LIBERAL REFORMS

The Background 1890-1905

By 1890:
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Hours of work were reduced and working conditions improved

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Houses were healthier slum clearance had started. Most houses had piped water and lavatories
connected to a sewerage system
All children had to go to school and education was free
All male householders had the right to vote in elections
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Wages had risen and the average family was better off

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1. The Salvation Army and circles of poverty

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William and Catherine Booth instead of waiting for the poor to come to them, they went to the
poor (instead of the poor coming to find them)

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Their mission in East London expanded until 1878, it had around 45 branches and was called the
salvation army

called majors and captains

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It was organised rather like an army, with William Booth as the general and full time workers

They used attention grabbing techniques e.g. smart uniforms and brass badge, to attract the

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crowd and bring in the money
By 1900 it was running its own training centres, a labour exchange to help people find jobs, a
farm and brick works to employ and train the poor

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They gathered a great deal of information about the poor and causes of poverty, this showed that
causes of poverty were beyond the control of ordinary people it was not their fault that they
were poor.
He described poverty and the poor in terms of 3 circles: those who live by crime, those who live
by vice and the starving and homeless, but honest poor.

2. Charles Booth and the Poverty Line

He born into a wealthy, Liverpool ship-owning family and in mid-1870s he moved the company
offices to London
He set up a team of investors to investigate in poverty
Over a period of 17 years (1886-1903) he and his team investigated the living conditions, income
and spending of over 4,000 people and reported their findings on a regular basis
He found that 31% of Londoners were living below what he called the poverty line, which means
that they didnt have the money to buy enough food, shelter and clothing
He divided the poor into 4 groups:

Class A: The Lowest Class, street sellers, criminals, loafers. Their life is the life of savages with extreme
hardship 11,000 or 1.25% of the population.

Class B: Casual earning, widows and deserted women. Part time labourers, many shiftless and helpless.
110,000 or 11.25% of the population.

Class C: Occasional earnings, hit by trade depression 75,000 or 8% of the population.

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Class D: Low wages: less than 21 (shillings) a week, wages barely enough to stay alive. Includes dock
labourers and gas workers 129,000 or 14.5% of the population.

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3. Seebohm Rowntree and primary and secondary poverty:

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well, by the standards of the time

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His family were Quakers (type of Christianity) and their principles led them to treat their workers

He was interested in Charles Booths findings about the London poor he wanted to see whether

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what had had discovered was also true for the poor people of York
He calculated that a family of 5 could live on 21s 8d a week

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With this as his baseline, he found that around 28% of the population of York were living in

poverty

He divided this poverty into 2 kinds:

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Primary Poverty: no matter how hard the family worked, they would never earn enough to provide

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themselves with adequate food, shelter and clothing. These families didnt stand a chance
Secondary Poverty: these families could just feed, clothe and shelter themselves, provided there

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were no additional calls on their income. These families were living on the edge

4. John Galts photograph:

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Not as well known but played an important role in raising awareness
He was a religious man he worked as a missionary in E.E of London helping the poor there
He was a keen photographer
He used his images to show that the majority of the poor lived incredibly hard lives
He also showed that the poor worked incredibly hard at poorly paid jobs resulted in early death

Why did they introduce these reforms?

1. Lloyd George and Churchill
2. Political Rivalry
3. The Social Reformers
4. Increasing Information/Scale of the problem
5. National Efficiency
6. The Boer War
 What did the Government do to help children?
Free school meals (1906):
Local councils were given the power to
provide free meals for children from the
poorest families.
By 1914, over 158,000 children were having
free meals once a day
The childrens act (1908): (Childrens Charter
Act)
Children became protected person
parents could be prosecuted for cruelty
against them
Poor law authorities were made responsible
for visiting and supervising children who had
suffered cruelty or neglect
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All childrens home were to be registered
and inspected
prison
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They were sent to Borstals that were
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Children under 14 could no longer be sent to
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especially built for young offenders
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Children under 14, were not allowed into
pubs
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What did the Government do to help the sick and unemployed?
The labour exchange act (1909):
A national string of state labour exchanges
was set up
Unemployed workers could go to look for
jobs
National Insurance Act Part 2 (1912):
Aimed to prevent poverty resulting from
unemployment
People (mostly men) who worked in trades
like shipbuilding etc. seasonal employment
Workers, employers and Gov. paid 2d a week
for insurance stamps
Unemployed 7s 6d a week up to 15 weeks
School medical inspections (1907):
Doctors and nurses went into schools to give
pupils compulsory medical checks and
recommend any treatment they though
necessary
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These checks were free, but until 1912
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parents had to pay for any treatment
required
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School clinics (1912):
A network of school clinics was set up to
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provide free medical treatment for children
This was necessary because some parents
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couldnt afford the treatment that doctors
. wanted to give to their children
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National Insurance Act (1911):
Aimed to prevent poverty resulting from
illness
All manual workers and people in low-paid
white-collar jobs had to join
Workers paid 4d on for insurance stamps
Employers contributed 3d for each worker in
the scheme
The government contributed 2d for each
worker
If the worker fell ill, they got sick pay of 10s
a week for 13 weeks and then 5s for further
13 weeks
Workers could get free medical treatment
and maternity care
 What did the Government do to help the elderly?
The pensions act (1908):

This gave weekly pensions from government funds to the elderly

Everyone over the age of 70 was eligible for a state pension
A single person received 5s a week and a married couple 7s 6d (later increased to 10s)

pension

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Only British citizens who had been living in Britain for the last 20 years could receive a state

Critics of the Liberal reforms:

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Social reformers too limited in scope
Rich had to pay higher taxes
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Old liberals worried, heading for socialism
Conservatives

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Labour party didnt like contribution to National Insurance b


Local authorities new power, not enough money
Employers forced to contribute
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Doctors losing paying patient

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