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The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 was enacted by a Whig administration and owed much to Jeremy Bentham’s utilitarianism. Many Tories opposed the Act on the grounds that it was unduly harsh and argued that the legislation undermined the duty of the landed gentry to look after their tenantry. One can argue with some justification that such a view is paternalistic, however it was not ignoble. Of course some Tories along with Whigs supported the Poor Law Amendment Act but it is wrong to label it a Tory measure.
If you take a look at the article, it isn’t.
The image states that the Tories are repeating history – but does not suggest that it is their history.
Being blind and using software which converts text into speech and braille allowing me to read my computer’s screen I can not interpret the image which appears to have no text accompanying it. Consequently I am guided by the wording of the article rather than the accompanying image.
Actually I’ve just noticed the mention of ‘Conservative governments’ – capital ‘C’. On first reading I took that to mean small ‘c’ Conservative governments – in other words including the Whigs. I don’t think it makes much difference to the thrust of the article, though.
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