Is it time up?

Original Ideals

The original ideals of the welfare state, as outlined in the post war Beveridge report were to provide a comprehensive system of social insurance 'from cradle to grave'.

It proposed that all working people should pay a weekly contribution to the state. In return, the state would pay benefits would be paid to the unemployed, the sick, the retired and the widowed.

Beveridge wanted to ensure that there was an acceptable minimum standard of living in Britain below which nobody fell.

Five Giant Social Evils

Poverty (Want)

Bad Health (Disease)

Lack of education (Ignorance)

Bad housing (Squalor)

Unemployment (Idleness)

The Thatcher Challenge

Margaret Thatcher identified the trade unions and organised labour as the barrier to her social revolution. A fight was picked with the most powerful union, the National Union Of Mineworkers. The miners defeat in the 1984-85 strike allowed the Conservatives to change the welfare state.

Where Beveridge sought collective solutions, The Conservatives sought individual solutions.

Privatisation, Consumerism and Thatcherism in the 1980s

New Labour and the 3rd Way

When Labour famously became “New Labour” in 1994, it abandoned traditional socialism. The “ Third Way”, whilst retaining “old Labour values”, embraced these in “a modern setting” to take in ideas which were previously seen as “Tory”.   Labour could now reach out to voters who supported working with the private sector rather than against it. These voters were pro-business and disliked tax and spend economics. This meant that Labour could keep its traditional voters (in England and Wales at least) and now pull in Conservative voters into the “big tent”. New Labour believed in “welfare to work”.

Welfare to Work

"The welfare state of the 21st century will not simply be a safety net but an enabler - a ladder out of poverty. It must embody the mutual acceptance of self-responsibility and the acceptance of responsibility for the well-being of others. "

David Blunkett

Welfare to Work is an umbrella term for all the various initiatives the Labour Governments, both in Westminster and at Holyrood, have taken to move people from welfare to work.

New Labour believed that to tackle the five giant evils, people, if they are fit and able, need to be working. Therefore financial incentives were put in place to get people back to work, such as the National Minimum Wage and a variety of Tax Credits.

The New Deals

Yvette Cooper was responsible for the delivery of the Welfare Reform Acts of 2007 and 2009 which sought to reduce the numbers of people on long term benefit.

SNP’s Collectivist policies

The SNP Government has been remarkably collectivist. Prescription charges have been cut and will be phased out completely by 2011.

The Graduation tax has been abolished and Scotland still has no tuition fees for higher education.

Free school meals for S1-S3 are planned(subject to funding!)

Do we have a Nanny State?

Kenny MacAskill on the Test Purchasing scheme

In June 2008 the Scottish Government launched a consultation on tacking alcohol misuse. The proposals, which are being debated in the Scottish Parliament, include:•Raising the minimum age for off-sales alcohol purchases to 21 •Setting a minimum price at which a unit of alcohol can be sold •Ending 'three for the price of two' type promotions, which encourage impulse buying of extra alcohol •A 'social responsibility fee' for some alcohol retailers to help pay for the consequences of alcohol misuse and reduce the burden on the general taxpayer

New Social Evils?

While we still struggle to eradicate the original giant evils, what about the new giant evils of today?

How do we tackle racism, obesity, drug abuse and knife crime?

Beveridge had nothing to say about these issues. They just weren’t on the agenda in 1945.

They are now.

Most politicians, across the political parties, accept that something needs to be done.

Continued Inequalities

We also have chronic, and growing, wealth and health inequalities.

The percentage of the country’s wealth held by the top 10% has increased.

41% of Glasgow’s households live in poverty.

The highest life expectancy in Scotland is to be found in North East Fife (77.6 years on average), whereas in Shettleston in Glasgow, the average life expectancy for men is just under 64.

David Cameron’s “Big Society”

“Circumstances; where you’re born, your neighbourhood, your school and the choices your parents make have a huge impact. But, social problems are often the consequence of the choices that people make”

David Cameron, Glasgow, July 2008

David Cameron on poverty

Following on from his theme of “Broken Britain”, Prime Minister David Cameron has developed the idea of the “Big Society”. In some ways it is the Conservatives’ own third way; between the individualism of Margaret Thatcher and government help for those in need.

Cameron seeks to “heal” the so-called broken society by encouraging greater individual responsibility ( a traditional Conservative approach) and use of the voluntary sector to help those prepared to face up to their problems.

Big Society Solutions“It’s time for something different, something bold – something that doesn’t just pour money down the throat of wasteful, top-down government schemes.

The Big Society is that something different and bold.

It’s about saying if we want real change for the long-term, we need people to come together and work together – because we’re all in this together.”

David Cameron, July 2010

The Big Society

How the Big Society will workThe Government will set up “vanguard communities”. In these communities, individuals and voluntary groups will be funded to take over duties previously provided by the state.

These groups can run housing projects, schools, youth groups and cultural organisations.

A "big society bank” will be established to finance charities and voluntary groups.

A new Welfare Reform Bill will also be passed which will make it tougher to claim out-of work benefits, especially Incapacity Benefit. Welfare Reform will be led by Iain Duncan Smith, left, who did a lot of poverty research in Glasgow, and Labour MP Frank Field.

Welfare Reform

Critics of the Big Society

How do we get the long term unemployed, many of whom have serious mental health issues, back to work? Unemployment is rising and more job losses are on the way. Can they really compete in the job market against skilled workers?

Critics say the Big Society is either nothing new – the Labour Governments worked with voluntary groups too – or that the Big Society is simply a smokescreen for big cuts in public services.

Others claim that only those with skills, time and contacts will be able to access the Big Society. The poor and the powerless will be left further behind, effectively ending the welfare state.

What do you think? What should be done to tackle the five evils, plus the many new ones?

Is it time up for the welfare state?