The politicians responsible for drafting and then passing the Poor Law Amendment Act in 1834 had the express objective of decreasing the cost of social welfare provision instead of broadening the scale not to mention the scope of the government’s involvement in society.
The Changes of 1834
The Poor Law Amendment Act provided relief for the poorest and the less fortunate members of society but it came at a price for those people. It came at a price because the state in 1834 right through the rest of the 19th century aimed to tightly limit its role in providing welfare and assistance. The restriction of state welfare and assistance measures to only the most desperate cases reflected the strong hold of classical liberal thought that the state should only intervene in economic affairs on a very limited basis.
The process of industrialisation and the general population growth in turn raised the numbers of people living in abject and relative poverty that subsequently resorted to the nearest workhouse when they could no longer sustain themselves. The draconian nature of the workhouses did not have the ability to make poverty in Britain disappear, it just made it more difficult for poor people to get help. The Poor Law Amendment Act was thus not wholeheartedly supported by the bulk of the English and Welsh population (Scotland had its own equally unpopular equivalent system).
The Liberal Reforms
As the 19th century drew to a close Conservative and Liberal administrations had already increased state intervention by passing factory safety legislation, stopping the worst cases of child labour, and reducing working hours. The decision to make primary school education compulsory would also proved to be an important aspect of reducing poverty and reversing social deprivation. There was a European state, which had already introduced a greater level of state intervention in welfare provision, Germany. Pressure to increase state intervention had also risen after the severe economic recession of 1873.
The New Liberals had their opportunity to expand the state's role in offering welfare and assistance after taking office in 1905, especially in the wake of their stunning general election victory of 1906. The Prime Minister Sir Henry Campbell - Bannerman, alongside the Chancellor H Asquith, the President of the Board of Trade David Lloyd - George, and Winston Churchill were all committed to increasing welfare assistance. The Liberals were strongly influenced by the German system of contributory welfare insurance schemes, although they introduced more modest measures.
Bibliography
Comfort N (1993) Brewer's Fable & Phrase Dictionary, Cassell's, London
Eatwell R & Wright A (2003) Contemporary Political Ideologies, Continuum, London
Ferguson N (2003) Empire, Penguin Books, London
Gardiner J & Wenbourn G (1996) The History Today Companion to British History, Little & Brown, London
