The Modern Welfare State of the 1906-1914

The Modern Welfare State of the 1906-1914

Before 1906, the British governments had little involvement in the

everyday lives of the people: Gladstone in particular advocated the

policies of ‘self help’ and Lassiez-faire’- the government should have

minimal interference in the lives of citizens. However, from 1906

onwards, the British public began to benefit from a number of reforms

such as pensions and childcare which they had never received before.

Whether this could be described as the beginnings of the welfare state

depends on the perspective: certainly government involvement increased

but these reforms didn’t affect every citizen in all areas of life,

suggesting that the changes weren’t as dramatic as they appeared.

In many ways, the reforms introduced were such a contrast to previous

policies that they could be described as the creation of the modern

welfare state. Perhaps one of the most significant examples of this

sudden change is the acts concerning children in 1908: laws such as

the education and school meals act meant that children could now

receive medical care and school meals free from charge. This shows

that the government was beginning to think more about the health of

future workers: although these laws did not become compulsory until

1914, most schools were offering medical checks and free meals, before

this showing that this act had genuine effects.

It could be said that the government only introduced these reforms for

children because they were worried about ‘national efficiency’. The

poor health of conscrpits in the Boer war highlighted the lack of

health care and pushed them to address the problems: they were

concerned with the health of future generations to make Britain a

strong nation and not interested in introducing a modern welfare

state. However, the introduction of pensions in 1908 seems to

contradict this idea: it was agreed that 5 shillings per week would be

paid to everyone over 70 who earned less than 12 shillings. Anyone

who earned more would receive less from their pension on a sliding