Why were the Liberal reforms introduced

Reports on Poverty

•  There were many investigations into poverty in Britain towards the end of the 19^th century
• Two in particular had a big impact on political thinking and revealed the true, and mainly unsuspected, levels of poverty in Britain
• They proved that poverty had causes, which were beyond the control of the individual and restricted peoples’ ability to control their lives
• Charles Booth showed that 35% of London’s population lived in extreme poverty
• Seebohm Rowntree showed that almost 30% of York’s population lived in extreme poverty
• Rowntree pointed out that if York, a relatively small “typical” English city hid such problems, then so would other British cities. The problem of poverty was therefore a national problem.
• The reports showed that poverty had cures, but these cures were beyond the individual efforts of the poor

National Security

• Britain became involved in the Boer War in South Africa in 1899
• Britain had a relatively small army so recruits were needed to swell the ranks. Volunteers rushed to join up
• However the government became alarmed when almost 25% of volunteers were rejected on the grounds that they were physically unfit to serve in the armed forces
• If men of military age were so unfit for service, the government worried about Britain's future ability to defend herself and her empire against a far stronger enemy
• 1904 Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee on Medical Inspection stated that there were very serious problems with children’s’ health. They recommended free school meals and medical examination for school children
• It is clear that concern over national security had a direct influence on the Liberal Reforms, as these points were among the first reforms introduced by the Liberals after their election victory in 1906

National efficiency

• By the end of the 19^th century Britain was no longer the strongest industrial nation in the world and was facing serious competition from new industrial nations such as Germany
• It was believed that if the health and educational standards of Britain’s workers got worse, then the country’s position as a strong industrial power would be threatened
• Another development which may have influenced attitudes was that in Germany a system of welfare benefits and old age pensions had been set up as early as the 1880s. If a main competitor could afford to do it then why could Britain not do likewise?

New Liberalism

• New Liberalism grew up as the realisation grew that poverty itself imposed restrictions on the choices available to the individual
• New Liberals argued that state intervention was necessary to save people from social problems over which they had no control.
• A new generation of Liberal politicians genuinely believed that the government had a responsibility to help the poor
• The “old Liberal” Prime Minister, Campbell Bannerman, died and was replaced by a younger man Herbert Asquith in 1908
• New Liberals such as David Lloyd George, with their new “interventionist” ideas were given important new jobs
• The arrival into government of younger politicians with New Liberal ideas is the main reason why so many reforms happened from 1908 onwards.
• T.H.Green’s notion of positive freedom (State intervention was not threatening, rather, liberating)

Historians

• Lowe “probably the most significant issue behind the reforms was the need for a healthy working class for military and economic purposes”
• Robert Self “Although new Liberal ideas were disseminated to a wider audience… for a variety of reasons the Liberal party was slow to react to these ideas”