The British Welfare State: A Critical History

The nature of the British "Welfare State", established in the 1940s through the acceptance of the Beveridge Report′s recommendations and assumption, has long been the subject of an inconclusive debate, even though knowledge of its history has increased as official papers have become open to access under the thirty year rule. What aims, interests and forces shaped its development before and after the Beveridge Report′s appearance, from the Liberal innovations in social policy before 1914 to the collapse of full employment in the 1970s? This book examines the answers to such questions provided by recent historical research and discussion, offering a critical and comprehensive study of the modernization of social policy in Britain.

Introduction. 1. The Welfare State: Definition and Interpretation. The Problems of Definition. Problems of Interpretation. 2. The Plan for Social Security. Beveridge′s Recommendations and their Acceptance. The Prewar Reform Agenda. From the 1946 Act to the Fowler Review. 3. Beveridge′s Assumptions. The Plan in Context. Full Employment. The National Health Service. Family Allowances. 4. Progress and Decline. Bibliography. Index.

John Brown is Senior Lecturer in History at Edinburgh University and the author of articles on the history of modern social policy and politics in Britain.