British Social Policy Since 1945 (Making Contemporary Britain) - Hardcover

GLENNERSTER

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0631189610 ISBN 13: 9780631189619

Publisher: Wiley–Blackwell, 1995

Synopsis

This volume is a broad-ranging survey of the development of social policy, from the end of the World War II up to the present day. The notion of the "Welfare State" is often invoked as a powerful, political and social ideal. In this book, Howard Glennerster explores the myths and counter-myths that have shaped poular conceptions of social policy, and that continue to dominate current debates. Setting the emergence of the "classic welfare state" in its historical context, the book explores the distinct characteristics of the 1940s as a period of remarkable social change and reception to innovation. It examines the precise role of Sir William Beveridge, traditionally seen as the founding father of the welfare system, and assesses, too, the contribution of other players, such as Aneurin Bevan, in developing the British forms of welfare provision. The book provides an assessment of the various aspects of the welfare system through the post-war decades - including education, health, social security and housing - linking the service-by-service stories to the wider political agenda of the times. Throughout, the book shows that social policy could not be tackled within a vacuum: welfare provision was expensive and sensitive, and the various legislative measures can only be understood through an awareness of the underlying political and economic concerns of ministers. Howard Glennerster is the author of "Paying for Welfare: The 1990s, and co-author (with M. Matsaginis and P. Owens) of "Implementing Fundholding" and (with N. Korman) "Planning for Priority Groups".

About this title

Review:

"Although numerous studies of the history of the British welfare state have been published, Glennerster′s book is a welcome addition to this literature. It is well written, comprehensive, analytical, and interesting. It will be particularly appealing to students. Many students either find history intimidating or dull, but the author has succeeded in producing a lively account which is eminently readable.
In addition to offering a narrative history of developments in British social policy, the book is rich in commentary, providing interesting items of information on topics such as the origin of the term welfare state, the notion of a postwar welfare consensus, and whether there was, in fact, a Thatcherite revolution. These items further enrich the book and make it all the more inviting. It deserves to be widely read by anyone interested in the historical evolution of social welfare in the latter half of this century." Social Development Issues

"Glennerster has written an introduction to the history of Britain′s post–war welfare state almost without equal." Public Administration

From the Back Cover:

This is a broad–ranging survey of the development of social policy from the end of the Second World War up to the present day. Howard Glennerster explores the myths and counter–myths that have shaped popular conceptions of social policy, and that continue to dominate current debates.

Setting the emergence of the ′classic Welfare State′ in its historical context, the author explores the distinct characteristics of the 1940s, a period of remarkable social change and innovation. He examines the role of Sir William Beveridge, traditionally seen as the founder of the Welfare system, and assesses the contribution on Aneurin Bevan and others in developing the British forms of welfare provision.

The book assesses the various aspects of ′welfare′ through the post–war decades– including education, health, social security and housing – linking the service–by–service stories to the wider political agenda of the times. Throughout, it shows that social policy could not be pursued in a vacuum; welfare provision was both expensive and politically sensitive. The successive legislative changes can only be understood through an awareness of the underlying political and economic concerns of the time.

About this edition

• Publisher: Wiley–Blackwell
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0631189610
• ISBN 13: 9780631189619
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352