Poverty in Britain Article
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Transcript of Poverty in Britain Article
7/21/2019 Poverty in Britain Article
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/poverty-in-britain-article 1/2
Liberal Welfare Reforms
http://learningcurve.pro.gov.uk/britain1906-18/g1/casestudy.htm
Poverty In 1900 adapted from the British National Archives
https://www.nationalarchives.gov.!/edcation/"ritain190#to191$/pdf/"gg1.pdf
Introduction: The problem of povertyLike most societies, Britain has always had its most
vulnerable people - the poor. However, attitudes
towards the most vulnerable people in society have
not always been the same. In Tudor times, for
example, poor people cauht bein could be
whipped and chased out of the town or villae where
they tried to be. In the !"th century, the poor who
could not look after themselves had to o to the
workhouse. The harsh conditions, but above all the
shame of the workhouse, meant that some people
starved rather than enter it.
By the early !"##s attitudes were beinnin to chane. $hen the Liberal overnment came to power
in !"#% Liberal &'s were convinced that there had to
be overnment action to help the poor, the old and
people who were unemployed. $hat convinced them(
The scale of the problem)ocial reformers like *harles Booth +in London and
)eebohm owntree +in ork carried out detailed
studies into the lives of the poor. Their results were
truly shockin. Their studies showed /ust how many
people lived on the poverty line - in ork it was over
a 0uarter of the population. The studies also showed
/ust how bad life was for the very poor - terrible
housin, poor health, bad diet and an endless stru-
le /ust to feed the family.
bac!round source a
A plan dran in 1900 shoing
packed and unsanitary orking
class housing in the !oundary
"treet area o# !ethnal $reen
%&'( re#: &'( )0/69/18*+,
bac!round source b
A table shoing the eekly
diet o# a orking #amily in
iverpool. t comes #rom othe asual abourer ives2 a
study looking at li#e #or the
poor in iverpool in 1909.
%!y permission o# the !ritish
ibrary: A*+3*,
1ther studies made people and politicians aware that the most vulnerable in society were also often the
worst off. $hen people were too old to work, they
had to rely on their family or charity to feed and
house them. *hildren livin in the poorest areas were
vulnerable to disease, especially in their early years.
They were also vulnerable to exploitation. 2mployers
used child labour because children were cheap.
)ometimes even parents forced their children to work
because they needed the earnins. There were other
abuses which children suffered as well, includin
malnourishment and even violent abuse. It is not
surprisin that in the poor districts the attendance of
the children was very hih. 3or many of these
children school was a warm, safe place compared to
home and work.
The reasons for the problemsThe main reason why poor children and the old
suffered so much was poverty, but why was there so
much poverty(
1ld people who were poor were poor because they
could no loner work and earn money. 4urin their
workin lives they had not earned enouh to put
money aside to keep them in their old ae. *hildren
were poor because their parents were poor.
5ntil the early !"##s most people thouht that the
poor were poor because they wasted their money on
drink. However, social reformers showed that poverty
was caused by a number of key factors6
" 5nemployment or partial unemployment
+the inability to et a /ob which was
permanent
" The death of a wae earner in the family
" Illness
" Low waes
" Lare families
There were also reasons behind the reasons. In the
!"th century Britain had been the world7s leadin
industrial nation. By the early !"##s other countries
like 8ermany and the 5)9 were competin stronly
with Britain. This took /obs away from Britain and left
people in poverty.
7/21/2019 Poverty in Britain Article
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/poverty-in-britain-article 2/2
9s people realised that poverty was not really the
fault of the poor they bean to support the view that
the overnment should do somethin to help the
youn, the old and the unemployed.
Was anythin! done to helpthe poor before the Liberalreforms#9 lot was done before the Liberal reforms bean in
!"#%. The *onservative party passed a number of
acts like the 5nemployed $orkmen7s 9ct in !"#:, and
the 2mployment of *hildren 9ct !"#:. Local councils
passed byelaws on issues like child labour. They also
cleared slum housin and built new housin for the
poor.
bac!round source cA plan dran in 1900 shoing
orking class housing in the
!oundary "treet area o#
!ethnal $reen a#ter it had been
cleared and rebuilt by the
ondon ounty ouncil
%&'( re#: &'( )0/69/18*+,
The problem was that a lot of the action depended on
the attitude of the local authorities. )ome councils did
take action. 1thers did not, usually because of the
cost of measures like buildin new housin.
Why did the Liberals taeaction in 1906#
But why did the overnment take action in !"#% as
opposed to any other date( 1ne reason was that the
Liberals were faced with so much evidence of such
terrible poverty, hardship and ill health. 1ther factors
also played their part.
In !"#% there were youn and ambitious politicians
who became part of the overnment. Two of the most
important were 4avid Lloyd 8eore and $inston
*hurchill. Both of these men felt that the state of
Britain7s poor was a national disrace.
There were also political reasons for introducin
welfare reforms. The Liberals were concerned about
the rowin popularity of the new Labour 'arty. They
thouht that welfare reforms miht attract voters to
their party instead of Labour. 9nother factor was
national security. In !;"" Britain went to war in
)outh 9frica. $hen the army called for volunteers to
/oin up it was found that around <#= of those who
applied were unfit to /oin the army.
bac!round source d
45tract #rom a document
produced by the
Anthropological nstitute o#
$reat !ritain commenting on
the state o# health o# people
in !ritain
%&'( re#: & 8/61*,