Comment on this statement by Winston Churchill in 1899 :
“I see little glory in an Empire which can rule the waves and is unable to flush its own sewers”

a)Explain briefly the general meaning of this statement.
b)Explain why Britain was reluctant to vote any reform to treat poverty till the late 19th century.
c)Analyse why the situation changed in the early 20th century.

I) Winston Churchill made the statement "I see little glory in an Empire which can rule the waves and is unable to fluch its own sewers." in 1899. Before that year, the politician was a conservative. He had recently visited India and at the time believed the power Britain had over its colonies was normal and good. When he got back, he was advised to read The Martyrdom of Man by Windword Reade which made him change his opinions about the colonisation and the greatness of his country. It was after his failure at the Oldham elections that he moved from the Conservative Party to the Labour Party. In 1899, Britain's poor were not helped and their conditions were still very bad. Churchill wanted to improve their living conditions by doing reforms : and so he contributed to the creation of the Old Age pensions Act and helped to create National Insurance.
At the time of this statement, the sewer systems in Britain had already been changed after the summer of the Great Stench in 1958, but were still not very effective and could be considered as good. In 1899, a politician named Whitehead (who's father had worked with Churchill's father) asked the government, on the 27th February 1899, whether they were going to fulfil his request of improving the sewers and draining systems of England. The government refused any such change saying it was unnecessary.
At the time, Britain was at was against the Boers for the second time, going through defeats and victories. But the empire was well-known to be the biggest colonial power which was still expanding and a true strength when it came to military power,