Why did the liberal government introduce a program of social reforms 1906?

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During the late nineteenth century the British government, under the Liberal party, acted according to the principle of laissez faire. Individuals were solely responsible for their own lives and welfare. The government did not accept responsibility for the poverty and hardship that existed among its citizens. A popular point of view at the time was that poverty was caused by idleness, drunkenness and other such moral weaknesses on the part of the working classes. The poor were seen by the wealthy as an unfortunate but inevitable part of society. There were no old age pensions, unemployment benefits or family allowances. If the main wage-earner died or could not work, a whole family could be plunged into terrible poverty. The state would not interfere. During this period, the accepted role of the government was very limited. It was simply expected to:

Maintain law and order

Protect the country from invasion

Before the liberals (1906) the help available to the poor was from parishes and workhouses however when the Poor Law Act of 1834 was introduced most of the act was decreed that external relief for the poor was to be stopped within two years, leaving these unfortunates with the choice of the workhouse or starvation. No able-bodied person was to receive money or any other help from the poor law authorities except in a workhouse. The legislation had been designed to root out the "undeserving poor". The New Poor Law Union supervised by the Board of Guardians consisted of who men were elected by the ratepayers and prominent landowners of the parish. Conditions in the workhouse were made very harsh and hostile for the paupers, to discourage people from wanting to receive help. Perhaps the cruelest aspects of the workhouse were the separation of husbands and wives and parents and children.

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 They were forced to stay in different parts of the workhouse and were not even permitted to meet in communal areas such as the chapel. There was no free lunch in the workhouse, everyone was expected to work long hours in often difficult and demanding jobs. Men would be expected to do heavy work like breaking stone, cutting wood or grinding corn. Women were expected to work long hours washing, scrubbing and cleaning or other tasks in payment for a bowl of gruel and a piece of bread. Children around this time were still working down the mines and often ...

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