Why Did the Liberals Introduce Reforms?
eralWhy did the Liberals introduce reforms?
There are many reasons why the Liberals introduced reforms. My first and in my opinion, most important reason why the Liberals introduced reforms was the politically motivated, political rivalries. Winston Churchill’s former party the Conservatives had already brought in some reforms, which showed the first signals for the Liberals to do so too. However, it was the newly formed Labour party which were the big competitors for the Liberals. They begun to start gaining votes and were an emerging threat. The Liberals wanted to win over ordinary people so that they would vote the Liberals instead of Labour. David Lloyd George realised that he would gain votes from the working class and would be kept in power if he introduced the reforms, as he makes clear in a speech given in 1906, ‘We must eliminate the widespread poverty which scars this land glittering with wealth, otherwise the working men of Britain will vote Labour instead of Liberal’. This quote makes it clear that one of the reasons the Liberals brought in the reforms was because of their concerns and rivalry with Labour.
My next reason for the Liberals introducing the reforms is the rise of Socialism. The Liberals wanted nothing more than to stamp out Socialism, as it was a growing theme in the late 19th century. Countries such as Russia had already adopted the system and the Liberals were determined not to go down the same route. In a 1908 speech, Winston Churchill said, ‘Socialism seeks to pull down wealth; Liberalism seeks to rise up poverty’. This quote shows how the Liberals negatively talked about Socialism and positively talked about Liberalism to manipulative the public into voting the Liberals. They wanted the people to fight against socialism and not for it. They eventually realised that reforms would keep the British people happy therefore meaning less support for any revolutionary movements. I know that people turn to socialism when they are unhappy
There are many reasons why the Liberals introduced reforms. My first and in my opinion, most important reason why the Liberals introduced reforms was the politically motivated, political rivalries. Winston Churchill’s former party the Conservatives had already brought in some reforms, which showed the first signals for the Liberals to do so too. However, it was the newly formed Labour party which were the big competitors for the Liberals. They begun to start gaining votes and were an emerging threat. The Liberals wanted to win over ordinary people so that they would vote the Liberals instead of Labour. David Lloyd George realised that he would gain votes from the working class and would be kept in power if he introduced the reforms, as he makes clear in a speech given in 1906, ‘We must eliminate the widespread poverty which scars this land glittering with wealth, otherwise the working men of Britain will vote Labour instead of Liberal’. This quote makes it clear that one of the reasons the Liberals brought in the reforms was because of their concerns and rivalry with Labour.
My next reason for the Liberals introducing the reforms is the rise of Socialism. The Liberals wanted nothing more than to stamp out Socialism, as it was a growing theme in the late 19th century. Countries such as Russia had already adopted the system and the Liberals were determined not to go down the same route. In a 1908 speech, Winston Churchill said, ‘Socialism seeks to pull down wealth; Liberalism seeks to rise up poverty’. This quote shows how the Liberals negatively talked about Socialism and positively talked about Liberalism to manipulative the public into voting the Liberals. They wanted the people to fight against socialism and not for it. They eventually realised that reforms would keep the British people happy therefore meaning less support for any revolutionary movements. I know that people turn to socialism when they are unhappy