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> The Liberal reforms 1906-1914

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The Liberal reforms 1906-1914

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Four Results of the Liberal reforms

1. Mixed effects on people's welfare

Measure	For	Against
Free school meals	By 1914, 150,000 children were getting one good meal a day.	Not compulsory - some councils did not provide free meals
Pensions	Kept many old people out of the workhouse.	Was refused to people who had never worked during their life.
Labour exchanges	By 1914, 1 million people were being employed through the labour exchange.	Most of these jobs were temporary or part-time; the government did not do anything to increase the number of jobs available.
National Insurance	A vital safety net to tide people over hard times.	Poor people had to pay the contributions out of their wages; dole and sickness pay only lasted for a limited time; and 7s 6d [7s 6d: Seven shillings and six pence in old money (around 38p of today's money). ] was not enough to live on - a family of five needed £1 a week.
Free medical treatment	Literally, a life-saver.	Only for the wage-earner - it was not available to their wife or children.

2. 1909 Budget

The 1909 Budget [Budget: A plan for expected income and spending over a specified time period. ] - to pay for the reforms, Lloyd George's 1909 budget raised duties on tobacco and spirits, raised income tax by 16 per cent (from 1s to 1s 2d), and introduced a new 20 per cent tax on profits from selling land.

3. Parliament Act 1911

When the House of Lords refused to pass Lloyd George's budget, the House of Commons passed an Act stating that the House of Lords could not reject a bill that had been passed three times in the House of Commons. It also required a general election every five, not seven, years.

4. Lloyd George

Lloyd George became loved - old people cried when they got their pension and blessed 'Lloyd George' who gave them - and hated - workers who objected to paying national insurance chanted: 'Taffy was a Welshman, taffy was a thief' at him.

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