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Hello, from 1834, poor people across England and Wales faced new obstacles when they could

no longer feed or clothe themselves, or find shelter.

Parliament in line with the ideas of Jérôme Bentham and Thomas Malthus feared handouts

that had become so attractive they stopped people working to support themselves and encouraged

families to have more children than they could afford.

To correct this under the new poor laws it became harder to get any relief outside of

the workhouse where families will be separated, husbands from wives, parents from children,

sisters from brothers.

Many found this regime inhumane, while others protested it was too lenient.

It lasted until the 20th century.

When we to discuss the new poor laws of 1834 are emigrant professors of modern British

history at the University of East Anglia, Samantha Shea, a lecturer in social policy at

the University of Lincoln and Stephen King, professor of economic and social history at the

University of Leicester.

Am I gruffin, how close to subsistence level were many people in the early 19th century?

I think in the early 19th century we're still really quite a poor society, very much an

agrarian society, the industrial revolution is happening but it hasn't really managed

...