Why was it significant that Rolls had to go north to see Royce

rather than the other way round?

A power shift in society was taking place. The aristocrats were losing out to the middle classes and the upper working classes were gaining political power through the vote. Women were also

campaigning for the vote.

The Liberals in Power: The impact of

‘New Liberalism’L/O:

• To understand what is meant by the term ‘New Liberalism’

• To learn about the social reforms of the Liberals• To assess the impact of these reforms

Task 1 – What did ‘New Liberals’ believe?

‘Old’ Liberalism ‘New’ Liberalism

The role of the state

The state should interfere as little as possible (laissez-faire)

Welfare provision

The state should not intervene because otherwise people would have no incentive to help themselves

Taxes Taxes should be as low as possible so that people can spend their money as they wish.

‘Old’ Liberalism ‘New’ Liberalism

The role of the state

The state should interfere as little as possible (laissez-faire)

There are circumstances in which the state should intervene.

Welfare provision

The state should not intervene because otherwise people would have no incentive to help themselves

The state should help the poorest members of society and in so doing would provide them with liberty.

Taxes Taxes should be as low as possible so that people can spend their money as they wish.

Taxes should be raised to pay for welfare schemes designed to help vulnerable members of society.

Lloyd George's New Liberalism

'The old Liberals used the natural discontent of the people with the poverty and precariousness of the means of

subsistence as a motive power to win for them a better, more influential, and more honourable status in the

citizenship of their native land. The new Liberalism, while pursuing this great political ideal with unflinching energy, devotes a part of its endeavour also to the removing of the immediate causes of discontent. It is true that man cannot

live by bread alone. It is equally true that a man cannot live without bread.'

Hobhouse on Reform

'There is somewhere a defect in the social system, a hitch in the economic machine. Now, the individual

workman cannot put the machine straight. He is the last person to have any say in the control of the

market ... He does not direct or regulate industry. He is not responsible for its ups and downs, but he has to

pay for them. That is why it is not charity but justice for which he is asking.'

The Causes

of Poverty

Exam Question

June 2009

Read your book and complete

WHY DID THE LIBERAL GOVERNMENT WANT TO

PASS SOCIAL REFORMS?

A policy of social reform had useful political advantages . . .

Events in Germany and the USA

The development of ‘new’ trade unions . . .

The work of Booth and Rowntree . . .

The campaign for national efficiency . . .

The development of New Liberalism . . .

Provision for the poor was not good enough

Fear of revolution . . .

The Liberals: 1906-1908

• Prime Minister Campbell-Bannerman remained a traditional Liberal.

• Fulfilled their election promises– Ended the import of Chinese labour into South Africa– Trade Disputes Act (1906) to reverse the Taff Vale

judgement– An Education Bill was introduced to try and satisfy the

Nonconformists BUT it was defeated in the House of Lords.

• Campbell-Bannerman resigns (due to ill health) in 1908 and we start to see the ‘New Liberals’ having more influence.

What did the Liberals actually do?

• Colour-code your reforms:– Those which help:

• Children• Women• Workers• The Unemployed• The Elderly• The Sick

How important was the aim of reducing poverty in explaining the Liberal governments’

social reforms in the years 1906 to 1914? (24 marks)

Three main historical interpretations

Essay structure:Short answer: Poverty very important (perhaps the most important reason) but two other developments

also helped bring about social reform

1. A genuine desire to help the poor

2. Drive for national efficiency

3. Party political motives

You must provide evidence to support the idea that there was a genuine motive to help the poor despite the cost of such a policy change

Explain and provide evidence that a moral concern for the poor was not the only reason for social reform. There was also a fear for the health of the nation. It is very hard to distinguish between motives 1 and 2

There is plenty of evidence to suggest that the Liberals felt that social reform would guarantee their position as a significant political force.

1. A genuine desire to help the poor

1. A genuine desire to help the poor

1. YELLOW: Upper-middle and Upper classes. Wealthy. 2. RED: Middle class. Well-to-do3. PINK: Fairly comfortable. Good ordinary earnings. 4. BLUE: Poor. 18s. to 21s. a week for a moderate family

Whitechapel

1. Genuine desire to help the poor

"We want to draw a line — below which we will not allow persons to live”

1. Genuine desire to help the poor

a) The influence of the reports on the extent of poverty by Charles Booth (London) and Seebohm Rowntree (York). Quantitative evidence of the level of poverty in urban areas.

b) New Liberalism, of which Lloyd George and Churchill were important practitioners, had as a major objective the reduction and alleviation of poverty

c) Humane and religious concern within the Liberal governments and Party about poverty itself.

2. Drive for national efficiency

2. Drive for national efficiency

2. Drive for national efficiency

a) New Liberalism had national efficiency as well as welfare as an objective

b) Desire to avoid in future the poor military performance as in the Boer War

c) Revelations about the physical (and educational) condition of recruits

d) Report on Physical Deterioration of 1904

e) deteriorating relations with Germany before 1914

3. Party political motives

3. Party political motives

“The Emancipator of Labor and the Honest Working People” US cartoon from 1874.

3. Party political motivesa) Political rivalry from the new Labour Party

and trade union movement

b) Pressure from that Party especially in connection with the Lib-Lab Pact and parliamentary situation following the elections of 1910

c) Desire to compensate for the lack of social reform by the Conservatives before 1906

d) Clearly distinguish the Liberals from the Unionists.

e) Reforms a reflection of the shift in the balance of power in Britain

Connecting the essay

Causes one and two are hard to disentangle as it is difficult to say whether the liberal's desire to eradicate poverty was more based on a moral dislike of poverty or a real concern for the health of the nation in connection with work and war.

Final Task (and Homework) How effective were the Liberal Reforms?

• Work in groups of 3.

• Each of you complete one sheet:

• How effective were the Liberal reforms in helping __________?– On the one hand . . . – However, on the other hand . . .