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The reasons behind the Liberal Party's introduction of social reforms in the UK between 1906 and 1914. The document highlights three key motivations: the social investigations of Charles Booth and Seebohm Rowntree, the physical inadequacies of recruits for the Boer War, and the threat of Germany's industrial, economic, and military dominance. The findings of Booth and Rowntree exposed the extent of poverty in England and challenged the prevailing belief that poverty was due to personal inadequacies. The poor physical condition of recruits for the Boer War raised concerns about Britain's ability to defend itself against foreign threats. The success of Germany's social welfare system provided a model for British politicians to adopt state intervention and improve the nation's efficiency.
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Why did the Liberals introduce Social reform 1906-1914? Ever since the Liberal’s implemented social reform 1906-1914, historians have been divided as to why such reform occurred. However, there are some key reasons why the Liberal’s implemented reform: Reason 1: Social investigations of Booth and Rowntree At the end of the nineteenth century middle class social explorers such as Charles Booth and the Quaker social reformer Seebohm Rowntree highlighted unprecedented levels of poverty in different parts of England. From Booth’s investigation of the social conditions of East London he published The Life and Labour of the People of London , which appeared 1889
Reason 2 : The Boer War and National Efficiency The greatest motive for reform was the poor physical condition of recruits for the Boer War that brought the scale of poverty unearthed by Booth and Rowntree to the surface, and showed the inadequacies of a non- interventionist state. Conflict in the Boer War at the end of the nineteenth century sent warnings that Britain’s imperial supremacy could be in danger of disintegrating due to the physical inadequacies of a large number of recruits who were deemed unfit for service. In Manchester 8, 000 out of 11, would-be volunteers were turned away.^2 However, even in conflict it appeared that Britain had lost its military supremacy as the supposedly mighty Imperial power, had some difficulty in defeating a relatively small number of Boer farmers. The lack of military efficiency on the battlefield and the physical inadequacies of the male populace led to the term ‘national efficiency’ becoming part of the political language of Edwardian Britain. The mishaps of the Boer War brought great concerns for the security of Britain against her European neighbors especially an increasingly militaristic Germany who were after their own ‘place in the sun.’ (Lands abroad) 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 politics between 1906 – 1914. When the Boer War started in 1899 volunteers rushed to join up but almost 25% of them were rejected on the grounds that they were not fit enough. If men of military age were so unfit for service, the government worried about Britain’s future ability to defend itself against a stronger enemy. Reason 3: Britain’s place in the World and the threat of Germany With the mishaps of the Boer War and a decline in the British economy and industry (taken over by Germany and America) it was clear that Britain was weak compared to its European neighbor Germany. Therefore, questions had to be raised to why Germany had overtaken Britain economically, industrially and militarily? It became obvious that the Germans were more prosperous due to their commitment to ‘national efficiency.’ Britain for all her ‘personal liberty’, boasted of nothing that could rival Germany’s model army, Bismarkian network of social insurance, or the highly organised educational system. The reference to ‘Bismarkian’ was to the compulsory sickness and (^2) G.R. Searle, The Quest for National Efficiency (London, 1990) page 60
conscience which could legislate in the interest of the poor and that there was no need for a party designated to this one sole interest in society.^4 The threat of Labour as a motive for reform in the early period of Government is unimportant. However, the growing threat of Labour began to be felt from 1909 onwards due to high unemployment caused by Britain entering a recession. This led to great discontent among the masses, which is clear from the bad run of by-election results in 1907 and 1908, with Conservatives and Labour winning seats. A threat was therefore obvious to those politically astute politicians such as Lloyd George. It is therefore no coincidence with growing discontent due to unemployment from the working class and the gain of seats in by-elections by Labour that the most revolutionary Liberal reforms occurred before the 1910 election and after. The most important pre- election legislation was Winston Churchill’s Labour Exchange Act, and Lloyd George’s famous, ‘Peoples Budget’ of 1909 which taxed the rich for the poor. Many historians believe that the Liberal Reforms were passed for very selfish reasons. Since 1884 most working class men had the vote and the Liberals wanted to attract those votes. But by 1906 a new party-the Labour Party-was competing for the same votes. If the Liberals were seen as unsympathetic to the poor, what might happen at elections in the future? It was therefore to the political advantage of the Liberal government to offer social reform, even if they did not fully believe in the principle of government intervention. Many historians see the Liberal social reforms as a response to the growth of socialism at the start of the twentieth century. In 1906 the Labour Party was founded to represent the working class in Parliament. The Labour Party was committed to a programme of social reforms such as old age pensions. Twenty-nine Labour MP’s were elected to Parliament in 1906. Many Liberals felt that Labour had the potential to replace them as the main alternative to the Conservatives. A Liberal programme of social reform could out-trump Labour and stop the working class defecting to them. There was also a deep concern that a more radical brand of socialism, committed to the destruction of the capitalist system, might arise if action was not taken to improve conditions for the working class. By 1900 most working men had the vote. Workers now had some al power. They would obviously vote for the party which promised to improve their conditions. The Labour Movement was calling for old age pensions and for action against unemployment. (^4) D. Fraser, The Evolution of the British Welfare State (Hampshire, 2003) page 161
The Liberals therefore had to keep an eye on the Labour threat and so deal with social questions. Many Liberals regarded social reforms as an antidote to socialism. So the fear of socialism did play an important part in causing the Liberal reforms. One of the reasons Lloyd George and Winston Churchill pushed for limited state intervention was to draw support away from the Labour Party. between 1906 and 1914 the Liberals launched into one of the biggest programmes of social reform ever. The question you must be prepared to answer is why the Liberals carried out so many reforms. You should be able to identify the most important reasons and explain them. Overall, the Liberals saw social reform as a way of heading off socialism. They hoped that a system that gave people a degree of social and economic independence would be an insurance against the spread of socialism.
Reasons for the Liberal Reforms.
1. Explain how the investigations of Booth and Rowntree helped to **change attitudes to poverty.
12. Explain how fear for Britain’s place in the world caused the Liberals to introduce their programme of social reform. P (This is often referred to as the “National Efficiency” argument).