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Thomas Malthus was one individual who wanted to see the abolition of the Poor Law. His criticism was of the Speenhamland system, introduced in 1795, which subsidised low wages according to the price of bread and the number of children. In his view, this encouraged families to have more children which would eventually result in overpopulation. .
David Ricardo was another individual who wanted to see the abolition the Poor Law. He argued that the Roundsman and the Speenhamland systems were demoralising the poor because many were becoming too dependent on the government. Thomas Paine was a radical Socialist and he blamed the Capitalist structure of exploiting workers and being the cause of poverty. He wanted to see the redistribution of land and wealth by the introduction of land tax. .
The Gilbert's Act of 1782 was an attempt to control the financial burden of relieving the poor in their own homes and to promote poorhouses as indoor alternatives. This allowed parishes to join together if they wanted to, so sharing and maintaining the cost of poorhouses, making more money available for the poor. .
Jeremy Bentham's ideas on poverty and the Poor Law were outlined in the book Pauper Management Improved in 1798. He wrote that every institution should aim to achieve the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people, being utilitarian. Bentham proposed that the National Charity Organisation should be responsible for the poor. This was to be a profit making, private company initially financed by a government subsidy. To begin with 250 industry houses' would be built to accommodate about 10% of the population. Poor relief would only be given to those who entered the house and support for those living in their own homes (outdoor relief) would be abolished. Life within the industry house would be deliberately harsh so therefore, being a deterrent and only for those most desperate. This was a major influence on the 1834 Act.