Liberal Reforms of 1906-1914

Liberal Reforms of 1906-1914

From the turn of the 20th century, laissez faire (the policy of

non-intervention in relation to social problems) became discredited.

The same old problems of poverty and ill-health still remained.

The Liberal reforms of 1906 to 1914 are very important because they

show a marked change in government policy from a largely laissez faire

approach to a more 'collectivist' approach. The government now

accepted that it should have a much larger role and responsibility in

helping those sections of society who could not help themselves.

In the latter part of the nineteenth century governments began to take

tentative steps towards the provision of basic welfare services, for

example, the Education Acts and the public health laws that were

passed.

However, many problems still needed to be tackled and it was in the

relief from poverty that the government made the least movement from

the Poor Law principle. Voluntary action, private charity and

self-help were still the watchwords of the day, but local and national

government now began to play a more positive part in enabling people

to get back on their feet. The real turning point was when the

Liberals passed their series of reforms between 1906 and 1914.

Between 1906 and 1914 the Liberal reforms attempted to deal with the

problem of poverty. The Liberals focused on four groups in society -

the old, the young, the sick and the unemployed.

Old age pensions

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In 1908 the Liberals introduced old age pensions which became law in

1909. This Act gave pensions of five shillings per week (25 pence in

today's money) at the single rate to...

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Overall, the Liberal reforms marked a transition point between old

laissez-faire attitudes and those of a more collectivist nature. The

reforms made only limited inroads into the problem of poverty. The

pensions paid were inadequate and the unemployment benefits were

limited to only certain trades, and then provided only for the

employee and not his family. The government was prepared to intervene

to help the poor, but the poor had also to help themselves by making

contributions towards their benefits.

Winston Churchill summed up the aim of the Liberals when he said 'If

we see a drowning man we do not drag him to the shore. Instead, we

provide help to allow him to swim ashore.' In other words, the

Liberals tried to provide some help for the poorer sections of society

in order that they could help themselves.