Examine the extent to which liberal governments of 1906 -1915 succeeded in their aim of promoting greater national efficiency

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Examine the extent to which liberal governments of 1906 - 1915 succeeded in their aim of promoting greater national efficiency

National efficiency is Britain's ability to compete economically, socially and militarily with rivals. It is also about its ability to maintain the empire and its position of supremacy. Concern over poverty in Britain and increasing anxiety that Britain was in decline as a world power led to the idea that Britain had to improve her efficiency by taking steps to improve the quality of her workforce.

The 1906 General election saw a landslide victory for the Liberal Party, a party who had been out of office for 10 years. The victory guaranteed many new faces among Liberal mps, some of whom were in favour of change. Many Liberals realized the need for social reform. They accepted that the time had come for the Liberal Party to turn away from laissez-faire; only when the state intervened could the nationwide problems facing the newly elected Liberals, like national efficiency, be effectively tackled. This new idea of governing where there would have to be a role for the state was 'New Liberalism'.

One of the reasons why the debate of