Liberal Reforms: Were they successful?

Were the Liberal reforms successful?

Yes

1) It was the first time that central government was taking responsibility for poverty and making measures compulsory. The welfare state had been born and there was no turning back. The government moved from a laissez faire approach to a collectivist approach where they accepted that they had a responsibility to help those who couldn't help themselves. That approach exists today.

2) Half of school children were receiving one wholesome meal a day.

No

1) They didn't help all poor people, only some of them (but they weren't intended to). The two major reforms, old age pensions and national insurance, were quite limited - see below.

2) The major criticism of the state pension was that it did not go far enough. The money was not enough to enable people to pay for the barest necessities and, although it helped, it was not the answer to old age poverty. Also, many elderly people needed financial help long before they reached 70 years of age. In fact most died before receiving a pension. Only half a million old people qualified for state old age pension because the rules were so strict (had to be over 70 years old and have an income less than £21 a year)

2) The provision of school meals was not made compulsory until 1914 (half of local authorities didn't provide school meals before 1914) and researchers found that during school holidays the growth of children slowed and body weight often…