Foundations of the Workfare State – Reflections on the Political Transformation of the Welfare State in <scp>B</scp>ritain

Deeming, Christopher

doi:10.1111/spol.12096

Cited by 52 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Such capitulations give context to quantitative assessments that have registered the diminished commitment to the welfare state contained in party manifestos of the centre‐left parties in some liberal welfare states (Gingrich and Häusermann ). Indeed, the adoption of anti‐welfare rhetoric and policies on the part of the Anglo‐left may have even conditioned left‐of‐centre voters to understand the problems of unemployment and welfare dependence through the policy frames established by the ascendant paternalistic right (Deeming ).…”

Section: The Rise Of Minimum Wage Politics In the Liberal Welfare Stamentioning

confidence: 99%

The Politics of ‘Minimum Wage’ Welfare States: The Changing Significance of the Minimum Wage in the Liberal Welfare Regime

Wilson

2017

Soc Policy Adm

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It is an indisputable reality that the English‐speaking welfare states have retreated from their distinct postwar welfare state compromises in ways that prompt many to wonder what is still liberal about the liberal welfare states. Considering developments in minimum wage institutions and politics in five liberal welfare states, this article argues that the apparent renewed politicization of the minimum wage – driven by legislative action and activist campaigns from below – is an inevitable consequence of the twin policies of labour market deregulation and workfare‐centred social policies. A larger electorate of low‐paid workers, including those in full‐time work, combined with rising concerns from the public about the extent and injustice of poverty wages are important factors drawing renewed attention to the politics and policy of minimum wages. However, I also show that policymakers have additional incentives to embrace higher minimum wages: the economic orthodoxy in favour of low minimum wages has steadily lost credibility, and legislating for wage increases enables a predistributive strategy with the potential to shift the burden of addressing inequalities from fiscally‐strained governments to employers. Drawing on policy and political developments from across Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the USA, I make the claim that the politicization of minimum wages offers genuine insight into the future battles over what is ‘liberal’ about the liberal welfare states.

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Section: The Rise Of Minimum Wage Politics In the Liberal Welfare Stamentioning

confidence: 99%

The Politics of ‘Minimum Wage’ Welfare States: The Changing Significance of the Minimum Wage in the Liberal Welfare Regime

Wilson

2017

Soc Policy Adm

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“…5 On the conditions making it advantageous for interest groups to join an alliance, seeSalisbury et al (1987),Hojnacki (1997) andMahoney (2007).6 And we may plausibly expect a similar scenario in relation to trade unions who become more powerful over time, particularly given their internal division about BI because of the strong labourist philosophy inherent to most unions. Despite a general decline in traditional labourist values and class-based solidarity, references to 'hardworking families' are rife in European politics and rapidly adopted by the political right(Deeming, 2014).7 http://blogs.ft.com/the-world/2014/11/spanish-polls-show-podemos-surge-is-no-aberration/ 8 Recent research in agenda-setting within political parties suggests a more sophisticated explanation Rigby and Wright (2013). argue that even the policy platforms of parties that explicitly represent the 'have-nots' end up being more responsive to upper-class policy preferences.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Struggle for Strategy: On the Politics of the Basic Income Proposal

Wispelaere

2015

Politics

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Policy interest in the basic income (BI) proposal is booming, but remarkably little attention is spent on systematically examining political strategies to build robust enabling coalitions in favour of BI. This article reviews two thorny problems that affect the coalition-building efforts of BI advocates: the problem of cheap political support suggests most BI support may be of little value to further its implementation, while the problem of persistent political division argues superficial agreement among committed BI advocates may mask persistent disagreement on which precise model to adopt. The article discusses the relevance of each of these problems for BI politics, employing both analytical arguments and brief illustrations taken from debates in various countries.

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“…For example, in addition to the financial crisis, the decline in public support for working-age claimants (Park et al, 2012(Park et al, , 2014Deeming, 2014) may have helped encourage the Conservatives to move away from parts of the more compassionate narrative they had developed since 2005. The rise of UKIP, providing a political alternative to the right, meant that there was pressure on the Conservatives to take a fairly hard line in terms of rejecting tax increases and limiting social security payments (other than to pensioners).…”

Section: Compassionate Conservatism Was Overwhelmed/pushed Out By 'Evmentioning

confidence: 99%

Whatever happened to compassionate Conservatism under the Coalition government?

Bochel

Powell

2016

Br Polit

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Abstract:Following David Cameron's election as leader of the Conservative Party in late 2005, a series of initiatives suggested that he was seeking to reposition the Conservative Party, or perhaps to introduce some new thinking to the Party and to align it with interests and issues that it had not been linked with since at least the start of the Thatcher period. At the time, views among commentators varied about whether this was a genuine attempt to change the Conservative Party, including through a more compassionate approach to some social groups and problems, or whether it was simply designed to 'detoxify' the Party and to make it electable once more. However, many observers were unconvinced that the five years of the Coalition government saw significant evidence of the 'compassionate' ideas that Cameron and others sought to highlight prior to the 2010 general election. This article explores a number of possible reasons for the apparent disappearance of compassionate Conservatism in relation to social policies under the Coalition government. It suggests that rather than any one explanation, drawing upon a number of interpretations may provide the best understanding of the role and impact of compassionate Conservative ideas from 2010 to 2015.

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Foundations of the Workfare State – Reflections on the Political Transformation of the Welfare State in Britain

Abstract: The British 'welfare state' has been transformed. '

Cited by 52 publications

References 35 publications

The Politics of ‘Minimum Wage’ Welfare States: The Changing Significance of the Minimum Wage in the Liberal Welfare Regime

The Politics of ‘Minimum Wage’ Welfare States: The Changing Significance of the Minimum Wage in the Liberal Welfare Regime

The Struggle for Strategy: On the Politics of the Basic Income Proposal

Whatever happened to compassionate Conservatism under the Coalition government?

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