UK Welfare State: From Beveridge Report to Conservative Policies

This report examines the evolution of the UK welfare state, beginning with the principles outlined in the Beveridge Report of 1942, which emphasized social security, housing, health, and education. It explores the era of consensus politics in post-war Britain, characterized by nationalization, strong trade unions, and high taxes, alongside the emergence of new rights and new liberalism. The report further analyzes the 'Third Way' approach, focusing on enterprise and privatization, and the impact of coalition governments and austerity measures. Finally, it assesses current Conservative policies, including low taxes and reduced government spending, in relation to the historical development of the welfare state. Desklib offers this report as part of its extensive collection of study resources, including past papers and solved assignments, for students.

The welfare state

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................................1
Main principles outlined in Beveridge.........................................................................................1
Consensus politics........................................................................................................................2
New rights and new liberalism....................................................................................................2
Third Way....................................................................................................................................3
Coalition.......................................................................................................................................4
Conservatives current policies ...................................................................................................4
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
The plans and policies developed by the government are for the welfare of the society as
it helps to improve the standard of living of the people. All the policies of the government is
based on the aspect of sustainability which helps the government to focus on number of issues.
The health and well being is one of the most biggest priority of the government under which
number of strategies and plan are developed to strengthen the health structure of the country. The
present report is based on the seminar which is conducted on different types of health issues in
the country. This report contains description related to role of Beveridge and examples of
policies and legislation demonstrated to represent universal policies and principles.
MAIN BODY
Main principles outlined in Beveridge
William Beveridge was one of the famous social economist which provides many valuable
learning to the world. One of the most biggest published of the economist is the report which
they developed in the year 1942 which titles the social insurance and allied services. It is one of
the post war vision which is developed for the welfare of the people hit by the world war. The
government of great Britain was facing number of problems due to the war for the long years and
the overall structure of the country becomes ineffective the requirement of the new approach
becomes essential for the country and the Beveridge report has played important role under rge
same (Olsen and O’Connor, 2018).
The main elements of this report which grab the focus of the writer is social security housing,
health and education. There are different types of principles are recommanded in this report
which helps to rebuilt the structure of the country again and enables the government to overcome
from the negative returns of the war. The brief discussion related to these principles are given
below:
The first principle of this report is based on sustainable development approach of the
future which helps to make the process of development more superior in nature, this principle of
the policy enables the government to accept all the proposals for the growth of the future as it is
not allowed to restrict any plan due to any circumstances. This principle enables the stakeholders
to more focus on the building of nation in comparison to the war which are having negative
returns.
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The second principle of this plan that the organisation which are providing social insurances
becomes the part for social policy of the country. These organisations should be provided
effective support and the resources so that the functions of the society walfare cab be done in
effective manner.
Consensus politics
It is one of the most valuable and important economic order under which all the parties of
the United Kingdom agreed to be followed in post war scenario. The majorities of the parties are
agreed on this types of politics for the encouragement of nationalisation, strong trade unions high
taxes and society welfare. There are number of legislations and policies are developed by the
government to ensure the development of the nation. The brief discussion related to these
policies and legislations are given below:
The government of the state makes a commitment to provide full employees with the
helps of using the Keynesian technique. The ministers of the states are allowed to use their
powers for cutting the taxes and boosting the state spending so that the development of the
economic can be take place (Daly and Lewis, 2018).
The government of the state encourages number of trade unions by their effective policies
and strategies which helps to maintain effective relations. This enables the government to make
considerable development of labour class of country.
The government of the country has provided the ownership of major sectors to the states such
electricity gas , coal and many more. It helps to promotes the concept of mixed economy concept
of the country. The government of the UK focuses on the number of issues such as public health,
equality, many more. The education act becomes the priority for the government under which
they try to increase the funding in education sector under which the more and more child can
take education.
New rights and new liberalism
The government of the UK agrees on the consensus of the polictics under which the
primary focus of the government are placed on the development of the nation instead of the war
and external tensions. The central idea of the government towards the states is that they are
providing the ownership of the major sector which helps them to develop. The idea for the
market is to strengthen the labour groups which helps to improve the market structure.
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Neoliberalism is the term which is used to denote the new ideology of the government towards
the building of the nation (Hernes, 2018).
Monetarism is the concept under which the government of the country regulates the
supply of money for maintaining economic stability. The new monetary policy of the nation
enables the government to use the funds for the development activities of nation by cutting down
the funds from the welfare activities.
It is analyses from the theory of Charles Murray that the more development of promote
the growth of lone single parenthood which promotes the development of the underclass. This
theory of the household development are the part for the criticism as it focuses only single
parenthood which in turn to increase the level of poverty.
Under the privatisation policy the central government has developed a plan to privatise major
sector of the country which was under the ownership of the states as it reduces their ownership. It
is important for the effective management and allocation of resources.
Right to permit most tenants council in relation to buy their home at a rate of discount.
Assigned the eligibility checker on the Own Your Home website to find out if you can apply.
There are different rules for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The impact of new right
policy is positive on the Public spending on welfare Poverty inequality Housing Unemployment
as all these sectors of the country reflects the number of development programmer in the given
sector.
Third Way
Third way is the former government of the United kingdom which always in a favor of the
growth, enterprise, entrepreneurship. The management of this government promotes the idea of
the industrialization and the privatization so that the development of the nation can take place. It
is one of the most important feature of this government under which they promote the number of
factors which helps to increase the level of businesses in the country. This government also
focuses on the social justice and society welfare (Cylus, Figueras and Normand, 2019). The
approach of this type government are always positive for private sector as the ideology of the
government are bases on promotion of privatization.
Anthony Giddens is one of the prominent socialist at the time which fully supported the third
way ideology of modernized form of socialism. They always stand in the favor of the
government as the ideology of the party is the center of attraction for them. They regarded the
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Third way as the modification of democratic thinking under which the concept of public welfare
are redeveloped as they promote hand up not the hand out philosophy.
There are number of welfare measures are developed for the development of the concept under
which the main focus of the management are placed in number of measures which helps to
established number of reforms in the market. These measures are education, housing, medical,
transportation, safety and sanitation.
All the principles of Beveridge report is based on the welfare of the public and the usage
of social issues. The main concept is based on social welfare while the approach of the third way
is based on both privatization and public welfare.
Coalition
Coalition government refers to those government which is formed by the coalition of two parties
because the single party does not have the majority. The big society is one of the famous political
ideology which is developed in 21 century which mixed the aspect of free markets along with the
theory of social solidarity. It is mixture of conservative contrarianism and libertarian paternalism.
In the UK politics it is used as Big Society concept applied to policy of domestic in England
only. The applicable policy areas are devolved in Scotland Northern Ireland, and Wales, and are
therefore the obligation of respectively the , the Scottish Government Northern Ireland
Executive and the Welsh Government in those countries (Michener, SoRelle and Thurston,
2022).
Austerity refers to the collection of policies which the government of state developed to
established control over the public debts in the country. The concept of coalition government is
based on the issue that the acceptance required from both the parties in relation to Beveridge
approach of the welfare.
Conservatives current policies
They endorse low taxes, loose markets, deregulation, privatization,
and decreased authorities spending and authorities debt. Social conservatives
see conventional social values, regularly rooted in familial and religion, as being threatened via
way of means of secularism and ethical relativism. Labor's popularity as a
socialist celebration has been disputed via way of means of people who do now no longer see
the celebration as being a part of the Left, despite the fact that the overall consensus is that Labor
are a left-wing political celebration. Because greater vital than anybody dedication on
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this manifesto is the spirit wherein we make them. Our activity is to serve you, the human
beings. To supply at the preparation you gave us in 2016 – to get Brexit done. But then to
transport directly to making the United Kingdom a fair higher country – to making an
investment with inside the NHS, our schools, our human beings and our towns (Flora, P., 2018).
CONCLUSION
It is concluded from this report that the principles developed in Beveridge report becomes
valuable for the development of the nation under which different areas of the country becomes
developed. This report concludes description related to role of Beveridge and examples of
policies and legislation demonstrated to represent universal policies and principles.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Olsen, G.M. and O’Connor, J.S., 2018. Introduction understanding the welfare state: Power
resources theory and its critics. In Power Resource Theory and the Welfare State (pp. 1-
34). University of Toronto Press.
Daly, M. and Lewis, J., 2018. Introduction: conceptualising social care in the context of welfare
state restructuring. In Gender, social care and welfare state restructuring in Europe (pp.
1-24). Routledge.
Hernes, H.M., 2018. Women and the welfare state: the transition from private to public
dependence. In Women and the State (pp. 72-92). Routledge.
Cylus, J., Figueras, J. and Normand, C., 2019. Will population ageing spell the end of the welfare
state? a review of evidence and policy options.
Michener, J., SoRelle, M. and Thurston, C., 2022. From the margins to the center: A bottom-up
approach to welfare state scholarship. Perspectives on Politics, 20(1), pp.154-169.
Flora, P., 2018. Solution or Source of Crises? The Welfare State in Historical Perspective 1.
In The Emergence of the Welfare State in Britain and Germany 1850–1950 (pp. 343-
389). Routledge.
Offe, C. and Keane, J., 2018. Some contradictions of the modern welfare state. In Contradictions
of the welfare state (pp. 147-161). Routledge.
Van Kersbergen, K., 2018. What are welfare state typologies and how are they useful, if at all? 1.
In Routledge handbook of the welfare state (pp. 115-123). Routledge.
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