DHSH

1. Higher History
Britain: The Motives of
the Liberal Reforms
Why did the Liberals
introduce their reforms
1906-1914?

2. KEY
If you see this symbol you must take notes
If you see this symbol you must not take
notes

3. Today’s lesson
We are developing our knowledge and understanding of the
reasons why the Liberal Government introduced social reforms
between 1906-1914.
Today will be able to:
1) Describe the key reasons why the Liberals introduced the reforms.
2) Evaluate how important each factor was in contributing towards the
introduction of the reforms.
Today’s lesson will involve:
1) Build up notes on the topic.
2) Plan a 20 mark essay.
3) Pass a 20 mark timed essay.

4. Key Terms
Workhouses – Workhouses were where poor people who had no
job or home lived. They earned their keep by doing jobs in the workhouse.
Also in the workhouses were orphaned (children without parents) and
abandoned children, the physically and mentally sick, the disabled, the
elderly and unmarried mothers. Workhouses were often very large and
were feared by the poor and old.
Laissez-Faire – attitude of the Government to ‘leave alone’ the
population. Poverty was the fault of the individual, not the governments
responsibility.
Social Welfare Reforms - the collective name for changes to
the benefit (social security) system.
Boer War – War between Britain and South African farmers 1809-
1902. Lasted three years which embarrassed the UK who were meant to
be a global superpower.
1906 General Election – Liberal government won a landslide
election. Liberals gained 214 seats and won 397 overall giving them a
complete majority of parliament.

6. Main Liberal Reforms
• 1906 Free School Meals – 14 million per week being
issued by 1914.
• 1907 Medical Inspections Act – medical inspections
given at school
• 1908 Old Age Pensions – 25p per week for those 70+
(1/4 average wage).
• 1911 National Insurance I – sickness benefit for
poorer workers – e.g. paid for doctor and medicine.
• 1911 National Insurance II – gave unemployment
insurance to half a million poorly paid workers or those in
seasonal employment.
It is vital to remember that this essay has nothing to do with the actual reforms. You can
mention them but it is all to do with the reasons why the Liberals introduced them
between 1906-14.
What were the Liberal Reforms?

7. Background (for intro)
Prior to 1906, there was almost no help available for poor
people in Britain
The liberals had always had a ‘laissez-faire’ style of
government – not interfering in peoples’ lives
The only limited help available for those in poverty was the
‘Poor Law’ which was means tested
This usually resulted in people being put in a workhouse
(poorhouse in Scotland) where conditions were horrendous –
90% of people refused this option
Charities such as Barnardos, the Salvation Army and the
YMCA offered what help they could to people but demand was
too great for them to help everyone
From 1906 the Liberal government introduced welfare
reforms (changes in the law) to offer more help to the poor

8. The Essay
When the Liberals were elected in 1906, there had been no
mention of introducing social welfare reform in their
manifesto.
This essay asks why did the Liberal Reforms like free
school meals and pensions get introduced?
There were 5 factors/ motives for reform

9. The arguments for the introduction of Liberal
Reforms
‘The Factors’
1. Surveys of Booth and Rowntree
2. Fears over National Security/
Efficiency
3. Fear of the Labour Party
4. ‘New Liberalism’
5. Municipal Socialism

10. Factor 1 – The work of Booth &
Rowntree
Knowledge
At the end of the 19th century two social surveys were published that
not only shocked the British public but changed popular opinion on the
causes of poverty.
Charles Booth was a London Businessman who carried out his survey in
the East End of London and published his results in 1899 Life and
Labour of the People of London
His book showed that 35% of London’s population lived in extreme
poverty, that poverty was so bad that only the government could help
and that if nothing was done, Britain was on the brink of a socialist
Revolution
Seebohm Rowntree published his study of York to identify if the
problem of poverty was as bad in the towns of Britain
He found that 30% of York’s population lived in poverty, that there was
a ‘poverty line’ of the basic minimum amount a family needed to survive
and that there were certain times that individuals were more likely to
fall into poverty – most importantly old age

11. Charles Booth –
Conducted the
‘Survey into London
life and labour.’

12. Seebolm Rowntree –
Conducted the York
study of 1899
https://www.bbc.co.uk/progra
mmes/p00wghcj

13. Factor 1 – The work of Booth &
Rowntree
Knowledge - The Findings of the Survey(s)
Their findings agreed on some key points:
• Up to 30% or almost 1/3rd of the
population of the cities were living on or
below poverty levels.
• The conditions were such that people could
not pull themselves out of poverty by their
own actions alone.
• Poverty was not self inflicted
• Booth and Rowntree both identified the
main causes of poverty as being illness,
unemployment and age - both the very
young and the old were at risk of poverty.

14. Factor 1 – The work of Booth &
Rowntree
Analysis
• This led to the introduction of reforms because politicians now had statistical
evidence which showed that no matter how hard people tried, they could not
lift themselves out of poverty and the government would need to act to help
them
• This led to the introduction of reforms because the surveys helped promote
the idea of a ‘deserving poor’ those who were trying to lift themselves out of
poverty which was an important theme of the liberal reforms and started to
break down old ideas that poor people were lazy, ignorant and squandered
their money.
• However, it is important to remember that there were many people, MPs
included, challenged the surveys and still believed that poverty was not
widespread and that poor people wasted their money on alcohol and gambling,
showing the surveys did not convince everyone
• However, poverty in rural areas was ignored by the surveys as they focused
only on inner-city areas like London and York showing that the surveys did
have limitations

15. Task 1 : Practice Paragraph – Booth &
Rowntree
TS: At the end of the 19th century two social
surveys were published that shocked the British
public.
K: Booth’s Survey – who, where, when, findings
K: Rowntree’s Survey – who, where, when, findings
K: Findings of the surveys
A: This motivated the Liberals to introduce
Reforms because…
A+ However… (could do A,A+ twice)

16. Factor 2: Fears over National
security/efficiency
Knowledge
• Britain became involved in a war in South Africa,
which was part of the British Empire at the time
• The government became alarmed when almost
25% of potential volunteers were rejected on
the grounds of ill health
• This figure was even higher when it came to the
industrial cities like Manchester – in some towns
and cities 9 out of 10 men were rejected
• Britain used 450,000 troops to defeat Boer
forces that totalled 35,000 men
• This was a major knock to confidence as the
British Army should have been able to protect
the country against enemies far stronger than
the Boers.

18. Factor 2: Fears over National
security/efficiency
Knowledge – Threat of Germany
• It was felt that countries like the USA but especially Germany were
pulling ahead of Britain.
• Liberal politicians like Winston Churchill and Lloyd George had visited
Germany (Britain’s main rival) and were impressed by the effects on
the nations health by the range of welfare benefits the German
government had introduced – e.g. pensions and free school meals.
• The example of Bismarck's progressive social legislation in Germany,
coupled with her economic and military strength, impressed both Lloyd
George and Churchill.
• Among other measures, the Germans had instigated an early form of
sickness insurance for its workers. Lloyd George and Churchill felt
inspired to introduce similar style reforms in Britain.

20. A+ FACT = Kaiser Wilhelm’s
Germany was racing to outdo
Britain in terms of iron, coal
and steel production and also in
Dreadnoughts due to the fact
he had a healthier workforce
(Battleships)

21. Factor 2: Fears over National security/efficiency
Analysis
This led to the introduction of reforms because the British government
were shocked at the ill health of the nation and worried about Britain’s
potential to defend itself and fight future wars, if Britain couldn’t raise
fit and healthy volunteers then the Empire may fall apart
This led to the introduction of reforms because Britain wanted to retain
it’s status as the most dominant economic nation in the world and
introduced reforms to help the poor in order to be able to compete with
nations like Germany and the USA – especially with a war against
Germany looking likely
However many historians have challenged this view that politicians had
any genuine concern for the welfare of the poor and instead wanted to
pass reforms for political advantage – such as Churchill making a name
for himself or the liberal party wanting to gain working class votes over
Labour
Many of the other recommendations like improvements to housing and
overcrowding were ignored by the Liberal Government so it cannot have
been based purely on recommendations after the Boer War.
.

22. Task 2 - Paragraph – Fears over National
Security & Efficiency
TS: There were major concerns over Britain’s
ability to win wars and stay rich due to the ill
health of the nation.
K: Boer War – concerns, no of recruits rejected
K: Other countries – USA, Germany – LG’s/
Churchill’s visit to Germany
A: This led to the introduction of reforms because
A+ However…

23. Factor 3: Fear of the Labour Party/Political
Advantage
Knowledge
The Liberals traditionally gained votes from poorer men – working
class areas were their ‘stronghold’
The Labour Party was newly established in 1900 and it was winning
public support for its campaigns for social welfare policies, such as
old age pensions and unemployment benefits.
The ruling Liberal Party recognised the threat this new party
posed to its traditional support in many working class areas.
They needed to offer something similar to attract the working
class male voters
The Labour party already had the support of working males
through it’s affiliation with the Trade Unions and this was a threat
to the ruling Liberal party

24. Keir Hardie
Founder of
the Labour
Party, 1900

25. Conservative Party Liberal Party Labour Party
• Low taxes
• Little help for the poor
• Poor need to help
themselves
• If you work hard you can
become very rich
• Rich work hard so should
keep their money
• Slightly Higher Taxes for
rich, but not too high
• A little help for the poor
• Give the poor a little help
but not too much that
they become lazy
• Rich should pay a bit
more than poor but not
too much that they are
punished
• High taxes for rich
• Low taxes for poor
• Welfare benefits – free
school meals, pensions,
sickness &
unemployment benefit
• Government’s role is to
look after the vulnerable

26. Factor 3: Fear of the Labour Party/Political
Advantage
Analysis
• This led to the introduction of reforms because the Liberals
realised that they had to introduce social reforms or risk
losing political support from the working classes so they
tried to ‘buy off’ voters with smaller reforms to avoid
bigger ones e.g. offered pensions but raised the age limit to
70 years old.
• However many historians have pointed out that the Liberals
cannot have been truly worried by the Labour promises
otherwise they would have matched or bettered the Labour
party by offering pensions earlier Labour party were still
very small in 1906 (29 seats) so probably did not pose a
threat in terms of winning an electoral majority

27. Task 3 – Practice Paragraph – Fear of
the Labour Party
TS: Fear of the Labour Party may have encouraged
the Liberals to introduce reforms.
K: Liberal Party – traditional support/ voters – why
did they vote for them? Who voted Conservative?
K: Labour Party – when founded/ by who - what
were they offering & why was it popular?
A: This is important because…
A+ However…

28. Factor 4: The rise of New Liberalism
Knowledge
• Old Liberalism meant Laissez – faire; poverty
as the problem of the individual and minimal
state intervention
• A new type of Liberalism had emerged by
1906, and it was this ‘New Liberalism' which
provided the inspiration for reform.
• New Liberals, such as Lloyd George, Winston
Churchill and Herbert Asquith, argued that
there were circumstances in which it was
right for the state to intervene in people's
lives.
• They represented poorer areas – e.g. Lloyd
George in Wales and Winston Churchill in
Dundee.

29. Factor 4: The rise of New Liberalism
Analysis
• This led to the introduction of reforms because ‘New
Liberalism’ was becoming more influential within the ruling
party due to the more modern and interventionist ideas of new
Liberals like Churchill and Lloyd George and they were
convincing others that reform was necessary to help those in
need
• However, historians have pointed out that the new Liberals
were still vastly outnumbered by ‘old’ laissez-faire Liberals and
it was only when ‘old Liberal’ Campbell Bannerman died in 1908
that the new Liberals were able to introduce their
interventionist ideas.

30. Concern – class discussion
‘The Liberal Reforms were introduced in 1906 because of the
concerns of the Liberal Government’ – Mr Gray
What concern was the most motivating?
• Genuine Concern about the poor (Reports of B&R, NL)
• Concern about the country (security & efficiency)
• Concern about their jobs (rise of Labour)

31. SQA course report 2019
Higher History
There is evidence of effective use of a counter argument or
limitation for developed analysis, but many candidates did
not choose to compare the factors or issues.
Booth & Rowntree inspired New Liberalism
National Security was backed up by B&R reports
Fear of Labour and growth of socialism was heightened by national
efficiency concerns

32. Task 4 - Paragraph – New Liberalism
TS: There were a number of ‘New Liberals’ pushing
to introduce reform within the party.
K: Difference between the ‘old liberalism’ and ‘New
Liberalism’
K: Who were the New Liberals? And which areas
did they represent? What did they argue was
necessary?
A: This led to the introduction of reforms
because…
A+ However…

33. Factor 5: Municipal Socialism
What is Municipal Socialism?
Economic and political theories advocating
collective or governmental ownership and
administration of the means of production and
distribution of goods. Using local government to
further socialism aims.
Nicknamed: Gas and Water socialism

34. Factor 5: Municipal Socialism
Knowledge
During the later 1800s the public had
enjoyed the intervention when some
Local Authorities had been taxing
people and using the money to improve
local areas.
This showed people a basic socialist
idea in practice – redistributing
wealth – and it worked!
It paved the way for the Liberals to
introduce reforms which would
obviously cost more money e.g.
pensions.
Example 1- Birmingham
In 1873 Radical Liberal Joseph
Chamberlain became mayor of
Birmingham and introduced
many reforms there.
Birmingham's water supply was
polluted and only supplied 3
days a week; he bought the
waterworks and ran it for the
good of the people
One report said he left
Birmingham ‘parked, paved,
gas and watered and
improved’

35. Public parks were
another example
of municipal
socialism; bought
by local councils
to provide fresh
air and recreation
for people i.e. in
Glasgow city

36. Factor 5: Municipal Socialism
Analysis
This led to the introduction of reforms because
local socialism paved the way for similar reforms
at national level and set a trend for social reform
that the Liberals picked up on and continued
However, There remained huge opposition in
Britain to the idea of taxing the wealthy more to
provide for the poor – particularly from the upper
classes and middle classes who resented losing out
financially to provide for the needy

37. Paragraph – Municipal Socialism
TS: Municipal socialism showed people that
taxation for improvements in people’s lives was a
positive thing.
K: What was municipal socials/ example of Glasgow
or Birmingham
A: This led to the introduction of reforms because
A+ However…

38. Consolidation
A good idea when you have taken all your notes
for a topic is to create a condensed revision
guide for the essay
This might be a mind map, picture map, bullet
points etc. but should fit on one page