Pre-war attitudes

The First World War affected Britain in many different ways. The attitude of the British people to the role of their government certainly changed. In the nineteenth century most people probably shared the view of the Conservative and Liberal Parties that governments should interfere as little as possible in the lives of the people and the activities of business.

In the decade before the war, most Liberals changed their views to believe that certain basic needs should be taken care of, and a Liberal government introduced measures like a pension for old age (1906), some form of sickness pay (1912) and limited unemployment benefit for certain workers (1913). These Liberal measures were controversial for their time and some Liberals, like the Conservatives, believed that such policies would lead the British people to lose the need to take care of themselves and rely more and more on the State to support them.

Neil Demarco: Britain and the Great War; Oxford University Press, 1992/2000, page 31