The Politics of Welfare

This revised edition examines the ideological, historical and political context for the programme of social reform undertaken by the Thatcher and Major governments since 1979. The overview of changes in state welfare between 1979 and 1992 is accompanied by a discussion of the competing values which underpin welfare, and the development and later decline of political consensus over welfare. The text concludes by assessing the impact of the New Right reforms on the agenda for social policy for the rest of the century. An appendix provides a detailed profile of current social problems in Britain and the policy debates which surround them.