Poverty levels were not helped by the great depression which meant that a lot of people living on the ‘poverty line’ were plunged into poverty as they lost their jobs due to overproduction this shows a need for the Liberal social reform and was a catalyst to their adoption of it because it means more people were plunged into poverty and . Due to the Industrial Revolution many people from rural areas had moved to find jobs in more urban areas. This meant a boom in the possible workforce and so more unemployed, also the factory owners could pay very little because of such high competition for jobs This shows a need for some sort of social reform because people could get stuck on the poverty line due to such low wages but could not get out of it because they could not afford to quit to find a better paid job and so would get stuck in the poverty trap. Due to low finances many men were unhealthy, a crucial point in the adoption of social reform came when men were called to fight in the Boer war but nearly 3/5 men had to be turned away because they were not fit enough to fight, this also meant that Britain had a weak workforce and this would not be sufficient if they wanted to keep themselves as an industrial superpower and keep making large amounts of profit therefore something like social reform was needed to be put in place.
Social Reform was helped along by The Leaders of the Liberal Party, predominantly Lloyd-George and Winston Churchill; both showed a personal interest in social reform. Lloyd-George had a very non-conformist upbringing. He liked the new ideas on poverty and that a more balanced Britain would have brought in more money to the state. Having witnessed poverty he had a personal desire to amend it and he pressured the reform movement personally. Winston Churchill had an aristocratic rising, never the less he was also keen to eradicate poverty on a large scale, regardless of any political pressure. These two strong leaders who desired change for the good, helped Liberal Reforms to be passed, come to public light and for them to be put to the House of Commons. Their personal interest in it however was not as big a factor as the exposure of poverty since the release of Charles Booth and Seebhom Rowntree’s work. Furthermore it can be argued that their interest in it stemmed from Rowntree and Booth’s exposure. Therefore this shows that the works of Rowntree and Booth were vital in the adoption of social reform by the liberals because the showcased poverty to the masses and so liberals had to react to this to keep support and to win the 1906 general election.
Part of the Liberal government branched off, named ‘The New Liberals’ they adopted ‘new liberalism’ which was very different from the previous liberal governments that had always taken the laissez-faire policy. The Liberals believed everyone had to get themselves out of poverty through hard work and grafting, but as many men were unable to provide for their families despite their hard work, the new Liberals decided that action was needed. New Liberalism wanted to establish a basic living standard for everyone, “…promote measures for ameliorating conditions of life for the multitude.” (David Lloyd-George). For this to happen it meant that social reform was needed just to provide basic healthcare and a suitable standard of living for the majority. Therefore, the New Liberalist desires for a national living standard meant a need for social reform. New Liberalism helped to speed up the concept of Social Reforms in the public eye. However, it could not have been achieved without media attention on Rowntree’s and Booth’s study’s and the changing attitude toward poverty at the time
The Labour Party was established in 1900s as a response to a growing demand by the working classes to have more political representation in parliament. They felt ignored by the Conservative aristocratic leaders such as Balfour, and they were not in favour of Liberal leaders such as Gladstone because he employed a laissez-faire policy which did not help the working classes at all. They wanted leaders who would identify with their needs and troubles and help them. In 1901 their membership was 350,000 and by 1903 it had risen to 861,000. This showed the Conservatives and the Liberals that the Labour party would have been a real threat if the working classes were allowed to vote or if general support gathered for their cause from all classes. This realisation of labour power led to the lib lab pact which benefited both parties and helped liberals to win the 1906 election. Therefore, social reform was necessary to counteract the development of the labour party, to try and show to the nation that they need not change party because the Liberal’s were reforming to meet the changing demands in society.
In conclusion, the Welfare Reforms came about because of changing ideology and the founding of the Labour party, which promised more action on the growing awareness of poverty and exclusion of the working classes from political representation. The reforms were helped along the way by changing Liberal ideas and compassionate concerned leaders, but it appears that any party who wanted to win the support from the electorate had to change their ideas to match the changing of the public’s opinions
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