Liberal social reforms

What was the liberal party?

A political party which advocates for the freedom of all

What did the liberal party do?

Brought in a series of measures to improve public health

Who were key figures supporting social change?

Charles Booth, Seebohm Rowntree

What was the 1867 reform act?

An act which gave the vote to more working class men to create a more equal society

How did the labour party gain in popularity?

In the 1900 general election, they won two seats after entering as candidates for the first time. In 1906, they increased their seats to 29

Which political party won in 1906?

The Liberal Party

Why did the Liberal party introduce reforms?

They saw the Labour Party as a threat, so introduced these new measures in the hope that it would maintain their popularity, as well as decrease votes to the Labour Party

What reforms were introduced?

School meals, medical inspections, the pensions act, the labour exchange act, the national insurance act

What changed about school meals?

In 1906, free school meals were introduced to improve the health of children

What changed about health inspections?

In 1907, schools began medical inspections of their pupils to ensure that they were healthy

What was the Old Age Pensions Act??

Passed in 1908 to allow people who were 70 years old with an annual income of less than £21 a year received a pension of 5 shillings a week. People who earned up to £31 and 10 shillings a year - or those who were married - received a smaller amount

What was the Labour Exchanges Act?

In 1909, this was introduced to match up employers and employees (like a job centre)

What was the National Insurance Act?

In 1911, this was introduced to set up a system where workers had a sum of money deducted from their wages to pay for healthcare and sick pay if needed

What opposition was there to these liberal reforms?

Some people said that they didn’t do enough to help women (as they were less likely to benefit from National Insurance) and also argued that pensions payments were higher. Some conservative MPs said that giving people too much money would make them reliant on being given aid as they believed that it would reduce people’s desire to work

What were concerns of these new introductions?

Of the cost to the taxpayer