Artisans' and Labourers' Dwellings Improvement Act 1875 passed in the United Kingdom (1875)

The Artisans' and Labourers' Dwellings Improvement Act 1875, known as the Cross Act, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom designed by Richard Cross, Home Secretary during Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli's second Conservative Government. It allowed local councils to buy up areas of slum dwellings in order to clear and then rebuild them.

Episodes

Background and detail

Background. The Act formed part of Disraeli's social reform initiative aimed at the "elevation of the people" (the working class), a policy stated in his 1872 speeches at Manchester and Crystal Palace, and associated with his doctrine of One Nation Conservatism. Disraeli proclaimed in June 1875: "Permissive legislation is the characteristic of a free people".

Mechanism. The Act was designed by Richard Cross, Home Secretary during Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli's second Conservative Government. It involved allowing local councils to buy up areas of slum dwellings in order to clear and then rebuild them.

Publication. The Act was published as "The Artizans' and Labourers' Dwellings Improvement Act, 1875: With Introduction, Notes, Appendix of Statutes and Forms, and Index." It was later re-issued with the Artizans' and Labourers' Dwellings Improvement Act, 1879.

People involved

Sources

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