Impact of the Beveridge Report in Shaping the 1945 UK Welfare State.

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With reference to the 1942 report Social Insurance and Allied Services by Sir William Beveridge Musgrove writes, ‘Seldom has any report to a government been so influential’ (Musgrove, 2000: 845-846). It is a fact that when we read material today regarding the British welfare state and indeed welfare states of many other countries the name Beveridge seems to always find itself anchored within the lines. This prevalence throughout the years stems from the popularity it had on both the British government and its citizens at the time of its publication. Bought by 635,000 people the Beveridge report stated three key principles. Namely, a determination to be radical; to launch a profound attack on want, disease, ignorance, squalor and idleness, coined ‘the five giants’; and to promote a healthy co-operation between the state and the individual (Fraser, 1973). Guided by these principles the report proposed a system of social security based on three assumptions: that the government would grant family allowances, set up a comprehensive health service and maintain full employment. It is important to note that the Beveridge report held quite a role in the post war election of 1945. All main political parties displayed interest to implement its proposals and this was used to their advantage in their campaigns, none more so than labours "Let Us Face the Future" campaign which subsequently lead to the election of Clement Atlee as Prime Minister in July 1945. Hill states that the laws passed immediately following the end of the war under Attlee administration were clearly and explicitly inspired by the Beveridge report. Most notably through the Family Allowances Act of 1945, the National Insurance Act of 1946, the National Health Act of 1946 and...

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...es adopted immediately after the war it is clear that they were highly influenced by the Beveridge report. Mainly so through the implementation of Beveridge’s assumptions of the provision of family allowances, the creation of National Insurance and the implementation of a comprehensive health service. The Beveridge report further influenced the social reforms of Labour by providing a list of evils to be eradicated to which the Atlee’s government acted upon with varied success. To conclude, it is a fact that although the actual systems implemented diverged over the years from the model contained in the Beveridge report, the sheer impact that Beveridge had in shaping the post war welfare state was profound. In any case, without Beveridge and his organised plan of action, it is safe to say that the British welfare state would be different to that we know of today.

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