Introduction

Abstract

The UK welfare settlement that was established after the Second World War (1939–45) is undergoing its second transformation. The first attempt to radically alter the British welfare system took place between 1979 and 1997, under the New Right governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major. The second began with the Labour Party’s 1997 election victory under the leadership of Tony Blair. This book is concerned with the emergent features associated with the organisation, instruments and relationships of social welfare that will characterise the forthcoming period in how Britain responds to collective needs.