About the lecture

In this module, we think about the reasons for that the Liberal Party passed a series of acts of social legislation in the period 1906-14, and the extent to which they were successful in their aims. In particular, we think about: (i) the key social problems that faced Britain at the beginning of the twentieth century, particularly the issue of poverty; (ii) the historiography of the Liberal reforms: did they represent the foundation of the welfare state in Britain, or were they – in David Fraser's words – "social policy to head of socialism"?; (iii) three motivating factors for launching the Liberal reforms: the moral argument, the economic argument, and the political argument; and (iv) the extent to which the Liberal reforms were a success.

About the lecturer

Matthew Cole is Teaching Fellow in the Department of History at the University of Birmingham. He is a historian of modern Britain with a particular interest in twentieth century constitutional and party politics, and local history.