Transforming welfare: new economics, New Labour and the new Tories

Coote, Anna; Franklin, Jane

doi:10.3898/136266210791036737

Cited by 12 publications

(13 citation statements)

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“…The Big Society and the 'Neo-Liberal Revolution' Much journalistic and academic ink has been spilled on the topic of the 'Big Society' since David Cameron introduced the concept in his 2009 Hugo Young memorial lecture, with the prevailing opinion seemingly being that the Big Society is the latest in a long line of throwaway political slogans, devoid of any substantive content (for these kinds of accounts see Bennett, 2011, Toynbee, 2010, Hall, 2011, Gamble, 2011, Clarke, 2009, Clarke & Newman, 2012, Rustin, 2011, Tam, 2011, Coote & Franklin, 2010. What follows in this chapter is an attempt to take the Big Society seriously and to determine…”

Section: Chapter Fourmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neoliberalisms in British Politics

Byrne

2018

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This thesis reconsiders conceptualisations of neo-liberalism by challenging established economistic and ideologistic narratives of the unfolding of the neo-liberal project in Britain. Drawing on and attempting to integrate with one another Laclau and Mouffe's post-Marxist discourse theory and Foucault's theory of governmentality, the thesis charts the development of a neo-liberal governmental rationality in British politics from the emergence of Thatcher onto the British political scene in the late-1970s, through the New Labour project in the 1990s and 2000s, up to the formation of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government in 2010. The second major strand of the argument presented in the thesis is that each of these decisive moments in the history of British neo-liberalism served the crucial purpose of reinvigorating the longer-term neoliberal governmental project by providing it with a new hegemonic basis upon which to base its popular support. The thesis begins with an analysis of Thatcherism as a chaotic, fledgling form of neo-liberal governmentality underpinned by, in Hall's (1979) memorable words, an 'authoritarian populist' hegemonic project. It then considers New Labour as representing a more fully-developed, 'advanced neo-liberal' form of government, which simultaneously restored the electoral viability of the Labour party and provided the neo-liberal governmental project with a new, 'technocratic populist' hegemonic basis. The final section of the thesis focuses on the politics of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government. The historical significance of 'Big Society' is theorised as both a neo-liberal technology of government and as an ideology with the dual purpose of 'detoxifying' the Conservative party brand and winning popular support for the further neo-liberalisation of British society.

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Section: Chapter Fourmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neoliberalisms in British Politics

Byrne

2018

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“…It also coincided, however, with the introduction of massive cuts in public expenditure announced in the 2010 Spending Review as part of the new government's commitment to reduce the public sector spending deficit that the country faced. This led political critics, such as the New Economics Foundation, to suggest that in practice the Big Society was little more than a fig-leaf to cover the yawning gaps that would soon be appearing in public services (Coote 2010). Although Cameron himself claimed that his support for the Big Society was not just because of the need for government cuts, but was about a new political rhetoric for smaller government, which a Conservative government ought to be promoting whatever the economic context.…”

Section: Big Societymentioning

confidence: 99%

From Partnership to the Big Society: The Third Sector Policy Regime in the UK

Alcock

2016

Nonprofit Policy Forum

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This article provides an overview of the changing balance of state and third sector relations in the UK over the last decade or so. It briefly sets this in the broader context of the changing nature of these relations over a longer historical perspective, and it develops the notion of interdependence as a framework for understanding how these relations have become established in the country. Recent political discourses and policy publications are drawn on to explain the shifts in policy regime under the Labour and Coalition governments in the UK in the early twenty-first century, emphasising the differences and similarities in these. The conclusion situates these regimes in a broader context of state and third sector analysis and the contested conceptualisation of civil society. Since 1999 third sector policy in the UK has been devolved to the separate administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; and this article focuses largely on developments in England only.Keywords: third sector, state, United Kingdom, interdependence, third way, big society The UK Third SectorThe focus of this article is on recent developments in the relationship between the state and the third sector in the UK; and in particular how this has changed over the last decade or so under the Labour governments of the 2000s and following the impact of the economic recession and the change of government in 2010. It draws on analysis of key policy initiatives and published documents from the Labour and Coalition governments to explore the major changes in state and third sector relations introduced by these two, apparently contrasting, administrations; and it develops the notion of interdependence to explain the underlying paradigm informing these policy regimes. The key political and policy events underpinning these changes are outlined in Box 1.

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“…As this suggests, there are a number of important barriers to the government's likely ability to exploit the untapped potential of volunteers. In a critique of ‘the big society’ for the New Economics Foundation, Coote stressed that building ‘the big society’ ‘depends crucially on people having enough time to engage in local action’, and that some have more control over their time than others (Coote, 2010). The studies by Ipsos MORI and the Hansard Society both indicate that the most common reason for people not getting involved in community action is that they simply do not have the time.…”

Section: ‘A Large Untapped Resource’? From State Action To Social Actionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can You Tell What It Is Yet? Public Attitudes Towards ‘the Big Society’

Defty

2013

Social Policy & Society

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‘The big society’ was a central theme in the Conservative's 2010 general election campaign. Opinion polls at the time of the election suggested that ‘the big society’ had little resonance with the public. Nevertheless, ‘the big society’ has been the subject of a number of prominent re-launches since the election. It appeared to underpin the Coalition government's policies in a range of areas and the Prime Minister invested considerable personal capital in it. This article examines public attitudes towards ‘the big society’. Drawing on public opinion data, it focuses on public recognition and understanding of ‘the big society’ and more broadly on whether the government's approach to rolling back state provision has prompted an increased public appetite for involvement in the delivery of services.

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Transforming welfare: new economics, New Labour and the new Tories

Cited by 12 publications

References 0 publications

Neoliberalisms in British Politics

Neoliberalisms in British Politics

From Partnership to the Big Society: The Third Sector Policy Regime in the UK

Can You Tell What It Is Yet? Public Attitudes Towards ‘the Big Society’

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