Foundations of the workfare state : reflections on the political transformation of the welfare state in Britain

Deeming, Christopher (2015) Foundations of the workfare state : reflections on the political transformation of the welfare state in Britain. Social Policy and Administration, 49 (7). 862–886. ISSN 0144-5596 (https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.12096)

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Abstract

The British ‘welfare state’ has been transformed. ‘Welfare’ has been replaced by a new ‘workfare’ regime (the ‘Work Programme’) defined by tougher state regulatory practices for those receiving out-of-work benefits. US-style mandatory community work programmes are being revived and expanded. This article, therefore, considers shifting public attitudes to work and welfare in Britain and changing attitudes to working-age welfare and out-of-work benefits in particular. It also considers the extent to which recent transformations of the state may be explained by declines in traditional labourist politics and class-based solidarity. Thus, we attempt to develop a richer understanding of changing public attitudes towards welfare and the punitive regulatory ‘workfare’ practices engaged by the modern state in the liberal market economy; reflecting on the nature of the relations between ideology, party policies, popular attitudes and their political impact.

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