What does the social welfare legislation pass between 1906 and 1911 reveal about the intentions of Lloyd George and the Liberal government?

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Chris Webb                                                                                                                            

What does the social welfare legislation pass between 1906 and 1911 reveal about the intentions of Lloyd George and the Liberal government?

The social welfare legislation passed by Lloyd George between 1906 and 1911 reveals a lot of his intentions but also asks questions of what he was really intending. It could be argued that the party had good intentions, to help people who needed it the most. However it could be argued that it was only for personal and political gain for both Lloyd George and the Liberals.

Firstly it can be argued that the Liberal government introduced reforms because they felt the need to help people who needed it the most. There was widespread poverty in Britain at the time and little help from government to change this. It was highlighted by the findings of Boothe and Rowntree which cause great humanitarian concern. The reforms were aimed to help all of the population. The Education act and Children’s act aimed to keep children health and safe therefore improving their lives and helping their education. There was the National Insurance act aimed to help the sick and unemployed workers therefore hopefully helping the economy and reducing poverty because of workers who were unable to work. There was also the Old Age Pensions act which aimed to help the older population by introducing pensions. It has been said that the Liberals believed a healthy and well educated work force was essential so they introduced these reforms to achieve this.

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The New Liberals argued that there were circumstances where state intervention could help improve people’s lives. In the past the general view of people was that if the government provided people with welfare then they would not have any reason to work. However the Liberals wanted to encourage the poor to provide for themselves and they felt they could do this through contributory schemes that were subsidised by the state. They also felt that the rich should be putting money into helping the poor through taxation which will mean they have to pay more. This is a way of ...

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The author has produced a strong essay which shows not only excellent knowledge, through a detailed explanation of the reforms, but also the ability to consider both sides of the argument and reach an informed judgement. 5 out of 5 stars.