Liberal Reforms

• Some historians view the liberal reforms between 1906 and 1914 as the start of the modern welfare state in Britain
• 19th-century governments were conservative or Tory, believing in laissez-faire or do nothing government
• The Liberal Party won the 1906 election by a landslide
• Liberal government in 1906


  • They were not afraid of changing things and believed in government intervention in people's lives, including raising taxes and forcing people to adopt changes
• David Lloyd George

  • Famous Welsh liberal politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer, known as a great reformer, proposed the People's Budget to provide old age pensions, meals, healthcare for poor children, and sick pay for workers
• David Lloyd George wanted the government to raise more money in tax and spend more on helping people
• David Lloyd George's People's Budget faced opposition, as depicted in a cartoon titled "The Philanthropic Highwayman" in Punch magazine in 1908
• Source: 'The philanthropic Highwayman - I'll make them pity the Aged poor'
• Some people were against David Lloyd George's People's Budget


  Lloyd George is being presented as a thief in the cartoon
• Some people supported the People's Budget


  Lloyd George is described as a philanthropist who helps others in the cartoon
• David Lloyd George will help old age pensioners by collecting taxes whether people like it or not
• Reforms to Midwifery between 1902 and 1907


  Babies were delivered by qualified midwives, all births had to be registered to ensure help for mothers and protection for babies
• Free meal for all children in 1906


  Introduced to provide support
• The 1906 reform ensured that midwives knew the best and safest methods and protected babies by getting them legally registered at birth
• In 1906, all children were given a free meal at school if they needed it to help poor families feed their children
• Between 1907 and 1912, nurses performed three health checks in schools and later permanent clinics were set up to help identify emerging illnesses
• In 1908, old age pensions were introduced for individuals over the age of 70 to supplement their earnings and prevent resorting to the workhouse
• In 1909, new building standards were enforced, banning back-to-back terrace housing to improve living conditions and prevent the spread of disease
• The biggest change was the 1911 National Insurance Act, which established a sickness fund to support workers who fell ill
• Workers paid four pence a week, employers paid three pence a week, and the government paid two pence a week per worker into the sickness fund
• If a worker needed to claim sick pay and had been paying into the sickness fund, they received 10 shillings a week for up to 26 weeks to cover bills and medical fees
• The National Insurance Act aimed to provide support in case of illness, similar to car insurance where you hope you never need it but are glad it's there if you do
• The idea for the National Insurance Act may have been inspired by the Great Western Railway's sick fund, which workers were willing to contribute to for care in case of injury or illness
• Advantages of the National Insurance Act included sick pay for workers, contributions from the government and employers, but healthcare still had to be paid for out of the sick fund
• The sick pay lasted for 26 weeks, so long-term illnesses were not fully covered
• Disadvantages of the sickness fund

  • Healthcare not free, people expected to pay for it out of their sick fund
  • Sick pay only lasted 26 weeks, long-term illnesses not covered
  • Unemployed and elderly not covered as they could not pay into the work sick fund
• The sickness fund is not like the NHS, it is the very start of the idea of everyone paying a little bit for healthcare
• National Insurance helped a large number of poorer people but was also tremendously expensive
• Ordinary people and rich people alike had to contribute to National Insurance, which could be unpopular
• National Insurance marked a move away from laissez-faire government principles
• Some wealthier people didn't like the government meddling with the lives of individuals
• Source A: 'The dawn of Hope National Insurance against sickness and disablement'
• Source A suggests that the reforms helped people and were popular with workers
• Source A suggests that not everyone supported the reforms as the Liberals felt the need to convince people with a campaign
• Source A was produced by the liberal party, so it gives a biased view in favor of the reforms
• Source A tells us nothing about the reasons why people oppose the plans or how many did
• Source B: 'Now gentlemen after these refreshing preliminaries let us get to business'
• Source B suggests there was fierce opposition to the plans
• Source B suggests Lloyd George was able to introduce his budget despite opposition
• Source B contains few specific details about who supported plans and who didn't