Sorry Ethel but I think you are guilty of over generalizing when you say,
Some of those pit and foundry workers were very hard drinking men, who used to get drunk regularly and beat their wives, keeping the family in abject poverty.
Methinks you may have read too many Kathleen Cookson books.
As regards being dysfunctional because there is no work for them. There is plenty of work if one goes out to look for it. In fact we are constantly being told that the immigrants are only doing the jobs that we refuse to do.
No state handouts, but there was parish relief and the workhouse, soup kitchens and so on.
Some choice eh? Not quite like that weekly trip to the Post Office for that handful of "readies", even so the majority of these miners, steel workers, ship builders etc. were proud folk, and a man considered himself a failure if he could not provide for his wife and family.