Section 8 - History

• Real causes of poverty were not understood at the beginning of the 20th century
• Period of political change and unprecedented social reform
• 1902 = Balfour took over as Conservative Prime Minister 
• Support for a long era of Conservatism was being challenged by the ideas of new Liberalism and Socialism, brought increasing pressure for social reform
• Conservative reluctance to act over issues affecting the legal position of trade unions led many voters to switch their allegiance to the Liberals
• Balfour resigned in 1905
• Liberal party swept to power with a resounding victory
• Responsible for introducing a series of reforms which tackled the wide range of current social and constitutional problems, such as old-age pensions, national insurance and the reform of the House of Lords 

• 1902 = Liberals presented an ineffective position to Conservative government
• Liberals had been in a weakened state since the split of Home Rule in 1886
• Liberal fortunes began to change as opposition in parliament and the country mounted against Balfour's government
• Bannerman = compromise leader 
• 'Safe pair of hands' with plenty of experience
• Asquith would have been a more appropriate leader, but he did not put himself forward
• 1905 = Liberals had overcome most of its differences and made a sufficient appeals to the electorate in January 1906 to achieve a landslide victory
• Problems of Balfour's governent had much to do with this victory
• Reforms turned the electorate away from voting Conservative 
• 1905 = clear that Balfour's government was doomed

• Balfour's time in office was regarded as a failure
• He had little in common with the ordinary people
• He believed in parliamentary democracy as long as the masses voted for upper classes
• Conservatives lost a series of by-elections
• Resignations from Cabinet on policy issues 
• Lack of decisive leadership from Balfour
• Failures = united the Liberals in a common cause
• Balfour's government can be credited with several notable successes - positive repercussions in the long term for Britain
• Entente Cordiale with France in 1904 
• Setting up of the Imperial Defence Committee - led to important army and navy reforms
• Conservatives seemed unable to trumpet their successes
• Failures were played out in full glare of public attention 

• Balfour was in a tight corner
• Harsh to blame him entirely for the divisions in his party
• If he  had chosen to ignore the issues of education and tariff reform, he may have held on
• However, he may have been accused of inaction
• Liberals seized the opportunity to whip up Nonconformists opposition
• On balance, the Education Act was a sensible reform
• Liberals took political advantage of it
• Balfour would have been wise to drop the issue of trade protection but he did not
• Formation of the LRC should have been a warning sign to the Conservatives
• If they ignored working classes, they could not rely on their vote
• Balfour had shown little inclination to introduce working class reform
• Working class now had political status 
• Many voters simply wanted change 

• 1905 = Balfour was in little doubt of his unpopularity
• Authority was greatly damaged in his own party 
• Inability to resolve the issue of tariff reform
• Bannerman succeeded in pulling together what is regarded as a government  of exceptional quality and outstanding ability
• Included = Asquith, George, Haldane, Churchill and Grey
• Represented key opinions and beliefs within the party 
• The landed classes did not dominate the Cabinet for the first time
• Bannerman called an election for January and the campaign began after Christmas
• Focused on free trade and cheap bread
• Was a vote winner
• Liberals had won 377 seats - clear majority
• Conservative had been reduced to 157 seats
• Even Balfour had lost his seat
• Good showing of Labour Canidates and the Labour Party won 29 seats 

• Before the election - LRC entered into a secret electoral ppact with the Liberals
• Lib-Lab Pact
• LRC agreed not to put up candidates against Liberals in constituencies where the anti-Conservative vote might be split, in exchange for freee run in 35 consitituencies where the LRC had a strong chance of winning a seat
• Labour agreed to give support to the Liberals
• Liberals were going to address key concerns over unemployment and Taff Vale 
• LRC changed its name to the Labour Party
• New era to politics 

• Election of 1906 = reduced to 157 MPs
• 109 = full support for tariff reform and only 16 were in favour of free trade
• The rest supported trade protection
• Protectionist defined the Conservative Party in opposition during these years
• Balfour soon returned to parliament in a by-election and resumed leadership
• Lord Lansdowne became leader in the House of Lords
• Vast majority in the Lords were traditional and most supported Conservatives
• Balfour took advantage of this
• Encouraged the Lords to vote against Liberal legislation at every opportunity 
• Preliminary round in the greatest constitutional crsis in Britain since 1832
• Lords rejected the Liberals 1909 Budget with Balfour's encouragement
• Liberals called an election and won
• Balfour resigned shortly afterwards
• Successor = Bonar Law

• Liberals introduced a set of social reforms
• More far-reaching than any measures passed by previous governments
• Attempted to deal with problems of children, the old, the sick and the unemployed
• Laid the foundations of the modern welfare state
• However, many Liberals were still committed to laissez-faire
• No clear programme of social reform laid out 
• Social welfare was not a key election issue
• 'New Liberals' wanted to move away from laissez-faire and proved to be extremely influential in directing Liberal policy 
• Other influences included the rise of the Labour Party 
• Budget brought the issue of the Lords' inappropriate use of power to boiling point
• Faced with one of the great constitutional crisis in British parliament history 

New Liberalism:

• Belief in the necessity of tackling poverty through State social welfare and a more humanitarian approach to social problems
• Liberals were moving away from laissez-faire 
• Cabinet included a number of New Liberals
• Influenced began to be felt as they cavassed their leaders to employ the power of the State in response to social problems - Lloyd George and Churchill were two most prominent
• Argued against individualism and for greater collectivism 
• Convinced moderate members of the party to accept the change in direction 

Poltical Self-Interest:

• Liberals were aware of the growing concern over the problems of poverty
• Equally conscious of the threat of Labour
• Tackling poverty would be politically expedient for the Liberals 
• Anxiety among the Liberals that if they did not attempt to meet the needs of the working class, these voters would increasingly turn to the Labour Party
• Social reform programme can be viewed almost as an antidote to the spread of socialism 

Pressure from the Labour Party and the Trade Unions:

• Labour Party and the trade unions were sufficiently confident to pressurise the Liberals into taking action to improve conditions for the working classes
• Labour's first demand was met with great success
• Liberals accepted the Labour proposals for the Trade Disputes Act

Impact of Social Research:

• Charities were no longer able to deal with the problems of poverty
• Industrial cities had grown and the problems of the poor had increased
• Number of key reports put forward clear evidence of the extent of poverty 
• Liberals could not ignore these findings
• The Report of the Royal Commission on Labour (1895) suggested that ordinary working people could not earn enough to buy basic necessities
• The Royal Commission on the Aged Poor (1895) called for some form of pension 
• Rowntree's Poverty: A study of town life (1901)
• Charles Booth's: Life and Labour of the People of Lonon (1891)
• Concluded thatabout 1/3 of Britain's urban population lived in grinding poverty
• Greater public awareness of such information as a result of better education

• Success is a matter of debate among historians
• Main objective = alleviate poverty 
• Some argue that the measures had limited success
• Value of real wages rose very little
• Workhouse system still remained, although importance was diminishing
• Pension = inadequate
• National Insurance was not comprehensive enough
• No inclusion of benefits for very low paid agricultural workers
• Major issues of education and housing were ignored
• Medical scheme excluded the majority of working men
• No policy on full employment 
• However, reforms were significant departure from minimal State interference
• First time any government had provided welfare benefits 
• Important model for future governments to follow
• Signalled a departure of individualism and laissez-faire
• Collectivism began to gain acceptance 

• The power of the House of  Lords was diminished 
• House of Commons power was increasing
• Parliamentary bill could be introduced into either the Lords or the Commons 
• As long as it passed each of three readings in both, it would become a law 
• Last word = Lords
• Had the power to veto a bill after it had passed the Commons
• Become the custom for money bills to be vetoed by the Lords
• Commons became more democratic
• Veto of any government bills became questionable
• 591 members in the Lords
• Conservatives had the majority in the Lords
• Constitutional Crisis of 1910 led to the reform of the House of Lords