To what extent did the Liberal Reforms (1906-1914) improve the lives of the British people Essay Example

To what extent did the Liberal Reforms (1906 To what extent did the Liberal Reforms (1906-1914) improve the lives of the British people Essay To what extent did the Liberal Reforms (1906-1914) improve the lives of the British people Essay Prior to the Liberal Reforms between 1906 and 1914 British people in and out of poverty had had to take care of themselves. The Conservatives had been running the country for almost 20 years and many people were in desperate need of change. In 1906 the liberals were elected and were led by Campbell Bannerman, however he made little attempt to solve the problems facing Britain, with the exception of that Education (Administrative provisions) act and the Education (Provision of meals) act. A short while later Asquith became prime minister and with his appointments David Lloyd George and Winston Churchill, they began to battle against poverty and introduce effective reforms. The five most vulnerable groups in society which suffered were: the young, the old, the sick, the employed and the unemployed of Britain at the time. Children hadnt received good education and were unable to find good jobs and earn decent wages because of their poor education. They often died of malnutrition and they had very poor diets as schools rarely provided school meals and medicine to protect them. They were also extremely unclean. The only way that children could hope to stay alive was through their beggars income, which even then covered very little of the basic necessities. The old suffered as they were on fixed pensions and as the prices rose through recession their money became worthless and they couldnt afford basic necessities anymore. The old desperately needed money to keep them above the poverty line. The sick were suffering from poverty as they werent able to find decent, well paying jobs because they werent fit enough to work. The unemployed suffered from terrible poverty as they werent able to maintain a good job, or find a new one. They never had money coming into their household and therefore never managed to keep above the poverty line. The employed managed to earn money that supplied the basic necessities however they had to endure terrible working conditions and didnt receive the money they were entitled to for the work they did. Liberal Reforms were introduced to help solve the problems facing these five different groups. The acts were successful to a certain extent as they helped to solve some problems for the British public, however they werent completely successful as there were still many problems facing the British public and thousands more people still suffered greatly from poverty at the time. Acts were introduced to aid the young, the old, the sick, the unemployed and the employed. There were three important acts introduced to aid children through recession and British poverty among the lower and working classes. Children suffered at school as they had very poor diets and were extremely unclean. Some didnt attend school, however this was solved when secondary education became compulsory, and this allowed teachers to realise for the first time just how bad poverty for children was. The first act was the Education (Provision of Meals) Act of 1906. This act saw the government providing hundreds of British schools with free school meals to try and improve childrens diets and ensure they got at least one hot meal a day, depending on the familys level of poverty. The act saw a large increase in meals, from 3 million in 1906, to 9 million in 1910, to a huge 14 million in 1914. A big supporter in the introduction of this act was Margaret Bradford who one stated feed the stomach, then the mind. This was useful information as studies showed that children who ate properly and had good diets, learned better and achieved a higher success rate, than those who suffered from poor hygiene and poor diets. The act therefore was rather successful, as childrens success rates increased, and children didnt feel forced as the act was compulsory. However it showed flaws as 50% of local authorities didnt supply school meals for free and many children still died of malnutrition. The second act introduced to benefit children was the Education (Administrative Provisions) Act of 1907 which provided free medical inspections to schools. The government disliked this act as it would reveal how unhealthy and unstable the children of society were. Compared to the United States of America, British children were much shorter and much lighter. Between 80 and 90% of children in British society suffered from rotting teeth and many contracted lice. The act was successful as the problems with children were uncovered concerning hygiene and diet. Diseases and illnesses could now be identified on children, however it was flawed as the problems would be identified but didnt always need to be treated or attended to. This was until a grant was given in 1912 to set up school clinics. However the liberals took almost 3 years to fully establish them. The third act introduced was the Childrens Act of 1908 also known as the childrens charter. This act prevented children from smoking and drinking, as well as buying cigarettes and alcohol under the age of 16, also abuse to children was forbidden and parents, now by law werent allowed to neglect their children. Juvenile courts were set up, so that young offenders werent abused in adult prisons. Young offenders were sent to borstals were they would receive a proper education in a corrective school. Once young offenders had completed their jail or borstal sentence they would be given a probation officer to help them change their ways. The act was successful as children would be safe, and would be free from abuse from adult prisons and could grasp a better idea of a better and more fulfilling life from their detention centres and borstals. However the act was unsuccessful as the children lost their begging income and slipped further into poverty. The second large group that were vulnerable to British society were the old. There was one important act introduced to aid the old through recession and British poverty among the lower and working classes. Prior to this reform the old had been one of the worst suffering groups in the British society. They had next to nothing in the way of money, and often had to reply on their families for money, but they were often of a lower class aswel and struggled greatly. Any money that the old did receive would be through pensions, and even then they would be of a minimal amount and wouldnt be enough for them to afford the basic necessities. The act introduced to ease the stress and anxiety of the old was the 1908 old age pensions act. The act had been introduced by David Lloyd George who wanted to help the old greatly as he felt it was unfair for them to suffer with the British poverty crisis. He had been a member of the Chaplin committee which showed his compassion for the old. The act was based on the German pensions scheme, which Lloyd George had been impressed by on a visit to Germany. The act had several conditions: anyone applying had to fit with these conditions before they could be granted the pension scheme benefits. The individual had to have lived in Britain for over 20 years, not been arrested for 20 years, not been drunk and convicted within the last 10 years, they werent granted any money if they had been fired from their work either, Also they had to be over the age of 70. If they qualified for the pensions act then they would receive between 1 and 5 shillings a week, but according to the poverty reports compiled by Booth and Rowntree people needed a minimum of 7 shillings a week to remain above the poverty line. It was estimated that around 500,000 people would apply to the pensions scheme, but in fact a massive 650,000 applied in 1909 and 1 million in 1914. The elderly were benefited greatly from this reform and they were very grateful towards Lloyd George and often referred to him as Lord George as they though Mr. was an understatement. He was viewed as a saint. Overall we can see that the reform introduced to aid the old though poverty was very beneficial as older people now had a longer life expectancy as they were now able to afford more of their basic necessities and were more fulfilled because of it. However, the act showed some weakness as the scheme was only granted to over 70s and terms and conditions applied, which were very harsh. So the act helped ease stress and anxiety but wasnt very successful in the long run. The third large group that were vulnerable to British society were the sick. There was one important act introduced to aid the sick through recession and British poverty among the lower and working classes. Prior to this reform the sick had been viewed as perhaps the most vulnerable group in society during the times of the poverty crisis. The sick were affected greatly as the biggest cases of illness and disease occurred within the working classes and peasants, which meant that they couldnt afford proper health care or medicine to try and help them get better. Also, as they were sick they couldnt get good well paying jobs as employers werent willing to hire a sick person and risk the rest of his employees getting sick aswel. The act introduced to aid the sick from the poverty crisis was the National Insurance Act part I of 1911. This act saw the sick receive free medical inspections and treatment which were free, which would restore them to full health and they would be able to find decent jobs and earn some money to keep them above the poverty line. Lloyd George had been impressed with the Germans methods to helping the sick, on a trip to Germany and wanted to continue a similar idea in Britain. The act was very flawed and Lloyd George admitted this himself by saying that he thought the act needed more work, but this was all the liberals could do at that time. The insurance from the sick had to be taxed from their small wages and minimal income. This made the government feel guilty for taking what little money they had left to buy into an insurance scheme. Overall we can see that the act was successful as the free medical inspections and treatment insured that they received good and accurate prescriptions and were nursed back to full health, which meant they could find jobs and earn a decent income. However the act was very flawed as the orphan and widow benefits were dropped as the government couldnt afford the insurance scheme without this extra money. Also it showed unsuccessfulness as if the sick worker was insured then this reform wouldnt benefit them at all. The fourth large group that were vulnerable to British society were the unemployed. There were two important acts introduced to aid the unemployed through recession and British poverty among the lower and working classes. Prior to the reforms the unemployed had suffered greatly. They were unable to hold down decent jobs and therefore didnt receive a proper wage. Middle classes blamed poverty among the unemployed and their inability to find work on laziness and reluctance. Two acts were introduced to try and aid the unemployed from the poverty crisis. The first of these acts was the National Insurance act part II of 1911. This act made sure that the unemployed received unemployment insurance. Workers had to pay into a state scheme at 2 1/2 d a week to be able to receive payments. Employers had to pay 2 1/2 d a week aswel. Also, the state put 3d into the scheme. This insurance scheme was aimed mostly at shipbuilders and construction workers. The unemployed only received 15 weeks of payment a year at 7 shillings a week, but this wasnt enough to keep them out of poverty. More and more people found themselves being sacked which meant they wouldnt be eligible to receive the insurance scheme money. By 1915 around 2. 3 million people were insured under this scheme. This act was successful as hundreds of unemployed people now received and were introduced into the insurance scheme despite the fact they were unemployed, which insured that had at least some cover which they could easily afford. However the act showed flaw, as they only received 15 weeks of 7 shillings a year, and this wasnt quite enough to cover the basic necessities. Also, the scheme didnt accommodate family cover which meant that if another family member was injured or needed money for something then they would have to pay the full price, which would often be very expensive, and some couldnt afford it. The second act introduced to aid the unemployed from the poverty crisis was the 1909 Labour Exchanges act. This act was very popular with the British people. It provided a more efficient method of finding jobs. Almost 3000 jobs were now available a day. In 1910 there were around 83 labours and by 1913 it had increased to a massive 430. There was also a wider range of jobs which meant that people could find jobs more suited to the skills they had. This act was successful as there were many more jobs available for the unemployed and this meant they could earn decent wages to afford the basic necessities. Overall we can see that the reforms introduced to aid the unemployed from the poverty crisis helped to a certain extent. They were successful as people now had more help and a large push to find a job and earn wages. Also, the unemployed received and were introduced into an insurance scheme which paid them money for 15 weeks in the year. However, the act was unsuccessful as the insurance scheme didnt accommodate family cover and it only paid 15 weeks a year at 7 shillings of money which wasnt enough to cover the basic necessities. Also the Labour Exchanges act only opened up jobs for some trades which were very limiting for people who didnt have many skills. The fifth large group that were vulnerable to British society were the employed. There were four important acts introduced to aid the employed through recession and British poverty among the lower and working classes. Prior to the reforms the employed had suffered largely due to the conditions that they had to endure at work; Mostly because of the long working hours and poor working conditions that they worked with. The first act to be introduced to aid the employed from the poverty crisis was the Workmens Compensation act of 1906. This act provided compensation for injuries sustained at work. There were other acts like this introduced in 1897 and 1900 which failed, which led to people believing that this act would fail aswel. However, they were proved wrong. The act was very successful as employers took a giant step to improve the conditions of the workplace so that they wouldnt have to pay out compensation to injured workers. The second act to be introduced to aid the employed from the poverty crisis was the Coal Mines act of 1908 which granted coal mine workers an 8 hour day. This act had been protested for approximately 40 years before it was introduced. This was very beneficial as before coal mine workers had had to work for long hours in very poor and enclosed conditions. Many workers often died from toxic fumes and diseases contracted within such a close proximity. The act benefited millions of workers. The third act to be introduced to aid the employed from the poverty crisis was the Trades Board act of 1908. This act hoped to define a minimum wage for those who worked in the sweated industry such as the match stick makers and match stick box makers. This act involved over 200,000 people. However the act only affected some trades. Also, it concluded that no decision was actually made to define a minimum wage, therefore proving the act was very unsuccessful. The fourth act to be introduced to aid the employed from the poverty crisis was the Shops Act of 1911. This act insured that shop workers received a half day of from work. This act also gave shop workers a lunch break so that they could eat food and try to maintain a proper diet. Overall we can see that the reforms introduced to aid the employed from the poverty crisis were quite successful with the exception of the Trades Board act, as they insured that workers were granted compensation for injuries they sustained at work which meant that employers would have to improve their companies so that they wouldnt have to pay up. Also, the reforms meant that coal miners would be granted fewer working hours and wouldnt catch terrible diseases and suffer from toxic fumes. Also shop workers didnt have to work for long hours and even got a lunch break. However, the reforms showed flaws as the acts didnt apply to all trades and the Trades Board act was completely unsuccessful at defining a minimum wage. In conclusion it can be stated that the Liberal Reforms (1906-1914) helped improve the lives of the British people to a great extent. Children were benefited as they were granted at least one hot meal a day, they received free medical inspections and were protected from abuse and secondary education was compulsory. However, the lost their beggars income and the diseased that could be identified didnt have to be treated. The old were benefited as they received good pension which would support them and give them a relaxing future. However, it was a fixed pension that didnt keep them out of poverty, as not enough money was provided. The sick were benefited as they received free medical inspections and treatment and were covered under the insurance scheme, for a low cost. However, they found it hard to find work as employers were reluctant to employ the sick incase they infected the rest of the employees. The unemployed were helped to find work with the introduction of Labour Exchanges which were very beneficial. However it was flawed as they only received 15 weeks of payment a year which didnt cover the basic necessities. The employed were benefited as their working conditions were improved and their hours as well as their wages increased cut to keep them healthier. However the conditions only applied to some trades. Therefore it is apparent that the Liberal Reforms introduced between 1906 and 1914 helped improve the lives of the British people to a great extent.