Ending child poverty: Popular welfare for the 21st century?

Description

In the Beveridge Lecture, delivered on 18 March 1999, Prime Minister Tony Blair committed his government to abolishing child poverty within 20 years. He concluded that the present-day welfare state is not fitted to the modern world, and laid out his vision for a welfare state for the 21st century. Blair's vision, grounded in a particular conception of social justice, is perhaps as challenging as the blueprint laid down by Beveridge. Ending child poverty presents Blair's Beveridge Lecture alongside the views of some of Britain's foremost policy analysts and commentators. This unique collection makes it possible to not only read the ideas of leading current thinkers in this critical area of policy, but also to compare them with the Prime Minister's lecture, and to see which ideas he himself took up and in what form. Ending child poverty is a record of not only the Lecture itself, but also of the ideas available to government and their influence on its leader at an important moment in the formation of policy. It provides a rich tapestry on analysis, insight and reflection that will, it is to be hoped, stimulate critical debate about the future shape of British welfare. This collection is essential reading for anyone interested in the future of modern society and politics and provides an accessible handbook for undergraduate students of politics, social policy and sociology.

Robert Walker is Director of the Centre for Research in Social Policy and the Social Security Unit, Loughborough University and Professor of Social Policy Research.

"Rather than listing once again the facts about child poverty, this book gives a unique insight into how the Prime Minister and the leading policy commentators and analysts think about policy issues. Since values and assumptions set the boundaries to political debate, it is essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand the strenghts and weaknesses of our policies to tackle child poverty" Peter Taylor-Gooby, Professor of Social Policy, University of Kent