© HarperCollins Publishers 2010 Change and continuity Why did the Liberal Party support welfare...

© HarperCollins Publishers 2010

Change and continuity

Why did the Liberal Party support welfare reforms in the early 20th century?



Objectives

In this activity you will:

Learn the reasons for welfare reforms.

Learn why the Liberal Party supported welfare reforms in

the early 20th Century.




In the grid below are various reforms introduced by the Liberal Party in the

early 20th Century.

Using your textbook, additional research and the internet, try to find out

what these reforms did and how they might have improved the lives of

people living in poverty.

Arrange the reforms in the correct chronological order.

1911: NationalInsurance Act

1909: Trade Boards Act

1906: Trade Disputes Act

1908: Miners’ Eight Hours Act

1907: Education Act

1906: Introduction of School Meals

1908: Children’s Act

1908/09: Old Age Pensions

1909: National LabourExchanges

1907: Medical Inspections for Children



You should now understand the different types of welfare reforms the Liberals introduced in the early 20th Century.Now complete the following task in pairs:Read through screens 6 and 7, which highlight the different reasons why the Liberals supported welfare reforms.Organise these reasons into an order of significance.Number 1 should be the most important cause and number 6 should be the least important cause.Remember to include clear explanations for your choices.The next screen has a brief example, which may help you explain your own choices.

Now compare and discuss your ideas with the rest of the class.




‘A very important reason why the Liberals supported welfare reforms was to gain the vote of the working classes. The success of the Labour Party in the 1906 election convinced the Liberals that supporting welfare reforms would prevent more of the working classes voting for the Labour Party’.





Reasons:

1. People’s attitudes were changing towards poverty, and there was

more support for helping the unemployed.

2. Many people believed that for Britain to maintain a strong empire

and to compete with the USA and Germany, the population of

Britain had to remain healthy. Therefore, welfare reforms would

help to create healthy children who, if needed, could serve in the

British Army.

3. British businessmen needed a healthy workforce.

List continues on next screen




Reasons (continued):

4. T.H. Green – an influential member of the Liberal Party –

developed the idea of ‘positive freedom’. He argued that people

needed help from the government to achieve real freedom.

5. Liberals hoped welfare reforms would gain them votes from the

working classes.

6. The Labour Party was becoming more popular amongst the

working classes. At the 1906 General election, Labour gained

30 MPs.




Why have you ordered your list the way you have?

Compare your list with that of your neighbour – how

similar is it and how different? Can you explain the

differences?

From what you have discovered, was the Liberal Party

really interested in welfare reforms, or did it just want to

keep power?

© HarperCollins Publishers 2010 Change and continuity Why did the Liberal Party support welfare...

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