1847
Poor Law Act

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The inhumanity of the workhouses is becoming obvious to everyone. The Chartists campaign to abolish them. In the industrial north, there has been bitter opposition, with attacks on workhouses and their guardians. By the government's own standards, the scheme is a failure – an initial drastic drop in the cost of caring for the poor has reversed, as parishes stop building workhouses and continue to pay 'outdoor relief' (cash payments to supplement low wages). And, disappointingly, those people who have been forced into workhouses show few signs of moral improvement.

However, anyone expecting the new Act to reform the Poor Law is disappointed: it simply tinkers with the administration.

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