, poor people Where does the money come from?

14. So how did Victorians help the poor? • “The poor should meet all the ordinary circumstances of life, relying not upon public or private charity, but upon their own industry and thrift, and upon the powers of self-help that are to be developed by individual and collective effort.”Charity Organisation Society, 1876 • Good works = private charity • Poor law = the work house

15. What was laissez-faire? Put these statements in your own words Adam Smith Man is an animal that makes bargains: no other animal does this - no dog exchanges bones with another. Samuel Smiles A drunkard in the gutter is just where he ought to be. Asquith The first duty of Liberal government is the reduction of expenditure. John Bright To sell freely would be a great advantage, as to buy freely is a great advantage Samuel Smiles (again) Whatever is done for men..takes away the necessity for doing it themselves…and to … render them helpless… The Bible The poor are always with us. Love your neighbour as yourself.

16. TASK! Explain in a paragraph or more what Laissez-Faire meant and how society viewed the poor. Go on to give details of why the government did not help with the social problems of the time. Also, why did Britain need a welfare state?

17. What was the alternative to Laissez-Faire? • = “Interventionism”, = government intervenes by passing a law to solve a social problem. Copy

18. Why did governments begin to help the poor? • Self help shown not to work Copy

19. Why did Laissez-faire not work? Problem of poverty grew • 1870s-90s depression- unemployment • Poor law overloaded • Charities not affective for all poor • Booth and Rowntree Reports showed self- help didn’t work • Bitter Cry of Outcast London • Boer War Shifting views of: Quaker manufacturers: Cadbury, Rowntree Politicians: Joe Chamberlain, Churchill “I see little glory in an Empire which can rule the waves and is unable to flush the sewers”

20. Why did the Liberals start to move away from Laissez-faire? • What was Laissez-faire? • Who wrote shocking reports on poverty... • What did the reports say? • Which war were recruits too weak for? • What was the reason for their weakness? • Which countries were threatening Britain? • How were they beating Britain? • Who were the ‘New Liberals?’ • What was new about them? • Which party was threatening to take the Liberals’ votes?

21. Why did the Liberals start to move away from Laissez-faire? • Reports of Booth and Rowntree • National security • National efficiency • New Liberalism • (Compassion) • Political advantage: Pressure from the Labour movement • Liberal politicians wanting to make their names • Need to seem different from the Conservatives

22. Reason for change #1The researchers: Booth • Charles Booth, “Life and labour of the people of London”, 1892. • Discovered that some 30% of London’s population were poor.

23. Distribution of the different classes in London, 1892. Booth

24. Booth’s findings • Charles Booth created classifications for the people that he interviewed A—the lowest class—occasional workers, loafers and semi-criminals B—the very poor—casual labour, hand-to-mouth existence, chronic want C and D—the Poor— including small earnings due to irregular employment, and ill-paid but regular workers E and F— the regularly employed and fairly paid working class of all grades Copy Almost 31% of all people in his findings were in poverty!

25. What does this source show us? How useful is it?

26. The researchers: Rowntree • Seebohm Rowntree, “Poverty: a study of town life, 1901”, York. • His findings supported Booth’s research and proved that London was not a special case. • Developed the idea of the “Poverty cycle” & poverty line

27. Rowntree’s findings Copy • Seebhom Rowntree established what a family needed to earn to buy adequate food and fuel and to pay rent • He found that 52% of people were very poor, were paid wages too low to sustain an adequate life • Around 21% of families lived in misery because the chief wage earner had died or was too ill or too old to work 247 infants per 1000 in poor areas died before the age of 1 (compared with 94 from wealthy families)

28. What then were the real causes of poverty? They were: • Low wages • Seasonal or intermittent work • Illness and/or accident • Lack of education • Large families • Old age Copy

30. So did the research of these men change public attitudes? • Yes, though slowly (largely because of the expense which was going to be involved in solving social problems)

31. Reason for change #2National Security • 1899 Boer war. • 25% of recruits unfit • How could they protect Britain’s empire? • Inter-departmental Committee on Physical Deterioration 1904 report • Recommended free school meals and medical examinations to improve health

32. Reason for change #3National Efficiency • 1860 Britain richest country in world • 1890 Germany, USA overtaking • Germany had pensions & welfare benefits • Maybe this why their workers could produce more?

33. Reason for change #4Political advantage • Working classes got vote 1884 • Labour party set up in 1900 • Liberals needed ‘New’ idea to attract them • Young Liberal politicians needed to get famous- eg Churchill, Chamberlain, Lloyd-George • Death of ‘Old Liberal’ PM Campbell Bannerman, 1908

34. Reason for change #5‘New Liberal’ ideas • Chamberlain in Birmingham- many public projects eg sewers, housing • People more used to government intervention- eg Factory Acts, Health Acts • ‘level playing field’ – ie to be free you need to have an equal chance in life from the start Q: Explain why it is ‘Liberal’ (= freedom) to have a level playing field

35. Other reasons for change #6 • 20 years of Consevatives in power by 1906- needed to win votes • Compassion- ie ‘the right thing to do’

36. Political Pragmatism? the Liberals could lose votes to Labour if nothing was done to improve the poor conditions Pressure from reports on poverty? Rowntree and Booth Make the middle box happen: Why did the Liberals reform? Use your notes, & Wood, p.87-96 to provide evidence National Efficiency? Britain was no longer the top industrial nation National Security? Could Britain defend itself in a major conflict? New liberalism? New ideas for state intervention

37. Why did the Liberals reform? • Use a textbook to find evidence= names, nos, dates, quotes • Political advantage & the rise of Labour • Were Labour increasing their vote? Wood, p. 51 col 2 • Is there evidence that the Liberals were worried p. 52-3 • Is there evidence that Labour wasn’t really a threat? P. 54 • Research into poverty • P. 83 of Wood • Evidence that the old system wasn’t working p. 89 • Changing ideas / Politicians and New Liberals • P. 90-2- get some quotes to show what they were thinking • National security • P. 93

38. Liberal Reforms (1906-1914) • A large programme of social reform took place to help • They tried to show they understood poverty and why it was a problem • They wanted to make changes through reform because of the following

39. British Prime Ministers • Disraeli Cons 1867 • Gladstone Lib 1884 • Salisbury Cons 1890s • Campbell Bannerman Lib 1906 • Asquith Lib 1908 • Lloyd-George Lib 1915 • MacDonald Lab 1924 • Baldwin / Chamberlain Cons 1930s • Churchill Cons 1940 • Attlee Lab 1945

40. What was Britain like in 1906? • http://clickview.mgfl.net:9053/Player.htm?442 • Watch Andrew Marr’s ‘History of Britain’ • Note 20+ facts under the headings: • Women • Poverty • Liberal Reforms

41. What were the solutions of the Liberal Government? Royal Commission 1905 Campbell-Bannerman PM 1906 Landslide election New Liberal ideas • Higher spending to relieve poverty • Higher taxes to raise money • Budget 1909 • Income tax, super tax, duties, land tax

42. Conclusion • increasing awareness of the true causes of poverty • reformers said old Poor Law of 1832 = inadequate. • Move for government to create ‘level playing field’

43. How successful were the Liberal Reforms? Int 2: answer questions on p. 27- 44 of your booklet Highers: Read p. 96-103 of Wood & answer: • How successfully did the Liberals raise money to pay for reform? • What problems were there with officials to run the reforms? • Find 3 improvements and 3 problems with reforms for children • Quote & fact to prove that reforms for the elderly were successful • Find 3 improvements and 3 problems with employment reforms • Find 3 criticisms of the reforms in Health insurance

44. HW: exam question Highers: Answer exam question To what extent was the rise of the Labour movement the main reason for the Liberal Reforms?

45. TASK On page 93 of Wood, answer all five of the questions. These questions ask for your opinion as to whether you feel the government of the time was effective in their reforming Britain or could they have done more? BE DETAILED!