The Effects of the Social Reforms of the Labour Government of 1945-1951
The Beveridge Report was published in 1942. Written by the Liberal Sir
William Beveridge, it had identified what he called the “five giants”
– the five gravest problems of British society. They were idleness
(unemployment), want (poverty), disease, squalor and ignorance.
Beveridge argued for a comprehensive social insurance scheme,
universal access to healthcare and new attempts to avoid the mass
unemployment of the 30’s. The report was wildly popular amongst the
public, who bought 625,000 copies of this rather dry, academic policy
document. It seemed that during the worst, least hopeful times of the
war, the British public needed something to fight for – and the
creation of a full Welfare state was it.
In May 1945, the coalition government that had steered Britain through
the perilous days of the Second World War was finished. The Liberals
and the Labour Party had withdrawn, deciding that it was time to let
the British population choose their government again. A General
Election was called for July. Before the campaign had started, or a
manifesto had been published, the result had seemed inevitable.
Winston Churchill, the feted wartime leader and leader of the
Conservative Party would surely be returned as Prime Minister.
Instead, the British people surprised everyone – no one more so than
Churchill himself – by voting Clement Atlee’s Labour Party into power
with a massive majority of 168. Their election manifesto – the
optimistically named ‘Let us face the future’ - promised to “fully
implement” the recommendations of the Beveridge Report. The
Conservative...
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...veridge
report. When Joseph Rowntree repeated his research into poverty, he
found that levels of absolute poverty had fallen from 36% in 1936 to
2% in 1950. They created the ‘jewel in the crown’ of the Welfare
state, the National Health Service, and can be accredited with the
creation of the ‘safety net’, which insured that all citizens had a
basic standard of living. They protected the ‘miracle’ of full
employment, which meant that everyone in Britain who was willing to
earn a living was able to. Yet, they didn’t deal with the problem of
homelessness to a reasonable degree and left the Education system
improved - but still starkly unfair. Their record is one of successes
and failures, equality and inequities, yet, there can little doubt at
all that they left Britain in a superior state to that which they
found it.
Assess the Claim that the Labour Governments of 1924 and 1929-31 Were Unable to Achieve Anything
This essay will attempt to assess the impact of the 1942 Beveridge Report on the post 1945 UK welfare state. A welfare state is essentially ‘policy intervention through the state [to provide] forms of support and protection’ for all its citizens. (Alcock: 1998: 4) This means that the state will fund or provide provisions for services which are of need to its citizens. This is funded through citizens who pay taxes or National Insurance when they have active work, which in turn helps out the vulnerable members within a society. This concept is in essence designed to maintain the welfare of citizens from birth to the grave.
Sir William Beveridge a highly regarded liberal economist, was the author of the report which was known as Social Insurance and Allied Services, that got published by the coalition government and which was presented to the British parliament on 1st December 1942.
The WWII Proposal for the Provision of a Welfare State The proposals made during the Second World War for the provision of a Welfare State were made in order to eliminate poverty from the country. Various proposals were made that aimed to achieve this. One proposal, which was the main aim of the "Beveridge Report" was to abolish Want by providing social insurance for all: this meant providing various benefits and making people pay contributions, both depending on the class of the individual. Retirement pensions (over 60 for women, over 65 for men) and children's allowances would be provided. Employees would get benefits for unemployment and disability, and employers, traders, independent workers and people of working age without a job would get training benefit.
roots and is by no means as socialist as it was. But is it still
The Social and Cultural Changes in the Sixties There was undoubtedly a significant social and cultural change in the
In unit three of Nation of Nations, there were many social/cultural and political issues that affected the Jews in Germany and the Japanese in America. The social/cultural groups were roused due to the conflicts arising over ethnic backgrounds, race, and class differences. The Jews and Japanese faced discrimination in both countries whether they were born there or not. (Davidson, 2008)
Provoking thoughts occurred as a result of viewing a certain piece of art at the San Jose Museum of Art. This piece of art piece labeled Fallen Fruit by David Burns and Austin Young was the awe and inspiration for my topic of this paper. The piece made me think of working conditions and how far they have improved in the past century. The digital print coldly depicts assembly line workers packaging fruits for a company. The print displays the average worker in monochrome while the environment juxtaposes the workers with its tinted bright colors. The contrast between the monochrome workers and the tinted environment creates a feeling where the worker is lost in a sea of color and reveals a sense of seriousness of the morbid reality that most workers faced during the 1920s. This contrast was created by Burns and Young as a metaphor to illuminate the audience on the emphasis that companies placed on the workplace itself and the products that were being produced rather than the conditions of the workers. The angle and focus of the workers in the print also help establish a feeling of disregard for the workers. This cruel reality established by the print led me on the train of thought of the Progressive Era. An era of great change, Progressive reforms helped the quality of life for the average worker and helped pave the way for future improvements. Although Progressive reforms for the workplace were loosely enforced, these labor reforms were effective to help create better working conditions, help regulate big business, and push for the creation of unions and bureaus.
The progressive reform movement was a large movement that started in the nineteenth century. According to Knott and Miller, the progressive reform movement was a “finely honed machine for meeting the needs of a variety of constituencies: corporations seeking franchises, tariffs, or other favors; immigrants seeking housing, information, or a sense of ethnic identity in a new world; local newspapers seeking support through public advertisements; the municipal work force seeking jobs through political patronage (pg. 33).” All of these made it the large progressive reform movement, which allowed for a connection between the party and organizations.
The Extent to Which Germany was Transformed into a Totalitarian State Between 1933-1945 World War one had a massive effect on Germany. The monarch collapsed, which led to the establishment of a democratic system which also collapsed and the polycratic government of the Nazi party who Changed the effects of the treaty of Versailles, and the course of history sending it deep into another World War. This essay will talk about, Hitler's polycratic and totalitarian leadership as the Fuhrer, and his powerful control over a nation. The definition of 'Totalitarian' will often contain the following characteristics. - The state is led by a dominating and often ruthless individual presiding over a single political party or group, with no opposition groups allowed.
This essay will address whether New Labour contained policies with which it wished to pursue, or was solely developed in order to win elections. It is important to realise whether a political party that held office for approximately 13 years only possessed the goal of winning elections, or promoted policies which it wished to pursue. If a party that held no substance was governing for 13 years, it would be unfair to the people. New Labour was designed to win elections, but still contained policies which it wished to pursue. To adequately defend this thesis, one must look at the re-branding steps taken by New Labour and the new policies the party was going to pursue. Through analysis, it will be shown that New Labour promoted policies in regards
“After the passing of the Great Reform Bill, the liberal Whig leadership struck a snag. Several years of depression put the conservative Tories back in power in 1841. Wages and living conditions grew steadily worse as the industrial revolution permitted the rise of great fortunes for owners and employers along with starvation and poverty for great numbers of the working classes.” (Earl Davis, The Flint and the Flame, Page 115)
After World War I there was a Russian Revolution in 1917 that scared many American’s which was known as the Red Scare. Bolsheviks wanted a worldwide revolution and were attempting to gain momentum. The American people saw this and thought that the United States could possibly be overthrown by communism. Though there were only about 25,000 American Communists at this time and they made themselves come off as a serious threat when a string of strikes broke out across America. There were more than 4,000 strikes that involved over 4 million workers in 1919. Government, while the majority were striking for higher wages, shorter days, and workplace control, many Americans feared the worst and believed communism was on the rise. Corporations liked
The Labour Governments of 1924 and 1929-31 Demonstrated that the Labour Party was Fit to Govern In March 1924, the Conservative party lost of vote of confidence, and a minority Labour government came into power for the first time in their history. Again, in 1929, the Labour government came in to power as a minority government. The main focus of their reigns in power, was not as complicated as how well they improved the country, but just, simply whether they could rule at all. By 1931, and the fall of the Labour government, after the Wall street crash, the country was in serious economic problems, and appeared that the Labour government had failed, but was it there fault, was there anything they failed to do to stop the depression, and did they succeed in proving that they had become a major political force, which could directly compete with the Conservative party. Labour, the party set up for the working class, by trade Unionists, was an idealistic Socialist party.
The time following the Second World War turned out to be a crucial time for the development of national welfare states. European countries took different approaches to support their people. Some countries like the United Kingdom built a completely new welfare system while others like Germany and Austria decided to keep existing social welfare systems (Kaelble 264). Ultimately different plans and ideas regarding welfare led to divisions between countries that still exist. Different countries have different values regarding the necessary level of contribution one must put in to receive welfare benefits. Additionally, countries disagree on how generous benefits should be. All of these competing philosophies and visions have led to the creation