The Transformation of British Welfare Policy

The Transformation of British Welfare Policy PDF Author: Tom O'Grady
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192898892
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 401

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Book Description
Since 2010 the UK has enacted radical welfare reforms that have led to greater poverty, homelessness, indebtedness, and foodbank use. It has diverged from other European countries experiencing similar economic and social trends, who have not enacted such dramatic cuts and reforms. Until recently, however, the changes proved very popular with the public, who increasingly hated the welfare system and viewed its users as lazy, undeserving, and likely to be cheating. In this book, Tom O'Grady focuses on policies that provide relief from unemployment, poverty, and disability to uncover why Britain's welfare system has been reformed so radically and why, until recently, the public enthusiastically endorsed this programme. Using a comparative and historical perspective, he traces the evolution of British welfare policy, politics, discourse, and public opinion since the 1980s, and argues that from the 1990s a long-term change in discourse from both politicians and the media caused the British public to turn against welfare by 2010. That, combined with the financial crisis, left the system uniquely vulnerable to cuts. This book explores the roots of public opinion on the welfare system, the motives of politicians who have revolutionized it, and the ways in which the system and its users have been spoken about. It is an account of how the public came to consider deserving recipients of help as scroungers; of when and why politicians and the media vilified them; of political parties whose discourse and policies were transformed, almost overnight; and of Britain's journey from providing welfare as generously as the average European country in the 1970s to becoming an outlier today.

The Transformation of British Welfare Policy

The Transformation of British Welfare Policy PDF Author: Tom O'Grady
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192898892
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 401

Get Book Here

Book Description
Since 2010 the UK has enacted radical welfare reforms that have led to greater poverty, homelessness, indebtedness, and foodbank use. It has diverged from other European countries experiencing similar economic and social trends, who have not enacted such dramatic cuts and reforms. Until recently, however, the changes proved very popular with the public, who increasingly hated the welfare system and viewed its users as lazy, undeserving, and likely to be cheating. In this book, Tom O'Grady focuses on policies that provide relief from unemployment, poverty, and disability to uncover why Britain's welfare system has been reformed so radically and why, until recently, the public enthusiastically endorsed this programme. Using a comparative and historical perspective, he traces the evolution of British welfare policy, politics, discourse, and public opinion since the 1980s, and argues that from the 1990s a long-term change in discourse from both politicians and the media caused the British public to turn against welfare by 2010. That, combined with the financial crisis, left the system uniquely vulnerable to cuts. This book explores the roots of public opinion on the welfare system, the motives of politicians who have revolutionized it, and the ways in which the system and its users have been spoken about. It is an account of how the public came to consider deserving recipients of help as scroungers; of when and why politicians and the media vilified them; of political parties whose discourse and policies were transformed, almost overnight; and of Britain's journey from providing welfare as generously as the average European country in the 1970s to becoming an outlier today.

The Winding Road to the Welfare State

The Winding Road to the Welfare State PDF Author: George R. Boyer
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691183996
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 366

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Book Description
How did Britain transform itself from a nation of workhouses to one that became a model for the modern welfare state? The Winding Road to the Welfare State investigates the evolution of living standards and welfare policies in Britain from the 1830s to 1950 and provides insights into how British working-class households coped with economic insecurity. George Boyer examines the retrenchment in Victorian poor relief, the Liberal Welfare Reforms, and the beginnings of the postwar welfare state, and he describes how workers altered spending and saving methods based on changing government policies. From the cutting back of the Poor Law after 1834 to Parliament’s abrupt about-face in 1906 with the adoption of the Liberal Welfare Reforms, Boyer offers new explanations for oscillations in Britain’s social policies and how these shaped worker well-being. The Poor Law’s increasing stinginess led skilled manual workers to adopt self-help strategies, but this was not a feasible option for low-skilled workers, many of whom continued to rely on the Poor Law into old age. In contrast, the Liberal Welfare Reforms were a major watershed, marking the end of seven decades of declining support for the needy. Concluding with the Beveridge Report and Labour’s social policies in the late 1940s, Boyer shows how the Liberal Welfare Reforms laid the foundations for a national social safety net. A sweeping look at economic pressures after the Industrial Revolution, The Winding Road to the Welfare State illustrates how British welfare policy waxed and waned over the course of a century.

The Evolution of the British Welfare State

The Evolution of the British Welfare State PDF Author: Derek Fraser
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 364

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Book Description
This book has become the standard text on the course of social policy and social ideas in Britain since the Industrial Revolution. To the first edition Professor Fraser has added a new foreword which sets out the variety of approaches which now exist to the history of social policy. Each chapter has been up-dated and revised in the light of recent research and five further documents have been added to the appendix. In a new postscript Professor Fraser discusses the welfare state in the period since 1973 and suggests what its future may be in the 1980s. The bibliography has been completely revised and contains a full survey of articles, so providing a fully up-to-date second edition which offers new insights and material in the light of current research. A third edition, which will bring this classic text up to the 1990s will be published in 1996.

Disability and the Welfare State in Britain

Disability and the Welfare State in Britain PDF Author: Jameel Hampton
Publisher: Policy Press
ISBN: 1447316428
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
The British Welfare State initially seemed to promise welfare for all, but excluded millions of disabled people. This book examines attempts in the subsequent three decades to reverse this exclusion. It also provides the first major analysis of the Disablement Income Group and the Thalidomide campaign.

Welfare Policy in Britain

Welfare Policy in Britain PDF Author: Rodney Lowe
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1349273228
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 238

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Book Description
The welfare state arouses controversy whether attention is focused on its recent past or future development. Leading experts in welfare history draw together the latest research in essays combining broad policy surveys and detailed case studies. The key questions are 'What is a welfare state?' and 'How can it best be analysed?'. The history of the British welfare state suggests that the traditional approach has been too narrow. Current policy should be informed by a greater sense of history.

The Development Of Social Welfare In Britain

The Development Of Social Welfare In Britain PDF Author: Midwinter , Eric
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education (UK)
ISBN: 0335191045
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
This textbook is aimed at undergraduate and diploma students across a wide range of the social sciences, with particular reference to those preparing for or involved in careers in social and public administration. It provides, in compact form, the story of social provision from medieval times to the present day, systematically examining major themes of: the relief of poverty and social care; healthcare and housing; crime and policing; and education. With the rise of the Welfare State, and its current questioning as the chief focus, the book sets out to analyze how the state has responded to the social problems that have beset it. Consideration is given to comparative elements in Europe, North America and elsewhere, together with specific reference to issues of race, ethnicity and gender. A specially prepared glossary completes what is a review and description of the growth and present disposition of the full range of social and public services in Britain.

The Origin of the Welfare State in England and Germany, 1850-1914

The Origin of the Welfare State in England and Germany, 1850-1914 PDF Author: E. P. Hennock
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521592127
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 23

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Book Description
This book offers a comparison of the origins of the welfare state in England and Germany (1850-1914).

The Welfare State in Britain Since 1945

The Welfare State in Britain Since 1945 PDF Author: Rodney Lowe
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : England
Languages : en
Pages : 402

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Book Description
This account of welfare policy in Britain analyzes the period of so-called consensus between 1945 and 1975 and the years between 1975 and 1990 when state welfare came under ideological attack. The guide provides an assessment of the relative successes and failures of social and employment policy.

The Next Welfare State?

The Next Welfare State? PDF Author: Christopher Pierson
Publisher: Policy Press
ISBN: 1447361199
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 174

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Book Description
In this book, Chris Pierson argues that we will need to think quite differently about the British welfare state after COVID-19. He looks back to the welfare state’s origins and development as well as forwards, unearthing some surprising solutions in unexpected places.

The Winding Road to the Welfare State

The Winding Road to the Welfare State PDF Author: George R. Boyer
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691217114
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 365

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Book Description
How did Britain transform itself from a nation of workhouses to one that became a model for the modern welfare state? The Winding Road to the Welfare State investigates the evolution of living standards and welfare policies in Britain from the 1830s to 1950 and provides insights into how British working-class households coped with economic insecurity. George Boyer examines the retrenchment in Victorian poor relief, the Liberal Welfare Reforms, and the beginnings of the postwar welfare state, and he describes how workers altered spending and saving methods based on changing government policies. From the cutting back of the Poor Law after 1834 to Parliament’s abrupt about-face in 1906 with the adoption of the Liberal Welfare Reforms, Boyer offers new explanations for oscillations in Britain’s social policies and how these shaped worker well-being. The Poor Law’s increasing stinginess led skilled manual workers to adopt self-help strategies, but this was not a feasible option for low-skilled workers, many of whom continued to rely on the Poor Law into old age. In contrast, the Liberal Welfare Reforms were a major watershed, marking the end of seven decades of declining support for the needy. Concluding with the Beveridge Report and Labour’s social policies in the late 1940s, Boyer shows how the Liberal Welfare Reforms laid the foundations for a national social safety net. A sweeping look at economic pressures after the Industrial Revolution, The Winding Road to the Welfare State illustrates how British welfare policy waxed and waned over the course of a century.