2 The Welfare Consensus 1951-1979

Question 1

What was the opinion on welfare?

conservatives

Answer 1

right of conservatives thought money should be spent on other things, left of labour thought not enough was being done.

Question 2

1959 National Insurance Act

Answer 2

introduced a top up scheme based on earnings with a new ‘graduated pensions’

Question 3

1975 Social Security Act

Answer 3

allowed workers to opt out of new state pension in return for lower national insurance payments.

Question 4

Why did Welfare spending rise in the 1970s?

Answer 4

• baby booms in the 1940s-60s
• life expectancy rose to 74 for women and 69 for men
• new low wage/one-parent families that previously weren’t considered for welfare.
• higher living standards
• more welfare meant more bureaucracy

Question 5

What did Macmillan point out in his work The Middle Way (1938)

welfare, private enterprise

Answer 5

• social deprivation should be ended through welfare
• private enterprise should be regulated

Question 6

1965 Child Poverty Action Group report

What did it prompt for the conservatives?

Answer 6

720,000 children were living in poverty, conservatives therefore reconsidered their relationship to welfare spending.

Question 7

new definitions of poverty?

2 types

Answer 7

absolute poverty: no food, water, decent shelter, sanitation or healthcare
relative poverty: not enough money to enjoy regular living patterns. Defined by standards of society, so open to change.