To strengthen this argument, the Liberal Party were victorious in the 1906 General Election not because of the new liberalism that promoted the reformist ideology, but because of the weakening Conservative Party before 1906 due to many factors such as the Boer War, some legislative issues, the Chinese Labour Issue and The Taff Vale Case. Besides, the Conservatives neglected the social reform when there was a growing awareness on poverty in the country. If the Conservatives had fought on the issue of poverty, they could have possibly retained their power.
The next reason to why the Liberals introduced social reforms is political rivalry. The Conservatives were their main rivals. Before the election in 1905, the Conservatives introduced the Unemployed Workmen Act 1905 that aimed to reduce unemployment by giving grants to businesses and local authorities to employ more workers. Apart from the Conservatives, the Liberals also had another threat, the Labour Party. Founded in 1900, the party could already establish themselves as the future leading party by gaining public support for their campaign for social welfare policies, which included unemployment benefits and old age pension. As these parties could attract voters from the working class, the Liberals had to come out with a more substantial and attractive offer which were the social reforms that not only covered unemployment and old pensions, but also health and education. Again here, it was a matter of winning the votes rather than genuinely reforming. .
Apart from the domestic political threats, the Liberals as a government also were foreseeing an international problem because of its national efficiency and national security. In the Boer War 1899, Britain took a longer time than expected to win the war. With the capacity they had compared to the Boers, the British battalion was considered inefficient or rather weak as a team. Report had shown that 25% volunteers were rejected for the military on medical grounds.
