Another significance of the election victory is that the LRC used this agreement to overturn the Taff Vale decision of 1901. More than 1000 men working on the Taff Vale line came out on strike and gained the support of the Amalgamated Society Railway Servants. Summonses were issued to 400 men who had not given proper notice, professional blacklegs were called in and strikers were evicted from their cottages. Ammon Beasley, the general manager of the line, applied for an injunction against the union, which was granted. The Court of Appeal withheld the decision, however the House of Lords restored it to the initial decision. Beasley then sued the union for damages. The union had to pay Taff Vale Railway Company £23,000. The total cost rose to £42,000 including costs. This essentially removed a workers right to strike as their union could be sued for damages. When the Labour Representation Committee was formed in early 1900 by the TUC, there was little response from the unions. Taff Vale was a turning point for the LRC and 165 unions had affiliated by 1904 giving a combined membership of almost one million. After winning 29 seats in the 1906 election the Labour Representation Committee changed its name to the Labour Party.
After the election the Conservatives issued a Royal Commission report considering the legal position of the unions. The report did not give unions immunity from legal action for damages but said that strike funds and benefit funds would be separate. Only benefit funds would be immune from action for damages. The Liberals introduced this, but the Labour Party pressed for its alternative bill. The Government gave in and passed the Labour bill as the Trades Disputes Act 1906, giving unions immunity from legal proceedings.
Another significance is there was public outcry against the use of Chinese slave labourers in the Transvaal gold mines. They were whipped and chained together, and generally forced to work in inhumane conditions. As the Conservatives seemed to accept these conditions, the workers in this country were worried that such conditions could be adopted here.
Another important factor of the Election victory was the amount of men who were able to vote. The 1884 reform act enabled 60% of the male population to vote, six out of ten male adults had the vote. This included working men, who would see little benefit in the Conservative views.
The main significance of the Liberal election victory of 1906 was the social and welfare reforms the Liberals introduced between 1906 and 1914.
The idea that poverty was caused by lack of education, idleness and thrift, was challenged by the research of Charles Booth and Seebohm Rowntree. Booth’s research of the London poor concluded that it was not 25% of Londoners who lived in poverty, but that the figure was close to 35%. On information that he received from 4,000 poor people he concluded that poverty was caused mainly by low pay and lack of work, also on circumstances, sickness in families and large families struggled. Habitual idleness, drunkenness and thriftlessness only accounted for 15% of poverty. Seebolm Rowntree found similar conditions in York.
The Conservative’s laissez-faire (leave alone) approach to government would have to change. State intervention was the only way forward if the people of Britain were to have a better standard of living. However the laissez-faire approach meant that taxes were low. The Poor Law held a stigma; people were reluctant to apply as there was a moral shame in receiving Poor Law help. This was deliberately done in the 1834 revision of the Poor Law, so there was a need for an alternative. These changes would need finance and some form of tax would be needed to be applied, but the outcome would be beneficial to the population.
The Liberal Reforms were to benefit five categories of the population, the children, the sick and injured, the unemployed, the elderly and the workers.
In December 1906 the Education (Provision of Meals) Act became law. This bill was actually introduced by a labour back-bencher and meant that the local authorities would provide free school meals to needy children. This became an issue during the Boar War when while recruiting men for the army, it was found that the health of quite a lot of men was so poor they could not enlist. A report in 1904 by the Interdepartmental Committee on Physical Deterioration stated the need for feeding in the educational system as well as medical inspections. If the next generation were to be called upon to fight for their country, they would need to be properly nourished in childhood. The Liberals were unwilling to accept medical inspections in schools. R.L. Morant, the Permanent Secretary of the Education Board, drew up a bill and smuggled it through hidden among other proposals. School medical inspections were introduced and later in 1912 grants were provided for treatment.
Other significant reforms were, the Workman’s Compensation act 1906, employers had to pay compensation for injury or work related illness. The 1908 Children’s Act, parents were legally responsible for their children’s health. Tobacco could only be sold to over 16 year olds and alcohol could only be sold to over 5’ year olds. It also provided juvenile courts and corrective schools. The Merchant Shipping Act improved conditions on British registered ships. A free place system in schools, where secondary schools had to reserve a quarter of their places for children from elementary school free of charge. There was also the Mines Act 1908 limiting the working hours in mines to 8 ½ hours shifts.
The Prime Minister Henry Campbell-Bannerman suffered a heart attack in April 1908. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Herbert Asquith, became Prime Minister, David Lloyd-George succeeded him as chancellor. These changes brought about ‘New Liberalism’, where greater government intervention was needed to protect the poorest of the population. The laissez-faire approach had a fatal flaw in that, although everyone could try to improve their lot, some were born into situations that prevented them from doing so.
Although there was significant concern for the welfare of children, there was also a concern for the welfare of the elderly. Asquith introduced his pension’s proposals as Prime Minister, Lloyd-George took the bill through the commons. These pensions would be non-contributory and would relieve the Poor Law. The pensions would be paid at between 1s. and 5s. per week depending on the person’s income and were only paid to citizens whose income was under 12s. The 1908 Old Age Pensions act came into operation on 1st January 1009.
Winston Churchill instigated the Labour Exchange Act in 1909. This provided Labour Exchanges where the unemployed could go to view the latest vacancies. By February 1910 there were 83 Labour Exchanges and by 1914 there were 430.
In 1909, Lloyd-George announced what became known as the People’s Budget. It incorporated increases in taxation, which were needed to fund the reforms. People on lower incomes were to pay 9d in the pound, those on an annual income of £3,000 had to pay 1s 2d in the pound, those who earned more than £5,000 a year were to pay a super tax of 6d in the pound. There were increases in death duties on estates of the rich and heavy taxes on profits gained from the ownership and sale of property. Basically this was a take from the rich and give to the poor situation. The House of Lords, who had a large majority of Conservatives, objected to this redistribution of wealth and intended to block the proposals, which with their numbers they could do this. The Liberals decided to reduce the Lords powers so they could no longer block ‘money bills’. Asquith appealed to Edward V for help, he was in a strong position as he had just won the 1910 General Election. The king would if needed create 250 Liberal peers, this would give the Liberals the majority in the House of Lords, and the power to carry forward any legislation they wanted. Faced with this prospect the Conservatives gave in and the 1911 Parliament Act became law. So after a long struggle Lloyd-George finally got his budget through parliament. This act also reduced the time between general election from seven years to five years.
Another significance of the election victory was the National Insurance Act 1911, this act went through in two parts. Contributions would be made by the employee, the employer and the state, both the employer and the employee would pay 2 ½ d. per week and a third of the yearly total was added by the state. This provided a payment of 10s. per week to someone off sick, and lasted 26 weeks, after this 5s. a week would be paid as a disablement payment. An unemployed workman would receive 7s. per week for every five contributions paid, up to a maximum of 15 weeks. This second part of the act included those working in industries with a high risk of unemployment. The National Insurance scheme was compulsory, it also included free medical attention and medicine. The benefits were paid at Labour Exchanges where the unemployed could get information on job vacancies.
Asquith opposed the belief of several leading members of the government that women should be granted the right to vote. Asquith, however, said that if he was returned to power in 1910 he would make sure that women with property would be granted the franchise. In November 1911 Asquith changed his mind and announced legislation that would allow all adult men to vote. This led to the Women’s Social and Political Union organising a window breaking campaign, including an attack on Asquith’s home. The suffragettes gained publicity notoriously, chining themselves to railings, committing arson, Emily Davidson committed suicide at the Epsom Derby by throwing herself under the Kings horse. Women who were jailed for their part in these protests went on hunger strike. They were forcibly fed until the Cat and Mouse Act of 1913, this allowed the release of severely emaciated women, and they would then be re-arrested when there health had improved. It was not until 1918 that woman over thirty with property were allowed to vote, it was 1927 before women were given the same voting rights as men.
There are many significances of the 1906 General Election victory, the Liberals faced the problems that poverty brought. They provided for the poorest of society, the next generation and the elderly. They laid down solid foundations for a welfare state that could be improved on in years to come.
