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A Respectable Occupation: - University of Hertfordshire Research ...

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doctor and his patient; a situation that was considered almost unethical by<br />

the medical pr<strong>of</strong>ession. But as the doctor issued certificates that resulted in<br />

payments by the friendly societies, the societies wanted control <strong>of</strong> the<br />

relationship to guard against malingering. Lloyd George‘s problem was that<br />

the members <strong>of</strong> these Societies came largely from the better paid skilled<br />

workers, 178 leaving about 39,000,000 people in families where the income<br />

was less than £160 per year. 179 They could not afford to contribute to health<br />

insurance or were not prepared to do so and the government‘s view was that<br />

only a compulsory scheme would solve this problem. 180 At first sight, this<br />

figure <strong>of</strong> 39 million ‗poor‘ people seems high. This is particularly so since<br />

L. Money also claims that there were an additional 1.4 million ‗rich‘ people<br />

and 4.1 million ‗comfortable‘ people in the United Kingdom in 1908 and<br />

1909, to give a total <strong>of</strong> 44.5 million. 181 But the 1911 censuses for England<br />

and Wales, Scotland and Ireland support this claim by reporting a total <strong>of</strong><br />

45,305,229 for the British Isles. 182<br />

In addition to the friendly societies, the insurance companies also had<br />

an interest in death benefits. Many people, <strong>of</strong>ten from among those who<br />

could not afford to join a friendly society, would take out a Whole Life Policy<br />

178<br />

Grigg, Lloyd George, p. 316. For further information about the Friendly Societies see P. Gosden, The<br />

Friendly Societies in England 1815-1875 (reprint, Aldershot, [1961] 1993) and S. Cordery, British<br />

Friendly Societies 1750-1914 (Basingstoke, 2003) and D. Neave, East Riding Friendly Societies<br />

(Beverley, 1988).<br />

179 th<br />

L. Money, Riches and Poverty (London, 1911, 10 ed.), p. 47 quoted in Gilbert, The Evolution <strong>of</strong><br />

National Insurance in Great Britain, p. 303, note 23.<br />

180<br />

Official Report, House <strong>of</strong> Commons Debates, Series 5, IV, (April 29, 1909), cols. 485-7 quoted in<br />

Gilbert, The Evolution <strong>of</strong> National Insurance in Great Britain, p. 301, note 19.<br />

181<br />

Money, Riches and Poverty, p. 47 quoted in Gilbert, The Evolution <strong>of</strong> National Insurance in Great<br />

Britain, p. 303, note 23.<br />

182<br />

Preliminary Report, Scotland, 1911, p. iii and Summary Tables, England and Wales, 1911, p. 2 and<br />

Preliminary Report, Ireland, 1911, p. 13 in Histpop Online Historical population reports<br />

accessed 1 Feb. 2010.<br />

269

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