Lloyd George

5 Pages 1253 Words

What were the aims of David Lloyd George’s social reforms in the Edwardian period?



Britain in the late nineteenth century was a world leading economic and military power. Although it was becoming more apparent that it was not going to remain a leading world power, if the massive social problems facing much of the country were not addressed. Problems such as poverty, unemployment, health care and education. Seebohm Rowntree had highlighted the extent and cause of these social problems through his extensive investigations and publication of, Poverty, a study of Town Life in 1901. “Throughout the eighties and nineties, at an increasing rate, the nation’s awareness of what was comprehensively called ‘the social problem’ had grown in width and depth.”

It was quite clear by the time Lloyd George was promoted to Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1906 that there was a need for new priorities in the Liberals policies and he believed that they lay in social reforms. “He was mainly seeking all party support for a program of domestic social reform to tackle housing, health insurance, unemployment, education, the poor law, alcohol abuse and agriculture.” . Lloyd George knew that in order for the Liberal party to continue in its popularity it needed the support of the working classes. It was the working classes who would benefit directly from social reforms and so bring about support for the party and for Lloyd George. The massive need for social reform was also fueled by the fact that Britain was as an industrial power falling behind other world powers such as Germany and the United States. “Some employers became aware that the efficiency of the workforce could be increased not only by capital investment…but also by improving the efficiency of human capital, i.e. by

Improving working conditions and providing welfare benefits for workers…” . It was time for the government to step in and attempt to pull Br...