143 Attlee versus Blair EIGHT Attlee versus Blair: Labour governments and progressive social policy in historical perspective Robert M. Page Introduction During his speech to the Labour Party conference in Bournemouth in September 2003 Tony Blair (2003) spoke of the “privilege” of being “the first Labour leader in 100 years” to have held office for six-and-a-half consecutive years. Historic achievements of this kind inevitably lead to comparisons being made between the previous and present record holders. To this end, this chapter will attempt to compare the
described in the previous chapter and highlighted the differences between revolutionary socialism and parliamentary socialism; and, second, the Great Slump of 1931, which led to the downfall of the second Labour government in 1931. This chapter asseses the Labour Party’s responses to these crises. It outlines the internal party splits that caused the party to distinguish itself from the national government, and lose the 1931 and 1935 general elections, only returning to government under the wartime coalition government of 1940–1945. It explores what Diamond (2004 , p
1 Seven The Fourth Labour government: 1984-90 Political and economic direction The Fourth Labour government between 1984 and 1990 undertook a series of policy decisions and introduced a range of policy measures that changed the nature of New Zealand economy dramatically. The details and substantial discussion around this are not necessary for our current purposes. (Readers interested in a more extensive discussion of these and related issues should consult James, 1986; Jesson, 1987; Jesson et al, 1988; Jesson, 1989; Walker, 1989; Holland and Boston, 1990a
PART I Children’s services reform under the Labour government (1997– 2010)
157© The Policy Press · 2008 · ISSN 0962 7898 Benefits • vol 16 • no 2 • 2008 • 157-67 ar tic le 4 Poverty, social justice and the Labour government, 1997-2007 Stephen Driver This article explores Labour’s record on poverty and social justice since 1997. Poverty rates have fallen, but not for everyone on low incomes. And while fiscal policy has introduced a greater egalitarianism into public policy, British society remains as divided by income as it was when Labour took office. Critics continue to argue that more must be done to narrow the gap between rich
135© The Policy Press · 2008 · ISSN 0962 7898 ar tic le 2 Benefits • vol 16 • no 2 • 2008 • 135-45 ar tic le 2 The 1964 Labour government, poverty and social justice Jim Tomlinson The reduction of poverty and lessening of inequalities were at the core of Labour’s concerns in the Party manifesto in 1964. In office, pursuit of these goals was constrained by the priority accorded to reversing the alleged ‘decline’ of the economy, the impact of rising public spending on tax thresholds and fundamental problems concerning the mix of universal benefits and means
the issue was not simply one of increasing the monetary value of certain benefits, and Titmuss’s comment that ‘this is not a question of poverty at all. It’s a matter of inequality’ was cited. 5 Crossman clearly felt the government was vulnerable to attacks on its social programme, and that Titmuss and his colleagues were key players. At the start of 1967, he watched a television programme on poverty ‘based very largely on the campaign of the Titmuss group against the Labour Government for its maltreatment of lower-paid workers with large families’. Obviously
85 FIVE ‘Revolutionising’ care for people with learning difficulties? The Labour government’s Learning Disabilities Strategy1 Carol Walker In March 2001 the Secretary of State for Health, Alan Milburn, launched the first major strategy aimed at “radically improving the life chances of people with learning disabilities for 30 years” (DoH, 2001a, p 1). The White Paper, Valuing people: A new strategy for learning disability for the 21st century (DoH, 2001b), was launched following a consultation with a range of professionals, service users and family carers and
123 ed ito ria l© The Policy Press · 2008 · ISSN 0962 7898 Benefits • vol 16 • no 2 • 2008 • 123-4 The long and winding road: Labour governments, poverty and social justice from 1945 to the present day This edition of Benefits: The Journal of Poverty and Social Justice explores how the post-war Labour governments of Attlee (1945-51), Wilson (1964-70), Wilson and Callaghan (1974-79) and Blair and Brown (1997-present day) have attempted to counter poverty and enhance social justice. In ‘Towards a red and pleasant land’, Robert Page describes the difficulties
The growing divide between the poor and the rich is the most significant social change to have occurred during the last few decades. The new Labour government inherited a country more unequal than at any other time since the Second World War.
This book brings together a collection of contributions on inequalities in the main areas of British life: income, wealth, standard of living, employment, education, housing, crime and health.
It charts the extent of the growth in inequalities and offers a coherent critique of the new Labour government’s policies aimed at those tackling this crisis. In particular, the numerous area-based anti-poverty policies currently being pursued are unlikely to have a significant and long-lasting effect, since many lessons from the past have been ignored. The contributors use and interpret official data to show how statistics are often misused to obscure or distort the reality of inequality.
A range of alternative policies for reducing inequalities in Britain are discussed and set within the global context of the need for international action.
Tackling inequalities is a valuable contribution to the emerging policy debate written by the leading researchers in the field. It is essential reading for academics, policy makers, and students with an interest in inequalities, poverty and social exclusion.
Studies in poverty, inequality and social exclusion series
Series Editor: David Gordon, Director, Townsend Centre for International Poverty Research.
Poverty, inequality and social exclusion remain the most fundamental problems that humanity faces in the 21st century. This exciting series, published in association with the Townsend Centre for International Poverty Research at the University of Bristol, aims to make cutting-edge poverty related research more widely available.
For other titles in this series, please follow the series link from the main catalogue page.
