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Changes were made to Britain's system of government in the period 1906 to 1918 To what extent did Britain become more democratic during this period?

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Changes were made to Britain's system of government in the period 1906 to 1918 To what extent did Britain become more democratic during this period? Many changes were made to Parliament in this period. Lloyd George and his Liberal Government of 1906 have been considered the founders of the Welfare State. Before the Welfare State a persons income, health, education and old age care was considered to be the problem of the individual. The state was not considered responsible for such things. However when reformers such as Rowntree saw the level of poverty, poor housing and illiteracy etc they demanded the state do something about it. During this period many changes were made not only to Parliament but also to women's suffrage and the rise of the Labour Party. Democratic means giving the people of the country a fair chance and say. The Liberals made Britain more democratic as they wanted to give the poor people a fair chance. ...read more.


With the pension the fear of the workhouse almost disappeared. In 1909 the Labour Exchanges Act was passed. The idea was to save the unemployed people having to tramp from one factory to another in search of work. By 1913 there were 430 Labour Exchanges called Job Centres. Then the National Insurance Act of 1911 introduced an insurance scheme against ill health and unemployment. Health insurance was only for manual and non-manual workers earning less than �160 a year. In this scheme the workman paid 4 pence into the scheme, the employer 3 pence and the state 2 pence, leading to the slogan '9d for 4d'. In return a worker was entitled to 'free' medical treatment and could claim 10 shillings a week for a maximum of 26 weeks if unable to work. After that a disability pension of 5 shillings could be awarded. The scheme itself was not available to women. Unemployment insurance was introduced for men in industries such as building, engineering and shipbuilding, where short-term employment was common. ...read more.


The Parliament Act saw a change in the role of the House of Lords in passing laws, but there was a much more significant change in the way the country was governed when the women won the vote. In 1918 women aged 30 or over who owned property, or were married to a man with property were allowed to vote. The Events between 1906 and 1918 led to the up raise of the Labour Party. In conclusion I think Britain became a lot more democratic during this period of time as more people became more and more equal. The Parliament Bill took power away from the Lord's giving MP's and politicians a fair chance and getting their Acts passed. The Women's right to vote, showed great democracy as for the first time it showed that women were starting to be treated as equals to men. They weren't quite, but it was getting better. Then there was the Labour Party. They were promising what the people wanted and they were a Party for the working class people. Lizzie Gilthorpe ...read more.

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