The Conservative Governments And Social Policy

Focusing on the policy approaches of Conservative governments since 2015, this book examines key social policy areas including education, health, housing, employment, children and young people, and more. Respected social policy researchers explore the degree to which the positions and policies of recent Conservative governments have differed from the previous Coalition government (2010–15). They consider the extent to which austerity has continued and the influence of other policy emphases, such as a ‘levelling up’ agenda. Reflecting on the rapid changes of Prime Minister, they compare the themes of the Cameron, May, Johnson, Truss and Sunak administrations, critically examine the impacts of the external shocks of Brexit and COVID-19, and the changing patterns of public expenditure.

With the Conservative Party breaking new ground in forming a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats, this book examines the development and content of the Conservatives' approaches to social policy and how they inform the Coalition's policies. Chapters cover the development of Conservative Party social policy and specific policy areas. The book will be of interest to academics, undergraduate and postgraduate students, and everyone with an interest in the Conservative Party and the Coalition government's social policies.

In May 2015, general elections in the United Kingdom shocked the world as a new Conservative Government was voted into power, ending five years of Coalition governance. Both a response to the actions of the Coalition Government and a reflection on the implications of actions taken during the first hundred days of the new Conservative Government, this book could not be more timely in its assessment of the current and future states of UK social policies. The first book to consider Coalition social policy in its entirety, it not only reviews and evaluates the extent of change under the Coalition--looking at the impact of factors like austerity measures on social policies and politics more broadly--but also draws out what the Coalition years will mean for the incoming government, outlining both the challenges and opportunities of its legacy.

First published in 1994. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This book is concerned with home affairs or social policy in the British system - in particular in education, health, housing, social security and aspects of the Home Office's work. It handles the subject in terms of what the Conservative Party thought and did about it from 1939 to 1988.

How did the UK Coalition Government’s policies differ from previous Conservative (or Labour) Government policies? How did the Liberal Democrats influence them? And what can this tell us about the likely policy direction of the Conservative government elected in May 2015? Responding to the political and social policy changes made between 2010-15 this book considers the relationship between the two coalition parties to provide a critical assessment of how their policies affected the British welfare state, including the impact of ‘austerity’. Looking beyond 2015, the contributors consider what the implications of these changes may be for social policy, both the challenges and opportunities, which will present themselves in the future.

A sociological history of the development and evolution of the political ideas and policies influencing the provision of social welfare in modern western society. The British experience of the welfare state is compared and contrasted with its counterparts in the USA and Sweden.

A comprehensive collection of original essays by leading experts on social and econmic policy including Frances Fox Piven, Harvey Molotch, Jill Quadagno, James Petras, and Judith Stacey. This volume challenges the conservative notion that the fundamental problem plaguing America is dependancy on government and further cuts only lead to a cycle of recision. Newly published articles by the leading experts in social and economic policy Explores conservative social policy of the late twentieth century Contains articles on welfare reform, health care, military spending and economic policy