Welfare and Punishment: From Thatcherism to Austerity

Description

In this enlightening study, Ian Cummins traces changing attitudes to penal and welfare systems. From Margaret Thatcher's first cabinet to austerity politics via New Labour, the book reveals the ideological shifts that have led successive governments to reinforce their penal powers. It shows how 'tough on crime' messages have spread to other areas of social policy, too, fostering the neoliberal political economy, encouraging hostile approaches to the social state, and creating stigma for those living in poverty. This is an important addition to the debate around the complex and inter-connected issues of welfare and punishment.

Ian Cummins is Senior Lecturer in the School of Health and Society at Salford University.

"Through strong analysis and rich detail, this book is a critical invitation to readers to trace the intersection of politics and punishments, and to understand punishments in a broader context of political and public policy discourse." Paul Taylor, University of Chester "I always look forward to reading the work of Ian Cummins and here he provides an authoritative, accessible account of the evolution of toxic 'welfare' politics." Paul Michael Garrett, NUI Galway