The Historical Development of the Welfare State Since 1945

The Historical Development of the Welfare State Since 1945

In this task I am going to examine and describe how the welfare state

was invented and developed since 1945. The welfare state as we know it

today was a far cry from the Elizabethan England where people were

offered no security and, in desperation, were forced to beg the

streets in order to survive. In these times only the very minimum

security was offered to the elderly, however the unemployed were left

to starve to death.

There was no particular change in these laws until the industrial

revolution, which was an important period in the social history of

Britain. The industrial revolution marks the change of agriculture to

factory production work. This caused serious problems for the people

of Britain as many jobs, which was done by hand, such as weaving,

where now being done by a machine, leaving many people unemployed.

Also, there was a major shortage of houses due to people being forced

to leave their homes to urban areas to be near the factories.

In 1834 the poor laws were created in which it was declared that if

people were unemployed it was by choice as the people who couldn’t

find a job were simply idle and the work was available if they really

wanted it. It was after the 1834 poor law that workhouses were

created. Many people would only enter the workhouses as an alternative

to starvation. The workhouses were considered harsh and degrading yet

the sick and the elderly were treated in the exact same way. To enter

a workhouse would result in you loosing your dignity, and many people

chose the other option, which was death.

It was towards the end of the 19th cen...

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...ative rule.

Under the control of Tony Blair, New Labour claimed to have found a ‘

third way’. It is Tony Blair’s belief that work is the surest way out

of poverty so the new welfare state is based on ‘work for those who

can and security for those who can’t’ the New Labour party has tried

to combine the beliefs of the Old Labour party and the Conservative

party to bring the public a welfare state that will work for everyone.

The government still accepts it has a responsibility to support its

citizens, yet the citizens must also support themselves. In recent

years the government has being criticised for many decisions made

concerning the welfare state, yet, in my opinion, the New Labour

government has done a fair job in making the world a better place and

creating equal opportunities despite social class or income group.