Has the modern Conservative Party developed a distinctive approach to the post-war welfare state? In exploring this question, this accessible book takes an authoritative look at Conservative Party policy and practice in the modern era. The book takes as its main starting point the progressive One Nation Conservative (1950-64) perspective, which endeavoured to embrace those features of the welfare state deemed compatible with the party’s underlying ‘philosophy’. Attention then shifts to the neo-liberal Conservatives (1974-97), who sought to reverse the forward march of the welfare state on the grounds of its ‘harmful’ economic and social effects. Finally, David Cameron’s (2005-present day) ‘progressive’ neo-liberal Conservative welfare state strategy is put under the spotlight. The book’s time-defined content and broad historical thread make it a valuable resource for academics and students in social policy and politics as well as social history.
Table of Content
Conservativism, the ‘modern’ Conservative Party and the welfare state
From war to peace: the Conservatives adn the welfare state in the 1940s
Towards a One Nation Conservative welfare state? The Conservatives and the welfare state, 1950-64
The Heath ‘interregnum’: modern technocratic Conservativism and the welfare state, 1965-74
The Conservative (counter-) revolution: neo-liberal Conservatism and the welfare state, 1974-97
Progressive neo-liberal Conservatism and the welfare state, 2005 – 2015
Epilogue: The Conservative Party and the welfare state: clear blue water?
About the author
Robert M Page is Reader in Democratic Socialism and Social Policy at the University of Birmingham. He has written extensively on the post-war British welfare state.
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