The Origins of the Welfare State, 1900-45

The Welfare State in Britain

In this course, Professor Pat Thane (Birkbeck, University of London) explores the development of the welfare state in Britain. In the first module, we look at the early origins of state welfare from 1900, emphasising the catalysing role of the Second World War in creating demands for a more comprehensive welfare system. The second module then considers the establishment of the modern welfare state under the Labour governments of 1945-51, including the formation of the National Health Service, provision of universal state education, and creation of state benefits. In the third module, we outline how the welfare state evolved in the years 1951-79, and in the fourth module we think about the effects of the neoliberal approach to government adopted by Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative governments from 1979-90 on Britain’s welfare system. In the fifth module, we examine the substantial reforms undertaken by the New Labour governments of 1997-2010 in the areas of education, healthcare, and state welfare. We conclude with a sixth module on how the welfare state has changed since 2010, particularly in the context of the austerity measures taken by successive governments in this period.

The Origins of the Welfare State, 1900-45

In this module, we think about the origins of the welfare state in the years 1900-45, focusing on: (i) Britain’s first modern state welfare measures, undertaken by the Liberal governments of 1906-14, and including the first state pensions and social insurance systems; (ii) state welfare developments in the interwar period (1918-39), for example the building of Britain’s first council houses; (iii) the Second World War as a catalyst for further demands for welfare reform, and some key developments during the War, like the 1944 Education Act and, crucially, the commissioning of the Beveridge Report in 1942, which served as the blueprint for the future welfare state; (v) the key recommendations of the Beveridge Report, including the establishment of a universal national insurance, pensions and benefits system, and the creation of new social services such as a national healthcare system.